Cube Maxim
I aim to create the most fun, exciting, powerful and balanced custom limited environment
that I can for my playgroup within the confines of a Vintage legal and Singleton legal frame.
that I can for my playgroup within the confines of a Vintage legal and Singleton legal frame.
Basic Info
Cube Size: 450 Cards
Breakdown: 55 Each Color, 105 Guild/Multicolor, 70 Colorless
Standard or Theme Cube: Standard
Average Draft: 3-6 players
Cube CMC: 2.762
Design Restrictions
Powered?: Yes
Vintage Legal?: Yes
Singleton Legal?: Yes
The only cards I ban from the cube are cards that aren't Vintage legal (Ante cards, Dexterity cards, Un- Cards, Conspiracies & Holiday Promos, etc), cards that can't function within all game types (like draft manipulators that are blanks in Sealed Deck, or cards that would require a commander to function, etc) and cards thar reference "outside of the game" as a zone (Wishes, Companions, etc).
Color Balance?: Yes
Guild Balance?: Yes
Mana Support?: No
Mana Support?: No
Other Info
Here's a link to the cube on CubeCobra if you want to mock draft it:
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/wtwlf123
I wrote a cube article about the fundamental cube design questions, and how I decided to build my cube to cater to my playgroup. The article was designed to help those folks that are still in the incipient phase of cube building, and may need some pointers on how to balance the cube for smoother drafts and gameplay. But hopefully even the veteran cube managers can find at least some useful information on how to streamline the cube and better enable aggressive archetypes. Here's a link:
"Cube Design Philosophy"
I also wrote an article that deals with managing your manabase when cubing, and the impact those mana demands have on drafting, deck-building and constructing the cube. Here's a link to that one:
"Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
Feel free to post comments on the article page or here in this thread with any questions or comments!
Additionally, I've written some Set Reviews in the form of top 20 countdowns based on set previews. Note, these are written as set previews, not necessarily set reviews, but here's the links to them anyways:
My Review #01 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from AVR!
My Review #02 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M13!
My Review #03 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from RTR!
My Review #04 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from GTC!
My Review #05 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from DGM!
My Review #06 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M14!
My Review #07 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from THS!
My Review #08 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from BNG!
My Review #09 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from JOU!
My Review #10 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M15!
My Review #11 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from KTK!
My Review #12 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from FRF!
My Review #13 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from DTK!
My Review #14 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ORI!
My Review #15 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from BFZ!
My Review #16 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OGW!
My Review #17 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from SOI!
My Review #18 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from EMN!
My Review #19 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from KLD!
My Review #20 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from AER!
My Review #21 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from AKH!
My Review #22 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from HOU!
My Review #23 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from XLN!
My Review #24 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from RIX!
My Review #25 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from DOM!
My Review #26 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M19!
My Review #27 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from GRN!
My Review #28 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from RNA!
My Review #29 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from WAR!
My Review #30 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M20!
My Review #31 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ELD!
My Review #32 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from THB!
My Review #33 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from IKO!
My Review #34 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M21!
My Review #35 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ZNR!
My Review #36 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from KHM!
My Review #37 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from STX!
My Review #38 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from AFR!
My Review #39 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MID!
My Review #40 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from VOW!
My Review #41 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from NEO!
My Review #42 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from SNC!
My Review #43 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from DMU!
My Review #44 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from BRO!
My Review #45 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ONE!
My Review #46 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MOM!
My Review #47 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from WOE!
My Review #48 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from LCI!
My Review #49 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
Enjoy!
I was invited to be a guest on the MTGin3D Podcast with Liam and Pedro. Here's a link to that episode ...give it a listen!
MTGin3D Episode #5 - Exploration
I was invited on as a guest for the "What's In The Box!?" Podcast with Zakeel and Drew. Here's a link to that episode:
What's in the Box EP8 - Community Spotlight: wtwlf123
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My read on this card is that it's the most relevant removal spell for legacy since the printing of Council's Judgement, or even potentially since Abrupt Decay (I will be surprised if/when Decay ever gets topped).
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If you loan out a deck, you definitely should not be expecting (or asking) for a concession on those grounds. If the person borrowing the deck decides to scoop, that's fine and that's on them. Loaning out decks happens a ton in the main constructed format I play (Legacy), since the people who have decks often have multiple and the community tends to come together to make sure everyone gets to play. This doesn't really work if there's an expectation that you will be granted wins by the three other players piloting your cards in the event. It sucks to lose to your loaner, but losing to your loaner is a hell of a lot better than not playing at all.
Now, the other issue is that this was a store employee. In most stores I've been to, there's been a kind status quo (either by etiquette or time commitment, it's unclear) that when they hop in to help fire an event that they'll be in for a round or two and then drop, maybe conceding the last round that they play. I don't think you can count on it though, and I don't fault the employee at all for continuing to compete rather than concede/drop.
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I do agree with you that that I'm not very happy with Mystic Confluence here. I'm receiving two of these packets this wave and I can't imagine getting any use of two of the damn thing since I'm not very active in EDH (one probably goes into Patron of the Moon, and the other one will rot, wishing it was relevant to Legacy). Like, this isn't as bad as the Command Beacon promo (which is impossible to sell or trade because literally nobody wants them), but it's still a bit of a disappointment. I had been hoping that WotC would buck the trend and do something useful like Deathrite Shaman in the low value slot.
