I like repeal ought of all of them because it targets any permanent.
Innocent blood to me is better, because the cube is not creature intensive by this i mean that it is about 50/50 instead of 70/30 like normal sets. Plus it makes them sac a creature for one mana.
Repulse is by far the best of the three. It's reliable (No X cost or having to wait for an attack.) If I had to guess I would say that command of unsummoning is the next best... but wouldn't you rather have undo than that? Undo hits utility creatures, blockers, etc... and you get the double effect even if they only attack with one creature and have another annoying blocker/utility creature/creature they just played.
Barter in blood is better if you feel like there's a lack of removal in the cube - or if you think a larger swath of removal is better. It's better in dedicated control decks. Innocent blood is good for the quick and easy early game one-sided removal and also works nicely to help you out as a topdeck when your opponent just laid a fattie. But you really need to think which is going to be more needed - do your games end up with a lot of creatures and do you need removal? Then put in barter. Or, do you need a untility control card that's cheap and easy? Then Innocent...
You're the one that knows your cube and how it plays the best.
I like repeal ought of all of them because it targets any permanent.
Innocent blood to me is better, because the cube is not creature intensive by this i mean that it is about 50/50 instead of 70/30 like normal sets. Plus it makes them sac a creature for one mana.
Normal sets are about 55% creatures, not 70%. Even the creature sets don't really ever break 60% (with the exception of Legions.) Now maybe the commons have a higher representation of creatures than the other rarities - that I will check since I am interested. (and making a set of my own.)
But it costs the same as damnation. Maybe worth it because it needs more black wipes for cube but mutilate is better in my opinion.
Multilate and Damnation are better than Barter in Blood, for sure. That being said, Barter can be used to have a bomb creature survive while you sac some chumps. You can't really do that with damnation and you have a little less control over it with mutilate, plus mutilate can kill a big creature.
Still, overall, Damnation > Mutilate > Barter in Blood.
I've found Barter in Blood to be actually better than Multilate.
The latter counts swamps in your decks and incourages you to play a lot of swamps.
Its effect grows stronger if you do, but if you have just 2 (playing it 4th turn in a 2color deck) it's just an overcosted Infest.
Big guys can't easily be killed by it, while, if there are a low number of creatures, you can do so with Barter in Blood. It can be a dead card sometimes if the opponent has a lot of small creatures, but still I like it more.
Damnation beats both of them obv.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Retired DCI Level 2 Judge
"Everybody dies, Tracey. Someone's carrying a bullet for you right now, doesn't even know it. The trick is to die of old age before it finds you."
Dream halls has a good effect, but few are the decks with blue that still want to cheat things into play after reaching 5 mana. It has a lot of potential bomb turn, but it was rarely worth the card disadvantage.
False Summoning is another Remove Soul effect.
Decks in this cube don't build their graveyard fast enough to need the ritual anymore. Because Innocent Blood seems to be around the same powerlevel of Barter in Blood, I decided to try both.
Debtors' Knell fits nicely into black or white based control. Divinity never saw much play anyway; she isn't as strong as the other late white or black drops.
Snakes are more mystic than enforcers Mystic Snake is probably better than most UG creatures. I had too many GW stuff, so Mystic Enforcer goes. It's not very easy to get thresold here.
Snakeform is also probably among the better UG cards out there. Cavliers were good and saw play, but never were amazing and have never been a reason to play their color.
You should put tangle wire back in. It wins games. It is so sick how much tempo you gain - especially for control. You do realise that you can not only tap the tangle wire itself, but also that you can take a counter off before you tap things for yourself and that your oppoenent can't do that(either thing) and also has to tap out first.
I'm not interested in saying it's better than SOLAS, but you should really find a place to put it back in.
You should put tangle wire back in. It wins games. It is so sick how much tempo you gain - especially for control. You do realise that you can not only tap the tangle wire itself, but also that you can take a counter off before you tap things for yourself and that your oppoenent can't do that(either thing) and also has to tap out first.
I have realized both, it just underperformed in many aggro decks and land destruction decks. The effect just didn't practically time-walked the opponent more than a turn, and that wasn't always true either. It's good to finish the curve with but not as good as another threat or burn. It's also a pretty bad topdeck.
I'm not interested in saying it's better than SOLAS, but you should really find a place to put it back in.
I hope you're not interested because it isn't.
I'm surprised Tangle Wire was the card that caught your attention, we took out many other staples in that update. We were generally fond of it so far, but not all the cards got used enough to judge them yet.
I did look at your whole list and there is nothing I would miss besides tangle wire. It takes you right on past those early turns that aggro is supposed to win in, and those weenies and midrange creatures are no good in mid to late game. It's for this reason also that Grizzly Fate sucks. There are much better cards than this one - silvos, rogue elemental, Carnassid, basically anything.
