Welcome to my slimline 360 (with a 15 card Conspiracy and draft card package) Cube list!
Here's a summary of my cube details:
Number of cards: 360 (375)
Average CMC: 2.6
Powered: Yes
Portal: No
Lowest Curve: Black (2.4)
Highest Curve: Blue (2.9)
Cube breakdown:
WWhite: White offers a balance of aggro and control. Many of these cards fit into midrange strategies, most often sharing with G. White represents the most balanced colour in terms of offering something to every possible theater, and being able to deal with any problem permanents. W/B is commonly seen in both aggro and control forms, owing to the lifegain of white being able to offset black's life expenditure. WB aggro and WR are the fastest draftable decks in the cube.
UBlue: I wanted a very traditional appearance to my blue section; the aggro focus in R, W and B is counterbalanced by a heavy control lean in blue. Nonetheless, many of the best blue spells are as good or even better in aggro frames, leading to common splashes for blue in aggro decks like UW or BRu. UG midrange is a popular combination, providing a ramp deck that doesn't run out of either fatties or land ramp. The artifact deck and ramp packages are natural buddies so U/G decks with high mana artifact creatures can be tough to beat.
BBlack: In smaller cubes like this, black seems tailor-made for aggro - as many 2 power one drops as the other colours combined, excellent disruption and discard, and insane card advantage from the likes of Dark Confidant and Bitterblossom. The latter cause you to lose life, which suits aggro just fine. BW or BG aggro are commonly drafted to cover black's glaring weakness to enchantments and artifice. Black's disruption, sweepers and removal suite also ensure it sees its fair share of play in control builds, and it has probably the most potent monocolour finisher available in Grave Titan. Splashes for black's reanimation and kill spells are also common for a variety of midrange archetypes, like WBG Rock. However, black's focus is primarily on aggro, giving it the lowest converted mana cost of any colour section.
RRed: Red is traditionally accepted as the best or second best aggro colour in the majority of cubes, and it has been historically the most aggressive colour in Magic. However, its one and two-drops are fairly limited in scope compared to those of the other aggro colours, with the exception of gems like Goblin Guide or Grim Lavamancer. For this reason, red sees the majority of play as a splash or shared colour for its best aggro creatures and burn, as well as bombs like Sulfuric Vortex. Some of the weaker aggro creatures, which are often included as part of a critical mass, begin to become outclassed at this level; instead, a range of more midrange and control support with higher card quality is available to ensure a lot of variety in red's game plan. It was also remarked by players that red decks often rely a lot on equipment in order to ensure that their creatures, which usually lack evasion or quality, can compete in the later game. With that in mind, many red cards were selected to work well with burn and equipment, and future card selection will favour first and double strikers in particular.
GGreen: Green has its own archetype in magic as the one able to ramp, play extra lands and get creatures out ahead of the curve. This can lead to a very insular nature for green in the cube, where its cards are not sought after by other archetypes, resulting in linear builds of primarily green decks splashing for other colours. Green aggro support is a popular solution to this problem, providing a subset of more versatile cards. Many of these cards are in tough competition at the smallest cube sizes, however, with only a few being able to compete with the W and B one drops. In designing this cube, we went somewhere in between the two philosophies; we kept the best and more splashable green aggro critters, and kept the mot played ramp support. In all, the most versatile and splashable green creatures were prioritized, as well as engine cards like Life from the Loam and Survival of the Fittest, that can perform roles in other decks. With this approach, ramp decks are still draftable whilst allowing green to mesh with aggro and midrange builds in other colours. The addition of resilient creatures to green's roster, which defy removal for no or little extra investment (such as Thrun and Vorapede), has strengthened the colour massively against removal and particuarly sweepers, which used to GG against green. Lastly, Green has extremely powerful Planeswalkers in Garruk (and recently in M15 Nissa) and give green a long-term game plan that it has never had before.
WUBRGGold: Given their inherent lack of flexibility, gold cards are a good opportunity to provide some fun and powerful archetype support to various decks. We don't necessarily want players to have to splash for the gold cards, but they should be strongly considered in most decks running their colours. In G/W, we're currently running one less card in each of those colours, and two additional hybrids in the pair. That has spared us from cutting some really fun and strong gold cards.
My cube can now be found at cubetutor and drafted there:
There are quite a few cards that I don't consider cube worthy, but once you are over 600 cards I think there are quite a few that aren't cube worthy IMO. You could still find some better replacements for a lot of 'em, but as long as you're having fun, that's all that matters.
If you're interested in a critique, let us know... if you're posting without the intent of taking the advise of fellow cubers, then that's cool too. Let us know what you want.
Absolutely, feel free to suggest some replacements
There are a fair few leftfield choices that I really like in there and wouldn't remove, but equally plenty that I would happily take out.
So critique away
EDIT: Liege of the Pit --> Silent Specter. I love the Liege, as my girlfriend regulates destroys me with him in a B?W tokens deck. Alas, he is not cut out for Cube.
Those cards are pretty sub par. Not a big issue on its own, but when you are missing important 1-drop white creatures like Savannah Lions and Weathered Wayfarer, it is.
Stonehewer Giant and Reya, Dawnbringer also seem pretty weak when there are so few early-drop creatures that are missing for this color.
Spells
Scout's Warning and Ehtereal Haze seem really narrow. Fog type effects are pretty weak when they don't have other abilities too. The Haze is straight-up worse than an Orim's Chant in 95% of cases.
All 4 of your 2-cost spells could be something better, IMO. Disenchant, Seal of Cleansing, Pacifism, Balance... all great cards, and not in your cube. Especially Balance... that card is super-broken!
Those cards are pretty sub par. Not a big issue on its own, but when you are missing important 1-drop white creatures like Savannah Lions and Weathered Wayfarer, it is.
I haven't had time to try out Aven Squire yet. Is it not decent? I have avoided the shadow two-drops till now, but maybe I could introduce them. I don't have a Knight of Meadowgrain, but he looks awesome. There are several uncommons from Lorwyn that I never opened
Stonehewer Giant and Reya, Dawnbringer also seem pretty weak when there are so few early-drop creatures that are missing for this color.
Reya is terrible and is on the chopping block as I said, but Stonehewer is strong and fun. It gives excellent CA. I could add a Celestial Crusader, why not. Good call.
Scout's Warning and Ethereal Haze seem really narrow. Fog type effects are pretty weak when they don't have other abilities too. The Haze is straight-up worse than an Orim's Chant in 95% of cases.
