I would cram in a Remands if you can. The ability to double up on brainfreeze can be invaluable, as can the massive tempo swing it can cause if you are on the play (its basically a time walk).
I wouldn't cut Ponder if you can help it, a turn 1 ponder is HUGE.
I think two-card combos are awkward in cube in general because you have to draft both parts for them to work out to anything. People more familiar with the cube will try for them, others won't and will pass on a 'bad' card.
I like "combo's" that are just solid interactions between cards, rather than "I win" buttons if you manage to draft both, and then draw both.
We NEVER draft up the entire cube, and these things don't happen. If it honestly happened to you... wow (you must have a higher power striving to punish you or something?). NOTE: Don't play the lottery man!
Ive been drafting using the completely random method for over a year (about 150-200 drafts) and I've not once had a draft like that. Not even one time.
Oh well, if just shuffling works for you, then keep doing it. My players insist on seeding packs now, because we have had those two bad drafts.
It's a splashable card that serves the 5c/4c control, Gxx mana ramp and blink type decks well.
Why should I use the best white control cards? I'd use Moat then. If I want to push Wx control i'd put in 10 wrath type cards in, remove single removal and some cheap creatures and voila. I wish to use the best white cards.
Lots of conflicting logic here.
If you want the best "cards" then you should probably use the best "cards".
More color-fixing lands should be included, IMO for a start. I would add in a minimum of another full cycle. One of the two dual land cycles would be a great start.
I am currently debating the concept of cutting 10 gold cards (one of each color), which would let me (one of these):
*Add 5 Fetchlands, and 5 other lands (Gemstone Mine, Tendo Ice Bridge, Strip Mine, Richidan Port, Quicksand)
*Add in a cycle of Duals (probably the Ravinca ones)
*Some weird combination (put in 5 fetches and enemy color painlands?)
*Put in 5 fetches, cut m10 duals, put in Ravinca Duals.
The cards I would cut:
- Doomsday Specter
- Nath of the Gilt-Leaf
- Lightning Reaver
- Death Grasp
- Coiling Oracle
- Suffocating Blast
- Hindering Light
- Savage Twister
- Nantuko Monastery
- Brion Stoutarm
Note that hybrid cards can be played in decks that don't have the other color (e.g. easier to play than monocolored cards), which is why I have so many.
and I'd change Sedris the Traitor King out for a better card in that combination... like Nicol Bolas!
I want to keep my tri-color cards costing one of each color. What else would you suggest. Thraximundar was the other possibility, but Sedris has really played well, with all the 187s in the cube.
~ White ~
Ethersworn Canonist is a little weak
Benalish Knight is loose for a 400 card cube
Adarkar Valkyrie is pretty weak too
Windborn Muse and Voice of All could be better cards
Judge Unworthy is a bit weak
Test of Faith
Solemn Offering
Valkyrie got in over Pristine Angel, was this a mistake?
Canonist is new, and I'm not attached to it at all. What other solid 1W creatures are there?
Same goes for Benalish Knight, I want the 2W cost. Maybe Mirror Entity?
Suggestions for Windborn Muse?
For the size of the cube, I think there's a better option for Spiketail Hatchling
Opt could be a better card...
Time Ebb is pretty sub par too
Rushing River is decent, but blue is such an amazing color
Offalsnout could be a better creature
Keening Banshee as well
I'd find room for Bane of the Living... soooo good in cube.
Ghastly Demise is meh...
I'd add in Decree of Pain over one of the Infest clones... it's really good.
Ghastly Demise is in because it costs B, and for no other good reason really.
It could be Vendetta, or maybe something at another cost, like Decree of Pain.
Bane is in :D.
I think black is hurting for both 3 and 4 mana creatures. Suggestions?
~ Red ~
Sparksmith is a bit narrow
As is the hastey lancer dude
Lightning Dragon is a big investment in a Terror target.
Lightning Blast is sub par burn, 4 for 4 is weak.
Aether Flash isn't the best of red cards...
Chain Lightning and Sulfuric Vortex are both missing
Sparksmith is awesome. At worst he picks off other 1 toughness dudes, at best he is winning the game. There are quite a few goblins in for him to work with anyhow.
I'm always looking for better red 3 and 4 drops.
