I'll be making a trip to Springfield, MO for work to do some training. Ill be staying there for a few days starting Nov 4th. If theres anyone in there area that would like to meet up for cube or any other games just send me a message and we'll get something set up.
Im sorry I havent gotten around to give you my thoughts on your cube. I havent taken the time to really break down all your cards but at a first glance it looks very solid. A few things I personally dislike but doesnt mean they dont work for your playgroup.
Now as for the swap of Ingot Chewer for Hearth Kami I think Smash to Smithereens would be a much better replacement.
I myself havent made any Theros changes yet but when I do Ill probably look over your list a little bit better and give you more insight as to what works and doesnt work for my group.
Signets/Talisman (particularly for unpowered lists) and maybe Guardian Idol/Prismatic Lens if you wanna push the generic ones to the max.
You may not be able to answer this but would you run the signets/talismans in an unpowered list over non colored rocks. This is what Im currently running for mana stones in my Modern list
So far this is working for us and we arent looking to make any changes but just curious if you would run a different setup. I used to run the U signets in the guild sections but dropped them for other guild cards.
I love the Snake too but it was getting a little old and I wanted to give other simic cards a shot. Not exactly as strong as the land but in my Modern cube he has been rather strong. Ive enjoyed the effect my changes have had on our drafts.
I just recently dropped Mystic Snake and Simic Skyswallower for Master Biomancer and Simic Charm. If I had to pick one Id say Master Biomancer. I view him as kind of a Slayer Stronghold for Simic. The Stronghold makes all those cheap 1 drops into a serious threat. Biomancer does the same thing with all your mana dorks if you happen to draw them later. Id also think about changing up Simic Skyswallower. I dont know how drafts go for you but for the most part SSS was being stolen by ANY U drafter and easily splashed for. Very rarely did SSS end up in a true Simic deck. With the abundance of finishers in the cube I like having something other than SSS.
Wildfire: Guess this list is a bit outdated. Cubetutor is so much easier for cube management that Ive forgotten to keep this up to date as well. Horizon Canopy has been in for a couple months at least. Its an amazing land that sometimes makes main deck even if its only providing one color. Im currently in the processes of updating my fixing with a mix of Buddy/Check/Filter lands. In all honesty though the pain lands have been fine. There hasn't bee a game yet where the damage was a factor in win/loss. Some of them will probably end up staying but we'll see over the next few drafts what the players like best.
Rantipole: Again list is not up to date here as all the WWK man lands have been in for some time. Celestial, Tar Pit, and Ravine will all be staying but Reaches and Wildwoods just hasnt performed as I expected and sometimes dont even make main deck so better fixing will be coming in.
As far as the M14 cards I do agree the last 2 are just not good enough for cube but the casual player in me just loves both of them. Guess I'll have to squeeze them into a Commander deck. The other 3 are doing ok so far. Nothing spectacular from any of them though. Reaver is a huge beating if he connects but since he has no evasion it has actually been kind of difficult to do. I think I like other options at 4cc. I also have high hopes for Pyromancer but Ive noticed most of the red decks in my cube have 3-5 actual spells and the rest are creatures and equipment. We haven't seen more than 2 elementals get created in a game so far. Is this enough? I think so as getting more guys to carry equipment is nice in an aggressive deck. I cant comment much on Grim Return other than my players really need to learn to RTFC! On more than one occasion a player has discarded something to reanimate it and neglected to read the "from the battlefield" part of the card. Reading is tech! Hopefully we will see it actually do something the correct way at some point.
Check out my list at Cubetutor as it up to date and in fact I just made a couple recent changes getting a few cards from my Modern Masters box into the cube.
Check out my list either in my sig or here. Heres 2 other Modern lists that I pay pretty close attention to.
Tom Servo's List : http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/831
All 3 of our lists are rather different from each other so comparing the 3 may give you a good idea where you want to go. I think having a list as a starting place is a great way to get going. The ground work has been done you just have to draft a few times and see what your group wants to change.
Heres my first attempt at a playmat. Gotta say I really enjoyed this much more than my attempt at altering cards. I did cheat and transferred Superman with pencil shading on the back of tracing paper. Its still a work in progress. Currently Im looking for a good picture of the Daily Planet to place on the right side. Id also like to incorporate a life counter into it. On the left side I was thinking a simple head shot. Im open to suggestions.
Yes. Double Strike Flying has sealed so many games for us. I have never seen this guy sit the sides if he makes the draft. Elspeth Tirel on the other hand hasn't made it into too many decks. We've discussed Tirel on numerous occasions and have come close to cutting her but we usually talk ourselves out of it due to her being a 'walker.
Very interesting to see the differing opinions on this one. In my modern 360 he has been amazing for us and is nowhere near the chopping block. Id easily consider him top 3 for us.
For us if a PW wast stolen, Confiscate wasnt worth it. Problem we are having is that even with the high density of PWs we have never seen one stolen in a game and Confiscate has been played a lot. Im going to be switching it for Bribery.