I don't have an Orim's Chant, but I can add it to my need list when I set up a trade list. Scout's Warning is worth trying I think, for one mana, being able to flash a creature in and recoup a card is a good effect. I would recommend it
All 4 of your 2-cost spells could be something better, IMO. Disenchant, Seal of Cleansing, Pacifism, Balance... all great cards, and not in your cube. Especially Balance... that card is super-broken!
Haha, I will add Balance as I have one. Raise the Alarm is super good and needs to stay. Celestial Purge is the enemy colour hoser for White (I have given one to each colour). I put Ray of Revelation in as the mirror to Ancient Grudge, but I could swap it for Disenchant *shrugs*
Scourglass is poor. It doesn't destroy stuff until your next upkeep. Rout is missing, and it's better.
I was unsure about Solitary Confinement in Cube. I desperately wanted to play it as i have about 6 copies sitting in my binder gathering dust. It looks too risky on paper. With your recommendation though, it goes straight in. As for the 3-drops, I feel Recumbent Bliss is probably my weakest. I don't like the look of Sacred Mesa but I'm happy to try it out...
Scourglass is in testing but I will swap it out, maybefor Catastrophe rather than Rout I think as it's the one I have a copy of!
I didn't even notice the lack of Catastrophe. That's my favorite white card in my cube. Either choosing the 'geddon or the wrath... just seems more devastating on turn 6 for some reason.
You don't have to add the Sacred Mesa, but its played well for us.
Edit: And don't worry about the confinement, it's super solid.
Ray of Revelation --> Balance - Recommended by wtwlf123. I rate ray but Balance looks tasty, I'll give it a shot.
Reya Dawnbringer --> Archon of Justice Archon is a Cube classic that I only just got hold of. Reya is loved but she will have to content herself with a place in my Reanimator deck.
Mistmeadow Skulk --> Gelid Shackles - Mistmeadow Skulk was OK for us, but not very popular. Gelid Shackles is a snow matters card for white that compares favorably to Arrest, which will also go back in at a later date.
Iwamori of the Open Fist --> Life from the Loam - Iwamori has got too risky with lots of high-power legends in the Cube. Life from the Loam will key in with the Fetches that I plan on adding, and with Crucible of Worlds/Knight of the Reliquary and their ilk.
Karstoderm --> Kodama's Reach - Karstoderm is a good 4-drop but is ****-ugly artwise, and Kodama's Reach is a Cube classic.
Predator Dragon --> Hateflayer Predator Dragon is immense, but the triple Red has already been problematic. I couldn't resist Hateflayer for a trial as he should be insane if he survives even one turn.
Hapless Researcher is really good, honestly. I like him 'cause he gives Blue something against first turn Tattermunge Maniac or Jackal Pups and I have shipped good cards to the graveyard before with him. I guess I could do without the other two.
Thalakos Seer - Hard to cast as a double coster. This card is bad for aggro and bad for control. I could only imagine that this is good with ninjas, but how often does that happen? Sage of Fables - You were able to draft "wizard" deck in lorwyn drafts, but is it viable strategy in your cube? Esperzoa - Not enough artifacts to make it work.
You are probably right about Esperzoa and Sage. Esperzoa though has only just gone in, so I need to test it at least once before it goes. Sage is somewhat of a pet card for me as there are some funky interactions, especially with Glen Elendra Archmage - this has been pulled off before
Thalakos Seer can go though yeah.
Gigadrowse - Of course killer in dragonstorm, but I wouldn't include it in the cube. Quicken - A bit narrow, always needs another card to work and it still might be just "ok". (Ok, it cycles for U, but still) Mark of Eviction - Too slow in my opinion. Genju of the Falls - Manlands are way better than this.[/CARD]
Genju can go but it will hurt me to cut it... my foily one is purdy
Mark has only just gone in but I really want to see how it plays
Gigadrowse can be dropped, for sure, but I like Quicken and have played some busted things with it before (Wrath of God and Tinker come to mind)
Merchant Scroll - I had it in and then I cut it when I realize I always had only 2-3 targets for it in any given deck. Some were counterspells, which I didn't want to show to my opponent. "I'm fetching counterspell, play around it."
Mana Short - Too narrow imo. If you want to disable opponent, use Orim's Chant? Threads of Disloyalty - I had it in and then I cut it because I found all other control magic style cards way better. And blue had those steal cards enough without this.
Threads is good man, it is one of the better answers to aggro for my money. I agree about Mana Short. I could do with an Orim's Chant, really! Merchant Scoll can go if I find a nice replacement.
Gush - Not so good card when people want to play three colors and have a lot of nonbasics. Fathom Trawl - You could just swap this with Tidings? I don't like to show my opponent my tricks, like Force of Will or Misdirection. Traumatic Visions - Nice that blue has color fixing, but I'd rather draft signets, nonbasics and cheaper hard counters. Followed Footsteps - Of course this can be absolutely devastating, but the possibility is very very low. I bet this is your pet card? (I have Doubling Season)
Good point for Gush, out it comes.
Fathom Trawl --> Tidings? Probably. Speaking of Misdirection, I DO need that for sure! Never got a copy during Masques block and it is randomly hard to track down. Footsteps is pretty subpar as you say, however that possibility is so delicious that I just can't take it out. It's all about having fun after all!
My best experience so far with it was when I played it on Mycoloth
Traumatic Visions is REALLY good. You can protect your back with other counters and fetch a land at end of turn. If your mana sorts itself out, then sure it is slightly overcosted, but in many situations (particularly late game) it doesn't matter if the counter costs 2 or 7 CMC. I frequently hard-cast FoW, even! I do recommend you try this card!
Beacon of Tomorrows - And people wouldn't want to add Time Warp (3UU, take an extra turn) in their cube because it's too expensive. Just abuse Time Walk, Regrowth and Eternal Witness like someone did in "it could only happen in cube draft" thread.
Yeah, Beacon hasn't lived up to its potential. I would consider playing Time Warp or even Savor the Moment, but I don't like power currently. (Between you and me though, I am going to try and make a foil Black Lotus proxy though, if I can find a nice bit of artwork ;))
I like: Mark of Eviction - Used on opponents creatures it's just really annoying, usually trading 1 for 4-5 mana pr. turn. Traumatic Vision - Just really good. Most blue decks wan't to run this. Followed Footsteps - There's endless funny interactions with this card. Usually it should be played on the opponents creatures though. That ensures you don't 2 for 1, and further more often forces your opp to 2 for 1 himself.