I've been thinking about Skizzik for Lightning Dragon.
AEther Flash has earned its weight. It usually gets drafted high, and wins lots of games.
Lightning Blast is sub-par I know, but what else for 3R in red?
Reds 3 drop spells are already crowded, sorry Sulfuric Vortex :/
Chain Lightning might get in eventually
~ Green ~
Thornweld Archer is good but not great, there's better green creatures.
Timbermare was better as a red effect, IMO.
Brooding Saurian is pretty bad, there are much better choices here
Kalonian Behemoth is really pretty bad as far as green finishers go.
Desert Twister is too expensive for a 1-for-1 in the cube...
Archer blocks big scary flyers, which is enough for me.
Brooding Saurian is probably coming out for Chameleon Colossus
Timbermare is really cool for green to break through,
Replacement for Behemoth?
Desert Twister kills planeswalkers, which has made it a favorite. Yeah its expensive, but it does solve problems.
The rest of the cube looks pretty solid. I hope you're not offended by my suggestions... it's just a kinda peer review that all cubes go through on this forum to try and better every cube list that passes through.
Thanks for the input.
I will say that no player of mine has said anything about there being too much multicolor or not enough fixing.
We've never had to redo a random pack draft. Cards distribute evenly over the period of the draft so long as the cube is shuffled well. I think players that count out card colors to make packs overvalue their attempts at keeping a draft balanced.
That works if the whole cube is used. We have had a 4 person cube where there were 6 green cards total (including gold and hybrids) because we just shuffled. Another occasion where we had 5 players, two colors had no cards with CMC 3 at all. Unlikely, sure, but these things happen, and can be prevented without too much effort.
Looking at this again, I think Crush of Wurms is a cool card. But tooth and nail is very good - don't forget the fetch fatctor. You have a mini-toolbox in TnN, where you can get the best answer to whatever ails you. True, creatures aren't the most variable of cards... but in the cube that's not the case. There are many CIP effects to choose from and abiliites to parse.
I would nearly always rather have TnN in my deck than Crush. TnN can be played in 3 situations, where either you just want to tutor up two creatures (unlikely, but possible), when you have two creatures in your hand, or when you have enough mana and want to win.
Crush ends games, yeah, but its just so expensive that I would be hesitant to draft it at all, and would probably cut it when deckbuilding just because having 9 (or 12!) mana is so difficult.
I wouldn't put in Wrath 2.0 except if my cube was getting large enough that I needed another sweeper. I really don't like the idea of players picking between Wrath and Day in the same pack.
I don't even have Rout in yet, so I have a while to go before that time comes.
What I do is sort my cube by color and within each color by CMC. Then I deal out each color into the number of piles that we have players. Then each player picks a random pile of each color and combines them as their pool. This "seeds" the pools by color and by CMC. Then each player shuffles up their pool and deals themselves three packs, and whatever cards are leftover don't get drafted this time.
This works for smaller groups really well, where random shuffling causes colors to sometimes get completely shafted, either on curve or representation.
Since I started this system, we haven't had any bad pools. This has worked out so well that we do it even when we have all 8 players in, because it leads to much more balanced packs.
I wouldn't cut Ponder if you can help it, a turn 1 ponder is HUGE.
I like "combo's" that are just solid interactions between cards, rather than "I win" buttons if you manage to draft both, and then draw both.
These came OUT:
- Dauthi Marauder
- Keening Banshee
- Ghastly Demise
- Brooding Saurian
- Lightning Blast
- Skirk Marauder
- Benalish Knight
- Opt
- Creeping Mold
(This effect is already on Acidic Slime)And the correspondingly IN:
- Phyrexian Rager
- Mirri the Cursed
- I also thought about Ashling, The Exterminator- Decree of Pain
- Chameleon Colossus
- Rolling Earthquake
(Might end up as regular Earthquake)- Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
- Mirror Entity
- Serum Visions
(Better than Opt?)Harmonize
Also these 5 Artifacts were added:
Oh well, if just shuffling works for you, then keep doing it. My players insist on seeding packs now, because we have had those two bad drafts.
Lots of conflicting logic here.
If you want the best "cards" then you should probably use the best "cards".
Thanks!