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3 Coiling Oracle
2 Baleful Strix
2 Shardless Agent
4 Imperial Recruiter
2 Dream Stalker
1 Cavern Harpy
1 Parasitic Strix
1 Eternal Witness
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
4 Aluren
4 Brainstorm
4 Cabal Therapy
3 Abrupt Decay
3 Force of Will
3 Polluted Delta
3 Verdant Catacombs
2 Tropical Island
2 Underground Sea
1 Bayou
1 Volcanic Island
1 Taiga
2 Forest
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Force of Will
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Engineered Plague
1 Carpet of Flowers
1 Null Rod
1 Tsabo's Web
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Minister of Pain
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Fire Imp
1 Bone Shredder
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Faerie Macabre
R1: UB Reanimator (2-0)
My opponent is scrambling to assemble his deck as he sits down and I get flashed a couple binder pages of Reanimator cards along with a Tidespout Tyrant sitting on top of his sideboard. I try to mull into DRS or FoW in G1, give up at 5 cards after he keeps on 6 and still combo him out at turn 4 or 5 after therapying him off of a Reanimate. Goddamn this deck mulls well. Game 2 I mull into another stinker on 6, keep anyway, and scry the second land to the top. I get a recruiter Forced as I try to set up, but therapy is sweet and DRS shows up by t3. He's still a bit frazzled by the rush to assemble his deck and so misses the DRS when he goes for an exhume on Blazing Archon. I have a FoW in hand, but instead eat the archon with DRS and let exhume resolve, netting me a free recruiter (which promptly fetches Edric). Edric does what edric does and the lethargic beats go all the way as I stock my hand with infinite interaction.
R2: 4C Loam (2-1)
I'm on a weak hand in G1 and get locked into a spot where I need to topdeck two things while a Liliana is messing with me. Bad times ensue and Bob Maher goes all the way in the red zone. G2 sees me beat his own weak hand with the beautiful 1/1 beatdown brigade. G3 my opponent makes two fumbles that open up a window for me to combo. He accidentally boarded out the Dryad Arbor and has to sheepishly fail to find on his Turn 1 Green Sun's Zenith. This lets me ramp faster than him. The second key point is that he played a land prior to casting loam on a crucial turn, locking him out of wastelanding me with the proceeds of the Loam. I kill him with the combo on my next turn.
(Note on the above match: I'm actually a bit sketchy as to the order of G1 and G2. They might have been reversed)
R3: BUG Delver (2-1)
I lose a tight game 1 to classic beatdown plus Liliana. I win two tight SB games. Engineered plague (naming Wizard) does great work locking him out of Dark Confidants and Delvers as my therapies do dirty things.
R4: Shardless BUG (2-0)
My opponent mulls hard and leads on two verdant catacombss. I have a nutty lead with coiling oracle flipping the land for cabal therapy on turn 2 while my hand is stacked. My opponent scoops in response. I have no idea if my opponent is fair, reanimator, or storm. I decide to hedge in all directions. I bring in Scavenging Ooze, Bone Shredder, Faerie Macabre, and Reclamation Sage. My opponent turns out to be on shardless and proceeds repeatedly duress me and to surgical my decays. He goes for a surgical on an aluren, but I macabre-pitch to counter. I stabilize at near-death by using scavenging ooze to gain life, counter DRS, and shrink his goyfs. Eventually my 10/10 ooze goes into Abyss mode forcing him to chump with Leovold, goyfs, and DRSes. The ooze goes the distance before he finds an abrupt decay.
R5: Miracles (2-1)
FINALLY. I've not played this match in more than 3 tournaments. I kill him in G1 with a very aggressive Aluren after doing mean things with many cabal therapies. I'm on track to win G2, but he manages to get a end-step entreat with exact mana for FoW on my witness'd Pernicious Deed on the next turn. G3 we go into beat-down mode and he needs to have terminus 3 times in 3 consecutive turns. He didn't have it.
R6: Imperial Painter (ID)
This is the only other undefeated in the room. I'd rather not face Painter and it looks like a double draw is locked for T8.
R7: Storm, presumably ANT (ID)
We can now see that X-1-1 is locked for T8. I can play to dreamcrush and still be locked, but I choose to go eat. It's a pity too, I would have loved to face storm.
TOP EIGHT
There's an offer to split, but for once I'm the guy to turn it down. I would rather try for Top 4 and split there. Besides, if we split here, the shop will close and there's no more legacy for the day. I'm tied with Imperial Painter for top seed, but breakers put me in second.
Quarters: Burn
My deck's amazing resiliency to mulligans always seems to falter in the top 8. I blame deck check voodoo. My opponent has some eccentric budget swaps (Cinder Glade as a "taiga" to splash Destructive Revelry), but is still mostly stock. I lose a tight G1 to his topdecked exact damage 4-damage PoP as I'm just about to stabilize. I get a clean combo in G2 after dealing with an Eidolon and Pyrostatic Pillar on a very mana-starved hand. G3 I just weep silently as I eat 2 goblin guides and a swiftspear on T2 with no action forthcoming even after having drawn 3 lands off Guide in 2 turns. Death greets me quickly.
All in all, it was a great run. The deck felt great and I'm really liking Bone Shredder in place of Ophiomancer. It was also cool to hear banter around the tournament as I overheard multiple people identify Aluren as their pick for the best deck in the format.