I agree with those cuts except for hapless Researcher and Gush. Both are great cards. We use both of 'em in both of the cube we manage down here, and they've been excellent.
I like the changes so far, but it's been hard to compare the 2 cards to one another... You're telling us: "I'm replacing this apple with this orange." Good changes, but hard to compare the function of the old card with the new one.
It's not like you've been replacing cards with like card upgrades (like replacing a Devoted Caretaker with a Weathered Wayfarer or something). You're replacing Sage of Epityr with Fabricate... it's hard to tell exactly what's going on there, you know?
Yep, I know. Normally I would replace a card with another similar one, and explain the change. But I'm still in the process of filtering out pointless stuff, and the changes aren't mostly tweaks or swapping one card with a strictly better one, if you get my drift!
When I make a more refined change I'll make the argument for it don't worry! I'll go back and retroactively try to explain my other changes though!
Street Wraith has been underwhelming, non-descript and does not serve any particular purpose. Grave Pact only goes in this late becuase I didn't own one before. I haven't played with the card and it looks like it should be a bomb and fun to play. Even the turn it hits play, stuff should happen.
I had taken Slith out because he kept getting chumped. He deserves another go. Raging Goblin is cute and iconic but not effective after turn one or two.
If anyone has the time to critique my other colours, I would appreciate that too!
Festering Goblin - Don't be afraid to have only few 1-drops for black. Red, green and white has all the good stuff. Shadow Guildmage - Was in, didn't perform well. Dreadwing - Replace with Sarcomancy? Putrid Imp - Black has better discard outlets. Prickly Boggart - Quite crap =/ Rimebound Dead - Replace with Will-o'-the-Wisp, if you really want 1cc regenerator. How often you are hitting with 1/1 for offence anyway? And Willow is not a defender, so it can carry equipments. Only Jitte is poor with him since he's not making any damage himself.
Seems you don't like my one-drops
I can happily ditch Shadow Guildmage and the Rimebound Dead. I am trying to include a snow matters card in each colour though. Zombie Musher perhaps, or Withering Wisps? I prefer to add Pyrohemia, for me that effect is Red all day long.
I still can't get hold of a Sacromancy. I would definately include that card.
I haven't had the chance to play with Dreadwing yet, but it looks solid. Even in 'mono'-black, scratching 1UR together is not that hard in my cube, and I think this card may come good. Humour me with this one!
I am surprised at Putrid Imp though - I was under the impression that it was a key Renimator card? There aren't that many other discard outlets I can see here.
Rotting Rats - Seems like you like rats, lets talk about it later. I don't like this. Ravenous Rats - Standard creature, but has no impact. Drekavac - Dauthi Horror has been good aggro creature for us.
Offalsnout - Plague Spitter. Forget the graveyard hate for a while and kill all saprolings/soldiers/squirrels instead ;-) Royal Assassin - Crypt Rats. Royal Assassin is slow and fragile and hard to cast. Kill all with Crypt Rats. Ogre Marauder - Dauthi Marauder? I don't have Dauthi Marauder in, but I still think it's (as a 2B) better than 1BBOgre Marauder. You could consider both as a 3/1 unblockable.
Again, Rotting Rats is discard outlet and also screw with your opponent. You can make symmetrical effects work for you. I have found this card to be great against aggro. I disagree on the Ravenous Rats too, he is regularly played here and is quite solid. Plague Spitter and Dauthi Marauder seem like worthy swaps, if I can find them!
I somewhat heart Royal Assassin, it has been good for me, but Crypt Rats is tasty for sure. I will make space for this dude.
Graveborn Muse is actually a really good inclusion. I play it as a three-of in my Zombie deck and it is an all-star. You don't always want 8 cards a turn with this guy so seems a nice Phyrexian Arena stapled to a Hill Giant at the very least. Sweet.
Soul Collector is in because the artwork is just too awesome. Not because it is any kind of broken I heard Okiba Gang Shinobi was less than impressive, which kind of deterred me from putting it in. It's good to know that it is decent, it can go in. Throat Slitter will stay for now though, non-one ever expects it. I would rather cut Horobi than Ashling for the reasons you said.
Ratcatcher - Just cut the bad rats and this with them
:'(
Strangling Soot - Smother. Rend Flesh - Snuff Out. Zero mana spells are good they say. Sudden Spoiling - Split second is nice and all, but I'd run wrath instead (like Kagemaro) Incremental Blight - Expensive. Works sometimes wonderfully, but sometimes there aren't even enough targets or you have to put some counters on your creatures. Or then there are just two creatures and you can't even cast it. Or creatures have shroud or protection from black. This was a different story in Lorwyn limited, where all players played creature decks and creatures were more vulnerable. Cube decks might have only few finishers.
WTF, why was I not running Smother, what is wrong with me!
I had forgotten about Snuff Out - this is because I had long-term therapy and counselling to erase all memories of Masques Block from my brain a few years back *shudders*.
I could probably drop Incremental Blight directly for Kagemaro.
Æther Snap - Seems like a sideboard card and I don't like them much. (How do you properly autocard "Æther" cards?) Absorb Vis - Nah. Beseech the Queen - I don't like to show them what I tutor. Demonic Tutor and Vampiric Tutor are awesome and should be in every cube. Heck, even Diabolic Tutor is better than Beseech imo (don't have to show, Beseech costs usually 2BB too, you can fetch Hellkite Overlord with Diabolical Tutor).
Aether Snap is all about Dark Depths Yeah, I'm a massive timmy at heart. But seriously, this card should probably go. We'll see...
I have a Vampiric tutor coming to replace Beseech the Queen already. Demonic Tutor is on my need list!
Absorb Vis has a place here as I wanted to include at least one Soul Feast effect in Black. Absorb Vis replaced that card in fact.
Mana Short --> Balduvian Frostwaker. I think this guy is vulnerable but throws up interesting possibilites for the control player. His animated lands on your side stick around and evade. Alternatively, animate opponents' lands and blow them up.
Genju of the Falls --> Heidar, Rimewind Master. while I'm on my foray into snow, I couldn't resist trying this guy out. Repeatable bounce if you have four or more basic lands, and a reasonable body in blue.
Rhox Charger --> Tromp the Domains. Rhox is the weakest of my four-drops, and Tromp looks a better Overrun for one mana more. I like that it is more splashable too.