Stromkirk Noble vs Legion Loyalist? I feel like the Loyalist can be insane in certain board positions, and I also like the fact that it acts as a suedo-spell. Stromkirk just seems meh to me, but people seem to play him more
I think it depends on what the Cube needs. Stromkirk is amazing turn 1 and can get out of hand rather quick if hes not dealt with. Hes also not a great top deck like most 1 drops. Loyalist on the other hand is a card you really dont want to play turn 1 but later in the game when the Battalion is more likely to go off and possibly end the game with Trample damage. I run both in my modern 360.
I recently cut the 3 signets I was running and fit in more colorless/filtering mana rocks. It has been working out great so far. If you want to run 4-5 color good stuff in my cube you'll need to prioritize the dual lands more than anything else or draft green ramp.
Wow Im excited for M14. Heres what im looking at from my first pass of the spoilers.
Grim Return
Liliana's Reaver
Young Pyromancer
Primeval Bounty
These cards seem bonkers. Maybe its just the newness factor but I have extremely high expectations of these cards.
Rise of the Dark Realms
9 mana is a lot to expect but I see some potential fun. I want to give it a try but I dont expect anything spectacular.
Scavenging Ooze
Even with out dedicated reanimator theres still lots of ways the cube interacts with the graveyard so im excited to get a chance to squeeze this guy any. This also gives me hope that other Commander cards will eventually see print in a set.
Im sorry I havent gotten around to give you my thoughts on your cube. I havent taken the time to really break down all your cards but at a first glance it looks very solid. A few things I personally dislike but doesnt mean they dont work for your playgroup.
Now as for the swap of Ingot Chewer for Hearth Kami I think Smash to Smithereens would be a much better replacement.
I myself havent made any Theros changes yet but when I do Ill probably look over your list a little bit better and give you more insight as to what works and doesnt work for my group.
You may not be able to answer this but would you run the signets/talismans in an unpowered list over non colored rocks. This is what Im currently running for mana stones in my Modern list
Everflowing Chalice
Coldsteel Heart
Fellwar Stone
Guardian Idol
Mindstone
Prismatic Lens
Chromatic Lens
Coalition Relic
Guilded Lotus
So far this is working for us and we arent looking to make any changes but just curious if you would run a different setup. I used to run the U signets in the guild sections but dropped them for other guild cards.
Rantipole: Again list is not up to date here as all the WWK man lands have been in for some time. Celestial, Tar Pit, and Ravine will all be staying but Reaches and Wildwoods just hasnt performed as I expected and sometimes dont even make main deck so better fixing will be coming in.
As far as the M14 cards I do agree the last 2 are just not good enough for cube but the casual player in me just loves both of them. Guess I'll have to squeeze them into a Commander deck. The other 3 are doing ok so far. Nothing spectacular from any of them though. Reaver is a huge beating if he connects but since he has no evasion it has actually been kind of difficult to do. I think I like other options at 4cc. I also have high hopes for Pyromancer but Ive noticed most of the red decks in my cube have 3-5 actual spells and the rest are creatures and equipment. We haven't seen more than 2 elementals get created in a game so far. Is this enough? I think so as getting more guys to carry equipment is nice in an aggressive deck. I cant comment much on Grim Return other than my players really need to learn to RTFC! On more than one occasion a player has discarded something to reanimate it and neglected to read the "from the battlefield" part of the card. Reading is tech! Hopefully we will see it actually do something the correct way at some point.
Check out my list at Cubetutor as it up to date and in fact I just made a couple recent changes getting a few cards from my Modern Masters box into the cube.
Tom Servo's List : http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/831
Eric Chan's List : http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/76;jsessionid=8959CDA9B351781FA3E194D57B4DEF0B
All 3 of our lists are rather different from each other so comparing the 3 may give you a good idea where you want to go. I think having a list as a starting place is a great way to get going. The ground work has been done you just have to draft a few times and see what your group wants to change.
Reference: Micheal Turners Superman Godfall and Superman Logo
Yes. Double Strike Flying has sealed so many games for us. I have never seen this guy sit the sides if he makes the draft. Elspeth Tirel on the other hand hasn't made it into too many decks. We've discussed Tirel on numerous occasions and have come close to cutting her but we usually talk ourselves out of it due to her being a 'walker.
For us if a PW wast stolen, Confiscate wasnt worth it. Problem we are having is that even with the high density of PWs we have never seen one stolen in a game and Confiscate has been played a lot. Im going to be switching it for Bribery.
I think it depends on what the Cube needs. Stromkirk is amazing turn 1 and can get out of hand rather quick if hes not dealt with. Hes also not a great top deck like most 1 drops. Loyalist on the other hand is a card you really dont want to play turn 1 but later in the game when the Battalion is more likely to go off and possibly end the game with Trample damage. I run both in my modern 360.
Grim Return
Liliana's Reaver
Young Pyromancer
Primeval Bounty
These cards seem bonkers. Maybe its just the newness factor but I have extremely high expectations of these cards.
Rise of the Dark Realms
9 mana is a lot to expect but I see some potential fun. I want to give it a try but I dont expect anything spectacular.
Scavenging Ooze
Even with out dedicated reanimator theres still lots of ways the cube interacts with the graveyard so im excited to get a chance to squeeze this guy any. This also gives me hope that other Commander cards will eventually see print in a set.