I am currently debating the concept of cutting 10 gold cards (one of each color), which would let me (one of these):
*Add 5 Fetchlands, and 5 other lands (Gemstone Mine, Tendo Ice Bridge, Strip Mine, Richidan Port, Quicksand)
*Add in a cycle of Duals (probably the Ravinca ones)
*Some weird combination (put in 5 fetches and enemy color painlands?)
*Put in 5 fetches, cut m10 duals, put in Ravinca Duals.
The cards I would cut:
- Doomsday Specter
- Nath of the Gilt-Leaf
- Lightning Reaver
- Death Grasp
- Coiling Oracle
- Suffocating Blast
- Hindering Light
- Savage Twister
- Nantuko Monastery
- Brion Stoutarm
Note that hybrid cards can be played in decks that don't have the other color (e.g. easier to play than monocolored cards), which is why I have so many.
I'm going to add 5 more cards (to make the total 405 - enough for 9 players)
Lightning Greaves
Bonesplitter
Tangle Wire
Coalition Relic
Erratic Portal
I want to keep my tri-color cards costing one of each color. What else would you suggest. Thraximundar was the other possibility, but Sedris has really played well, with all the 187s in the cube.
Valkyrie got in over Pristine Angel, was this a mistake?
Canonist is new, and I'm not attached to it at all. What other solid 1W creatures are there?
Same goes for Benalish Knight, I want the 2W cost. Maybe Mirror Entity?
Suggestions for Windborn Muse?
Check
Replacements for these?
Ghastly Demise is in because it costs B, and for no other good reason really.
It could be Vendetta, or maybe something at another cost, like Decree of Pain.
Bane is in :D.
I think black is hurting for both 3 and 4 mana creatures. Suggestions?
Sparksmith is awesome. At worst he picks off other 1 toughness dudes, at best he is winning the game. There are quite a few goblins in for him to work with anyhow.
I'm always looking for better red 3 and 4 drops.
I've been thinking about Skizzik for Lightning Dragon.
AEther Flash has earned its weight. It usually gets drafted high, and wins lots of games.
Lightning Blast is sub-par I know, but what else for 3R in red?
Reds 3 drop spells are already crowded, sorry Sulfuric Vortex :/
Chain Lightning might get in eventually
Archer blocks big scary flyers, which is enough for me.
Brooding Saurian is probably coming out for Chameleon Colossus
Timbermare is really cool for green to break through,
Replacement for Behemoth?
Desert Twister kills planeswalkers, which has made it a favorite. Yeah its expensive, but it does solve problems.
Thanks for the input.
I will say that no player of mine has said anything about there being too much multicolor or not enough fixing.
That works if the whole cube is used. We have had a 4 person cube where there were 6 green cards total (including gold and hybrids) because we just shuffled. Another occasion where we had 5 players, two colors had no cards with CMC 3 at all. Unlikely, sure, but these things happen, and can be prevented without too much effort.
I would nearly always rather have TnN in my deck than Crush. TnN can be played in 3 situations, where either you just want to tutor up two creatures (unlikely, but possible), when you have two creatures in your hand, or when you have enough mana and want to win.
Crush ends games, yeah, but its just so expensive that I would be hesitant to draft it at all, and would probably cut it when deckbuilding just because having 9 (or 12!) mana is so difficult.
I don't even have Rout in yet, so I have a while to go before that time comes.
Of these, I would only play put Abeyance in, because it cantrips. The others are too narrow IMO.
Sunstone is really cool if you have snow lands avaliable for your players.
This works for smaller groups really well, where random shuffling causes colors to sometimes get completely shafted, either on curve or representation.
Since I started this system, we haven't had any bad pools. This has worked out so well that we do it even when we have all 8 players in, because it leads to much more balanced packs.
If my cube was bigger I might include a few more duplicates, like Char/Psionic Blast, Disenchant/Naturalize, the white 2/1s for 1, etc.
http://guaycube.blogspot.com/
Website not fully-up-to-date.
This is a 415 card cube for up to 9 players.
Comment, critique, etc.
Here it is in spoiler form (if you really don't want to leave the forum).
-Added 10 cards to bring the total up to 415.
Out
In
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- Cut multi section down to 55 to make room.
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- Total number of cards upped to 405
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Enemy Fetchlands
Alpha Dual Lands