Ignite Disorder --> Skred I need an anti-U/W hoser for Red, but ignite is unspectacular. Skred is auto-include in snow-cubes. Any ideas for anti-Blue/White hoser? Cryoclasm?
There are quite a few cards that I wouln't play in here. Raging Kavu, Exploding Boarders, Ach! Hans, Run!, and Rosheen Meanderer are probably the worse ones in here at the moment though. Radha is pretty poor too. She usually just damages you with her ability.
You don't have Hull Breach. This card is a house, and is one of the most versatile RG utility cards out there. You also don't have Shivan Wurm... this creature is amazing. He has gating (which combos with a lot of R and G creatures) and he's a 7/7 Trample for 5. Artifact Mutation is another card to consider. It's really good, and you almost always have an artifact target (making it slightly better than Aura Mutation, which I also use). No Fires of Yavimaya? That card is really, really good. I'd add that over everyRG card currently in your selection. No Stormbind? This card's a freakin' house. It's consistant damage for aggro against control. This is the card that beats control late game and gives RG aggro a chance. I also think that stormbind is better than most of your RG selection. Savage Twister is really good too. It's a GR control card... those are pretty few and far between.
When I was saying that I could think of better cards I wasn't exaggerating. Hope this helps.
Most of the ones you suggested I've had in at some point. Hull Breach is nice though, I have one from back in Planeshift days so I'll add that in.
You do realise that Radha's ability isn't obligatory, right? It's rare that it comes in useful, but you don't have to have the mana if you ain't going to use it.
I like Stormbind, a classic card, and play it in Gruul, but it wasn't good in the cube and I took it out. 5 mana and two cards for the first Shock didn't do anything to excite me. Random discard hurts too. I figured it compared pretty unfavourably to Seismic Assault. If control lets this resolve and stay in play for 10 turns they deserve to lose anyway.
Exploding Borders is really good, and you should try it. Even Rampant Growth plus Shock/Lightning Bolt to the face is OK for ramp decks, and it often hits for four or five late game, making it non-redundant acceleration. OK, Raging Kavu is bad. I am just trying it out at the moment and it hasn't come up yet. Shivan Wurm is already coming in a trade and will replace that guy. You're right, Shivan Wurm is the best
Savage Twister again was in til recently, when I took it out for Firespout, which is similar. Green has its hurricane effects and Red has Earthquake effects already. I can see the argument for it though, being psuedo-global removal, so I will consider it back in.
Again Fires of Yavimaya was in 'til recently, but I hear that Sarkhan Vol basically obsoletes this, so I am waiting to put him in. Nothing against FoY.
Artifact Mutation is epic. I need that for sure.
By the way, "Ach! Hans, Run!" is absolutely nuts, despite the mana cost being clunky. It is a like a Sneak Attack/Killer Instinct on steroids and a very short clock if not dealt with. If you can remember what creatures are in your deck, it's super good. A lot of Cubers consider themselves above Unglued cards, but there are some real gems.
Yes, Yes, and Yes on the last 3 cards. They're all good.
Stormbind is amazing. It's consistent damage against control, and the damage (doom) is inevitable. It's anything but underwhelming. In fact, it's game-breaking.
Fires of Yavimaya is not made obsolete by the Planeswalker. The opponent can't attack your Fires to death. If I could only use one, It'd be the 'walker, but If you have room... I'd still use both. You have what, 12 or 13 RG cards in here? I'd say you have room for both still.
By the time you're playing the Exploding Boarders, both of the effects are sub par.
And yes, Artifact Mutation can be epic, which is why I like it.
I used to not think Stormbind was that great, but I think that it's better thought of as a finisher (get your opponent down to 6 with creatures/burn, stormbind to the dome for the last 6 points) as opposed to a source of shocks against creatures, although it certainly can be. Think of it as an Arc-Slogger in a way.
Stalking Yeti - if you have room, I think it's good. Not as good as FtK but I think it's still good. I had Price of Progress in mine, I took it out because I think other cards hose non-basics better (the Dwarven miner and blastminer duo.) Sharpshooter reminds me in a way of Hissing Iguanar in mine in terms of punishing Wrath effects, but can also kill 1/1s easily.
Vol is probably the worst planeswalker in my cube (no Tezzeret) - but he's still a beating. He suffers in that he can't protect himself like Garruk or Elspeth, but I definitely like him. I don't know if I'd say he obeseletes Fires (I love fires too.)
Exploding Borders seems like a not-as-good Blightning in that for Blightning, 3 mana to make your opponent discard 2 cards may not be the most amazing thing over, but it's enough to tide the initial effect over. Rampant Growth effects typically cost 2 and for the cost being 4 with borders, the damage doesn't make up for the additional casting cost.
I'm not a huge fan of Assault/Battery (both sides seem subpar), Vexing Shusher since it's just a Grizzly Bears against non-blue decks and Radha (it does give free mana for burn, which is nice, but I think the proposed additions like Shivan Wurm/Stormbind/Fires/Vol are better overall.)
Ok, you won me over. Stormbind goes back in(OK, and Fires of yavimaya). I have a crush on the card anyway
Just glancing at your coloured - obviously different as you don't have access to later stuff. I like the inclusion of Army Ants and Goblin Trenches in your cube. I've been on the fence about these for a while. I'll add them when I get my Crucible of Worlds. Pernicious Deed is another one I need to get hold of, but I've known that since Apoc came out
Yeah and it's one of my favourite cards ever. I should add him really!
Quote from Usman »
I used to not think Stormbind was that great, but I think that it's better thought of as a finisher (get your opponent down to 6 with creatures/burn, stormbind to the dome for the last 6 points) as opposed to a source of shocks against creatures, although it certainly can be. Think of it as an Arc-Slogger in a way.
Stalking Yeti - if you have room, I think it's good. Not as good as FtK but I think it's still good. I had Price of Progress in mine, I took it out because I think other cards hose non-basics better (the Dwarven miner and blastminer duo.) Sharpshooter reminds me in a way of Hissing Iguanar in mine in terms of punishing Wrath effects, but can also kill 1/1s easily.
Vol is probably the worst planeswalker in my cube (no Tezzeret) - but he's still a beating. He suffers in that he can't protect himself like Garruk or Elspeth, but I definitely like him. I don't know if I'd say he obeseletes Fires (I love fires too.)
Exploding Borders seems like a not-as-good Blightning in that for Blightning, 3 mana to make your opponent discard 2 cards may not be the most amazing thing over, but it's enough to tide the initial effect over. Rampant Growth effects typically cost 2 and for the cost being 4 with borders, the damage doesn't make up for the additional casting cost.
I'm not a huge fan of Assault/Battery (both sides seem subpar), Vexing Shusher since it's just a Grizzly Bears against non-blue decks and Radha (it does give free mana for burn, which is nice, but I think the proposed additions like Shivan Wurm/Stormbind/Fires/Vol are better overall.)
Cheers Usman, you are probably right about the Assault Battery. The flexibility is nice but Stormbind could maybe take its place.
Thanks for the feedback guys, if anyone wants to cast an eye over my Red section at some point then that would be appreciated!
He's really solid. It's a 2/1 Flying for 1UR that has a 2nd built-in evasion ability. Not the greatest card ever, but kind of a 'Nerfed' Rainbow Efreet. It has played surprisingly soiid though. In RU aggro-control, this creature is really worth the mana. Let's say that you don't win the flip... it dies. <shrug> It was gonna die anyways. Lets say you DO win the flip with him... he's a beast! Can't get rid of him! It makes the opponent less likely to target the Efreet with removal, and unlike Shroud, I can still target him with my spells and abilities, and he has an outside chance of surviving a Wrath of God or my own Starstorm... something a shroud creature cannot possibly do. The other cool thing that he does is sacrifice himself... if the opponent targets him with somehting like Repulse or Recoil, I can sacrifice him (by losing the flip) or phase him out (by winning the flip) and the opponent's spell will fizzle, preventing me from suffereing from the secondary efects of those types of removal spells. Meaning he can't ever be removed from the game from an Exile (and they can't gain life) or put on top of my deck by Temporal Spring (unless I choose not to flip). Plus, if he's targeted by like a Swords or a PtE, I can still opt to let him be killed for the life or the land.
If I had access to the full range of current MTG cards, he'd be cut for Gelectrode. However, I can't use the Gelectrode, so the Frenetic Efreet will have to do... and he does well.
Here's a summary of my cube details:
Number of cards: 360 (375)
Average CMC: 2.6
Powered: Yes
Portal: No
Lowest Curve: Black (2.4)
Highest Curve: Blue (2.9)
W White: White offers a balance of aggro and control. Many of these cards fit into midrange strategies, most often sharing with G. White represents the most balanced colour in terms of offering something to every possible theater, and being able to deal with any problem permanents. W/B is commonly seen in both aggro and control forms, owing to the lifegain of white being able to offset black's life expenditure. WB aggro and WR are the fastest draftable decks in the cube.
U Blue: I wanted a very traditional appearance to my blue section; the aggro focus in R, W and B is counterbalanced by a heavy control lean in blue. Nonetheless, many of the best blue spells are as good or even better in aggro frames, leading to common splashes for blue in aggro decks like UW or BRu. UG midrange is a popular combination, providing a ramp deck that doesn't run out of either fatties or land ramp. The artifact deck and ramp packages are natural buddies so U/G decks with high mana artifact creatures can be tough to beat.
B Black: In smaller cubes like this, black seems tailor-made for aggro - as many 2 power one drops as the other colours combined, excellent disruption and discard, and insane card advantage from the likes of Dark Confidant and Bitterblossom. The latter cause you to lose life, which suits aggro just fine. BW or BG aggro are commonly drafted to cover black's glaring weakness to enchantments and artifice. Black's disruption, sweepers and removal suite also ensure it sees its fair share of play in control builds, and it has probably the most potent monocolour finisher available in Grave Titan. Splashes for black's reanimation and kill spells are also common for a variety of midrange archetypes, like WBG Rock. However, black's focus is primarily on aggro, giving it the lowest converted mana cost of any colour section.
R Red: Red is traditionally accepted as the best or second best aggro colour in the majority of cubes, and it has been historically the most aggressive colour in Magic. However, its one and two-drops are fairly limited in scope compared to those of the other aggro colours, with the exception of gems like Goblin Guide or Grim Lavamancer. For this reason, red sees the majority of play as a splash or shared colour for its best aggro creatures and burn, as well as bombs like Sulfuric Vortex. Some of the weaker aggro creatures, which are often included as part of a critical mass, begin to become outclassed at this level; instead, a range of more midrange and control support with higher card quality is available to ensure a lot of variety in red's game plan. It was also remarked by players that red decks often rely a lot on equipment in order to ensure that their creatures, which usually lack evasion or quality, can compete in the later game. With that in mind, many red cards were selected to work well with burn and equipment, and future card selection will favour first and double strikers in particular.
G Green: Green has its own archetype in magic as the one able to ramp, play extra lands and get creatures out ahead of the curve. This can lead to a very insular nature for green in the cube, where its cards are not sought after by other archetypes, resulting in linear builds of primarily green decks splashing for other colours. Green aggro support is a popular solution to this problem, providing a subset of more versatile cards. Many of these cards are in tough competition at the smallest cube sizes, however, with only a few being able to compete with the W and B one drops. In designing this cube, we went somewhere in between the two philosophies; we kept the best and more splashable green aggro critters, and kept the mot played ramp support. In all, the most versatile and splashable green creatures were prioritized, as well as engine cards like Life from the Loam and Survival of the Fittest, that can perform roles in other decks. With this approach, ramp decks are still draftable whilst allowing green to mesh with aggro and midrange builds in other colours. The addition of resilient creatures to green's roster, which defy removal for no or little extra investment (such as Thrun and Vorapede), has strengthened the colour massively against removal and particuarly sweepers, which used to GG against green. Lastly, Green has extremely powerful Planeswalkers in Garruk (and recently in M15 Nissa) and give green a long-term game plan that it has never had before.
WUBRG Gold: Given their inherent lack of flexibility, gold cards are a good opportunity to provide some fun and powerful archetype support to various decks. We don't necessarily want players to have to splash for the gold cards, but they should be strongly considered in most decks running their colours. In G/W, we're currently running one less card in each of those colours, and two additional hybrids in the pair. That has spared us from cutting some really fun and strong gold cards.
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Happy cubing!
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
There are quite a few cards that I don't consider cube worthy, but once you are over 600 cards I think there are quite a few that aren't cube worthy IMO. You could still find some better replacements for a lot of 'em, but as long as you're having fun, that's all that matters.
If you're interested in a critique, let us know... if you're posting without the intent of taking the advise of fellow cubers, then that's cool too. Let us know what you want.
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There are a fair few leftfield choices that I really like in there and wouldn't remove, but equally plenty that I would happily take out.
So critique away
EDIT: Liege of the Pit --> Silent Specter. I love the Liege, as my girlfriend regulates destroys me with him in a B?W tokens deck. Alas, he is not cut out for Cube.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
Please feel free to suggest changes or additions!
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
Creatures
Those cards are pretty sub par. Not a big issue on its own, but when you are missing important 1-drop white creatures like Savannah Lions and Weathered Wayfarer, it is.
Same thing here. These cards are pretty weak when you're missing some better 2-drop white creatures. White Knight, Soltari Monk, Soltari Priest, Knight of Meadowgrain... even Soltari Trooper... better than these creatures.
Wall of Nets is pretty weak when cards like Paladin en-Vec, Soltari Champion, Soltari Visionary, Mystic Crusader and Pianna, Nomad Captain are missing.
Kinsbaile Cavalier and Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile are also pretty soft when cards like Celestial Crusader aren't in.
Stonehewer Giant and Reya, Dawnbringer also seem pretty weak when there are so few early-drop creatures that are missing for this color.
Spells
Scout's Warning and Ehtereal Haze seem really narrow. Fog type effects are pretty weak when they don't have other abilities too. The Haze is straight-up worse than an Orim's Chant in 95% of cases.
Abeyance
Ray of Revelation
Raise the Alarm
Celestial Purge
All 4 of your 2-cost spells could be something better, IMO. Disenchant, Seal of Cleansing, Pacifism, Balance... all great cards, and not in your cube. Especially Balance... that card is super-broken!
Renewed Faith
Promise of Bunrei
Unquetioned Authority
These could be better 3-drops IMO. Arrest, Solitary Confinement and Sacred Mesa are all missing, just to name a few off the top of my head. As is Exile.
Scourglass is poor. It doesn't destroy stuff until your next upkeep. Rout is missing, and it's better.
Your 5+ drop white spells look great... wouldn't change any of 'em.
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I haven't had time to try out Aven Squire yet. Is it not decent? I have avoided the shadow two-drops till now, but maybe I could introduce them. I don't have a Knight of Meadowgrain, but he looks awesome. There are several uncommons from Lorwyn that I never opened
I like Wall of Nets, but these others need to go in, except Pianna.
Reya is terrible and is on the chopping block as I said, but Stonehewer is strong and fun. It gives excellent CA. I could add a Celestial Crusader, why not. Good call.
I don't have an Orim's Chant, but I can add it to my need list when I set up a trade list. Scout's Warning is worth trying I think, for one mana, being able to flash a creature in and recoup a card is a good effect. I would recommend it
Haha, I will add Balance as I have one. Raise the Alarm is super good and needs to stay. Celestial Purge is the enemy colour hoser for White (I have given one to each colour). I put Ray of Revelation in as the mirror to Ancient Grudge, but I could swap it for Disenchant *shrugs*
I was unsure about Solitary Confinement in Cube. I desperately wanted to play it as i have about 6 copies sitting in my binder gathering dust. It looks too risky on paper. With your recommendation though, it goes straight in. As for the 3-drops, I feel Recumbent Bliss is probably my weakest. I don't like the look of Sacred Mesa but I'm happy to try it out...
Scourglass is in testing but I will swap it out, maybefor Catastrophe rather than Rout I think as it's the one I have a copy of!
Thanks for the recommendations!
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
You don't have to add the Sacred Mesa, but its played well for us.
Edit: And don't worry about the confinement, it's super solid.
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Ray of Revelation --> Balance - Recommended by wtwlf123. I rate ray but Balance looks tasty, I'll give it a shot.
Reya Dawnbringer --> Archon of Justice Archon is a Cube classic that I only just got hold of. Reya is loved but she will have to content herself with a place in my Reanimator deck.
Scourglass --> Solitary Confinement - Better wrath effects out there, and Confinement is recommended.
Mistmeadow Skulk --> Gelid Shackles - Mistmeadow Skulk was OK for us, but not very popular. Gelid Shackles is a snow matters card for white that compares favorably to Arrest, which will also go back in at a later date.
Iwamori of the Open Fist --> Life from the Loam - Iwamori has got too risky with lots of high-power legends in the Cube. Life from the Loam will key in with the Fetches that I plan on adding, and with Crucible of Worlds/Knight of the Reliquary and their ilk.
Karstoderm --> Kodama's Reach - Karstoderm is a good 4-drop but is ****-ugly artwise, and Kodama's Reach is a Cube classic.
Predator Dragon --> Hateflayer Predator Dragon is immense, but the triple Red has already been problematic. I couldn't resist Hateflayer for a trial as he should be insane if he survives even one turn.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
Hapless Researcher is really good, honestly. I like him 'cause he gives Blue something against first turn Tattermunge Maniac or Jackal Pups and I have shipped good cards to the graveyard before with him. I guess I could do without the other two.
You are probably right about Esperzoa and Sage. Esperzoa though has only just gone in, so I need to test it at least once before it goes. Sage is somewhat of a pet card for me as there are some funky interactions, especially with Glen Elendra Archmage - this has been pulled off before
Thalakos Seer can go though yeah.
Gigadrowse - Of course killer in dragonstorm, but I wouldn't include it in the cube.
Quicken - A bit narrow, always needs another card to work and it still might be just "ok". (Ok, it cycles for U, but still)
Mark of Eviction - Too slow in my opinion.
Genju of the Falls - Manlands are way better than this.[/CARD]
Genju can go but it will hurt me to cut it... my foily one is purdy
Mark has only just gone in but I really want to see how it plays
Gigadrowse can be dropped, for sure, but I like Quicken and have played some busted things with it before (Wrath of God and Tinker come to mind)
Threads is good man, it is one of the better answers to aggro for my money. I agree about Mana Short. I could do with an Orim's Chant, really! Merchant Scoll can go if I find a nice replacement.
Good point for Gush, out it comes.
Fathom Trawl --> Tidings? Probably. Speaking of Misdirection, I DO need that for sure! Never got a copy during Masques block and it is randomly hard to track down. Footsteps is pretty subpar as you say, however that possibility is so delicious that I just can't take it out. It's all about having fun after all!
My best experience so far with it was when I played it on Mycoloth
Traumatic Visions is REALLY good. You can protect your back with other counters and fetch a land at end of turn. If your mana sorts itself out, then sure it is slightly overcosted, but in many situations (particularly late game) it doesn't matter if the counter costs 2 or 7 CMC. I frequently hard-cast FoW, even! I do recommend you try this card!
Yeah, Beacon hasn't lived up to its potential. I would consider playing Time Warp or even Savor the Moment, but I don't like power currently. (Between you and me though, I am going to try and make a foil Black Lotus proxy though, if I can find a nice bit of artwork ;))
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
Mark of Eviction - Used on opponents creatures it's just really annoying, usually trading 1 for 4-5 mana pr. turn.
Traumatic Vision - Just really good. Most blue decks wan't to run this.
Followed Footsteps - There's endless funny interactions with this card. Usually it should be played on the opponents creatures though. That ensures you don't 2 for 1, and further more often forces your opp to 2 for 1 himself.
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Thalakos Seer ---> Tezzeret the Seeker
Sage of Epityr ---> Fabricate
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
It's not like you've been replacing cards with like card upgrades (like replacing a Devoted Caretaker with a Weathered Wayfarer or something). You're replacing Sage of Epityr with Fabricate... it's hard to tell exactly what's going on there, you know?
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When I make a more refined change I'll make the argument for it don't worry! I'll go back and retroactively try to explain my other changes though!
Speaking of which:
Street Wraith --> Grave Pact
Street Wraith has been underwhelming, non-descript and does not serve any particular purpose. Grave Pact only goes in this late becuase I didn't own one before. I haven't played with the card and it looks like it should be a bomb and fun to play. Even the turn it hits play, stuff should happen.
Raging Goblin --> Slith Firewalker
I had taken Slith out because he kept getting chumped. He deserves another go. Raging Goblin is cute and iconic but not effective after turn one or two.
If anyone has the time to critique my other colours, I would appreciate that too!
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
Seems you don't like my one-drops
I can happily ditch Shadow Guildmage and the Rimebound Dead. I am trying to include a snow matters card in each colour though. Zombie Musher perhaps, or Withering Wisps? I prefer to add Pyrohemia, for me that effect is Red all day long.
I still can't get hold of a Sacromancy. I would definately include that card.
I haven't had the chance to play with Dreadwing yet, but it looks solid. Even in 'mono'-black, scratching 1UR together is not that hard in my cube, and I think this card may come good. Humour me with this one!
I am surprised at Putrid Imp though - I was under the impression that it was a key Renimator card? There aren't that many other discard outlets I can see here.
Again, Rotting Rats is discard outlet and also screw with your opponent. You can make symmetrical effects work for you. I have found this card to be great against aggro. I disagree on the Ravenous Rats too, he is regularly played here and is quite solid. Plague Spitter and Dauthi Marauder seem like worthy swaps, if I can find them!
I somewhat heart Royal Assassin, it has been good for me, but Crypt Rats is tasty for sure. I will make space for this dude.
Braids is on my need list since forever
Graveborn Muse is actually a really good inclusion. I play it as a three-of in my Zombie deck and it is an all-star. You don't always want 8 cards a turn with this guy so seems a nice Phyrexian Arena stapled to a Hill Giant at the very least. Sweet.
Soul Collector is in because the artwork is just too awesome. Not because it is any kind of broken I heard Okiba Gang Shinobi was less than impressive, which kind of deterred me from putting it in. It's good to know that it is decent, it can go in. Throat Slitter will stay for now though, non-one ever expects it. I would rather cut Horobi than Ashling for the reasons you said.
:'(
WTF, why was I not running Smother, what is wrong with me!
I had forgotten about Snuff Out - this is because I had long-term therapy and counselling to erase all memories of Masques Block from my brain a few years back *shudders*.
I could probably drop Incremental Blight directly for Kagemaro.
Aether Snap is all about Dark Depths Yeah, I'm a massive timmy at heart. But seriously, this card should probably go. We'll see...
I have a Vampiric tutor coming to replace Beseech the Queen already. Demonic Tutor is on my need list!
Absorb Vis has a place here as I wanted to include at least one Soul Feast effect in Black. Absorb Vis replaced that card in fact.
Thanks again for the breakdown! Very useful!
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Mana Short --> Balduvian Frostwaker. I think this guy is vulnerable but throws up interesting possibilites for the control player. His animated lands on your side stick around and evade. Alternatively, animate opponents' lands and blow them up.
Genju of the Falls --> Heidar, Rimewind Master. while I'm on my foray into snow, I couldn't resist trying this guy out. Repeatable bounce if you have four or more basic lands, and a reasonable body in blue.
Rhox Charger --> Tromp the Domains. Rhox is the weakest of my four-drops, and Tromp looks a better Overrun for one mana more. I like that it is more splashable too.
Scapeshift --> Regrowth. Scapeshift is great, but something had to go.
Drumhunter --> Wall of Blossoms. Wall was missing from the cube, and Drumhunter was what I didn't like at the time. It may go back in.
Allosaurus Rider --> Caller of the Claw
Ignite Disorder --> Skred I need an anti-U/W hoser for Red, but ignite is unspectacular. Skred is auto-include in snow-cubes. Any ideas for anti-Blue/White hoser? Cryoclasm?
Simian Spirit Guide --> Ghitu Slinger - Simian is only good for its RFG ability, and is just boring. Ghitu Slinger is good.
I also got me a Price of Progress, Stalking Yeti, and Goblin Sharpshooter. What to take out? My red section is tight.
EDIT:
Some more changes based on advice from y'all:
OUT:
Aven Squire
Whitemane Lion
Renewed Faith
Cenn's Tactician
Mageta the Lion
Recumbent Bliss
IN:
Pianna, Nomad Captain
Soltari Champion
Spectral Lynx
False Prophet
Celestial Crusader
Seal of Cleansing
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
Here's your RG selection:
Burning-Tree Shaman
Raging Kavu
Exploding Borders
Ach! Hans, Run!
Radha, Heir to Keld
Giant Solifuge
Assault//Battery
Tattermunge Maniac
Boartusk Liege
Rosheen Meanderer
Boggart Ram-Gang
Vexing Shusher
Firespout
There are quite a few cards that I wouln't play in here. Raging Kavu, Exploding Boarders, Ach! Hans, Run!, and Rosheen Meanderer are probably the worse ones in here at the moment though. Radha is pretty poor too. She usually just damages you with her ability.
You don't have Hull Breach. This card is a house, and is one of the most versatile RG utility cards out there. You also don't have Shivan Wurm... this creature is amazing. He has gating (which combos with a lot of R and G creatures) and he's a 7/7 Trample for 5. Artifact Mutation is another card to consider. It's really good, and you almost always have an artifact target (making it slightly better than Aura Mutation, which I also use). No Fires of Yavimaya? That card is really, really good. I'd add that over every RG card currently in your selection. No Stormbind? This card's a freakin' house. It's consistant damage for aggro against control. This is the card that beats control late game and gives RG aggro a chance. I also think that stormbind is better than most of your RG selection. Savage Twister is really good too. It's a GR control card... those are pretty few and far between.
When I was saying that I could think of better cards I wasn't exaggerating. Hope this helps.
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Most of the ones you suggested I've had in at some point. Hull Breach is nice though, I have one from back in Planeshift days so I'll add that in.
You do realise that Radha's ability isn't obligatory, right? It's rare that it comes in useful, but you don't have to have the mana if you ain't going to use it.
I like Stormbind, a classic card, and play it in Gruul, but it wasn't good in the cube and I took it out. 5 mana and two cards for the first Shock didn't do anything to excite me. Random discard hurts too. I figured it compared pretty unfavourably to Seismic Assault. If control lets this resolve and stay in play for 10 turns they deserve to lose anyway.
Exploding Borders is really good, and you should try it. Even Rampant Growth plus Shock/Lightning Bolt to the face is OK for ramp decks, and it often hits for four or five late game, making it non-redundant acceleration. OK, Raging Kavu is bad. I am just trying it out at the moment and it hasn't come up yet. Shivan Wurm is already coming in a trade and will replace that guy. You're right, Shivan Wurm is the best
Savage Twister again was in til recently, when I took it out for Firespout, which is similar. Green has its hurricane effects and Red has Earthquake effects already. I can see the argument for it though, being psuedo-global removal, so I will consider it back in.
Again Fires of Yavimaya was in 'til recently, but I hear that Sarkhan Vol basically obsoletes this, so I am waiting to put him in. Nothing against FoY.
Artifact Mutation is epic. I need that for sure.
By the way, "Ach! Hans, Run!" is absolutely nuts, despite the mana cost being clunky. It is a like a Sneak Attack/Killer Instinct on steroids and a very short clock if not dealt with. If you can remember what creatures are in your deck, it's super good. A lot of Cubers consider themselves above Unglued cards, but there are some real gems.
I will pop across to your thread and check out your other colour combinations for ideas. Do you think Price of Progress, Stalking Yeti, and Goblin Sharpshooter are worthy of a place in Cube?
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
Stormbind is amazing. It's consistent damage against control, and the damage (doom) is inevitable. It's anything but underwhelming. In fact, it's game-breaking.
Fires of Yavimaya is not made obsolete by the Planeswalker. The opponent can't attack your Fires to death. If I could only use one, It'd be the 'walker, but If you have room... I'd still use both. You have what, 12 or 13 RG cards in here? I'd say you have room for both still.
By the time you're playing the Exploding Boarders, both of the effects are sub par.
And yes, Artifact Mutation can be epic, which is why I like it.
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Stalking Yeti - if you have room, I think it's good. Not as good as FtK but I think it's still good. I had Price of Progress in mine, I took it out because I think other cards hose non-basics better (the Dwarven miner and blastminer duo.) Sharpshooter reminds me in a way of Hissing Iguanar in mine in terms of punishing Wrath effects, but can also kill 1/1s easily.
Vol is probably the worst planeswalker in my cube (no Tezzeret) - but he's still a beating. He suffers in that he can't protect himself like Garruk or Elspeth, but I definitely like him. I don't know if I'd say he obeseletes Fires (I love fires too.)
Exploding Borders seems like a not-as-good Blightning in that for Blightning, 3 mana to make your opponent discard 2 cards may not be the most amazing thing over, but it's enough to tide the initial effect over. Rampant Growth effects typically cost 2 and for the cost being 4 with borders, the damage doesn't make up for the additional casting cost.
I'm not a huge fan of Assault/Battery (both sides seem subpar), Vexing Shusher since it's just a Grizzly Bears against non-blue decks and Radha (it does give free mana for burn, which is nice, but I think the proposed additions like Shivan Wurm/Stormbind/Fires/Vol are better overall.)
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Just glancing at your coloured - obviously different as you don't have access to later stuff. I like the inclusion of Army Ants and Goblin Trenches in your cube. I've been on the fence about these for a while. I'll add them when I get my Crucible of Worlds. Pernicious Deed is another one I need to get hold of, but I've known that since Apoc came out
Frenetic Efreet though? wtf? Is he any good?
Yeah and it's one of my favourite cards ever. I should add him really!
Cheers Usman, you are probably right about the Assault Battery. The flexibility is nice but Stormbind could maybe take its place.
Thanks for the feedback guys, if anyone wants to cast an eye over my Red section at some point then that would be appreciated!
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He's really solid. It's a 2/1 Flying for 1UR that has a 2nd built-in evasion ability. Not the greatest card ever, but kind of a 'Nerfed' Rainbow Efreet. It has played surprisingly soiid though. In RU aggro-control, this creature is really worth the mana. Let's say that you don't win the flip... it dies. <shrug> It was gonna die anyways. Lets say you DO win the flip with him... he's a beast! Can't get rid of him! It makes the opponent less likely to target the Efreet with removal, and unlike Shroud, I can still target him with my spells and abilities, and he has an outside chance of surviving a Wrath of God or my own Starstorm... something a shroud creature cannot possibly do. The other cool thing that he does is sacrifice himself... if the opponent targets him with somehting like Repulse or Recoil, I can sacrifice him (by losing the flip) or phase him out (by winning the flip) and the opponent's spell will fizzle, preventing me from suffereing from the secondary efects of those types of removal spells. Meaning he can't ever be removed from the game from an Exile (and they can't gain life) or put on top of my deck by Temporal Spring (unless I choose not to flip). Plus, if he's targeted by like a Swords or a PtE, I can still opt to let him be killed for the life or the land.
If I had access to the full range of current MTG cards, he'd be cut for Gelectrode. However, I can't use the Gelectrode, so the Frenetic Efreet will have to do... and he does well.
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