I'd like to replace a few blue cards I play with blue creatures, because I have so few of them. Does anyone have a suggestion for a blue creature I don't play yet? I thought about Fog Bank (but it seems potentially unfun), Wonder and Clone so far.
@Rantipole: Can you explain about the cards? Why are they good? In which decks?
@ wamyc: I play most of your creatures. I don't support a morph theme, because it's hard to support it in a big cube. Do you think your morphs are good even without a large amount of morphs?
I hesitate about Clone. I play Vesuvan Shapeshifter and it's almost never played face-up. Is Clone better?
And the other options are Cloud of Faeries and Spiketail Hatchling.
@ LittlestMorte - Is it rewarding enough for getting 3 creatures in blue?
Willbender should be good enough but for some reason it doesn't usually work. I do find that blue has a lot of good morph cards so even if you can't support morph everywhere blue is a good place to start. I don't recommend you put in cards for the theme of morph, just good cards with morph. The nice part is almost everyone tries to splash a little blue and the morph creatures fit in perfectly with that.
Thank you wamyc for opening my eyes to quicksilver dragon!
Thats the problem with only having played since 5th dawn, I miss a lot of cards, other than well know ones.
Tradewind Rider is the most annoying creature you will ever play against. It is impossible to attack into it and come ahead, or break even for that matter. Block three creatures, bounce the fourth sounds pretty good. If they're not attacking you, you start bouncing lands. You can also bounce your own creatures, like Deranged Hermit or Shriekmaw. It's best paired with green, but you can use it in any archetype well. It's best friends with cards like Opposition, Wall of Blossoms, or Cloudgoat Ranger. It's basically Capsize on a 1/4 flier, and Capsize is pretty good.
After a long time during which I tripled my experience with the cube, I finally get the time to update it.
White:
Out: Endless Horizons
In: Miraculous Recovery
Endless Horizons costs too much and is way too slow to be effective. Mono white (or a deck with large amounts of white cards) tends to be very aggressive, and four mana is just too much for them. I wish to change that a bit, however, and both of the new cards in white aren't aimed for aggro strategies.
Miraculous Recovery was discussed in the forums a lot lately, and I think it'll help white to be more open-ended.
Out: Jotun Grunt
In: Crovax, Ascendant Hero
Jotun Grunt was used occasionally as a sideboard card, but it is still too narrow. Graveyards don't fill up fast in this cube. Crovax got out of the cube during some point, and it's the time to get him back in.
Blue:
I wanted to add in more blue creatures as per suggestions here. I'll probably do it in the next update.
Out: Sea Drake
In: Wonder
I wanted to make this change a long time. Sea drake didn't fit its color well; Wonder is a defensive four-drop that's easily discardable in its color.
Out: Faerie Trickery
In: Future Sight
I must admit that without the continuous praising of the cards by pretty much every cube owner here I wouldn't have even considered it. Here we probably underrate it, but I'm going to try anyway. Faerie Trickery costs much for a counter. For this cost, it should better be all-upside and strictly better than Cancel.
Out: Mystical Teachings
In: Crystal Shard
Crystal shard proved to be unplayable in non-blue deck so it moved to the blue section. MysticalTeaching costs too much and isn't very interesting.
Out: Skittering Skirge
In: Phyrexian Rager
Skittering Skirge just underperformed each time. I wish I could've said that it is because black is so aggressive (it's not, and IMO it's too controllish right now) but it underperformed in control decks, and that's a sign it should get out. Phyrexian Rager should fill its curve slot well for all kinds of black decks as a cantripping 3 drop.
Out: Order of the Ebon Hand
In: Twisted Abomination
Following the white knight that got kicked before it, Order of the Ebon hand lost it's spot because of the redundancy in the 3 "pump knighs". It was played only by mono-black decks anyway, so it's not a great loss. The Abomination is a card planted for reanimation decks, as a self-cycler fattie that helps overcome mana problems.
Red:
Out: Urza's Rage
In: Resounding Thunder
This change was discussed here recently, and I agree that Resounding Thunder has a realistic chance to get cycled, unlike Urza's unwelcoming emotion. The "cannot be countered" part is not too relevant in our cube, control isn't that powerful that ramp decks cannot reach 8 mana before losing.
Out: Brute Force
In: Starstorm
Another cube staple finally getting in. Brute Force is outclassed by all the burn spells in it's color.
Out: Form of the Dragon
In: Crater Hellion
Form of the Dragon didn't have enough support in red. Red is pretty diverse and fun now, so I don't think I need to support it. I play Caldera Hellion, so I can obviously play its big brother.
Green:
I've been trying to make ramp decks a top-tier deck. They are certainly playable now but they are not winning enough high places. Last update I added a lot of acceleration, but it still didn't help. This update, I noticed some decks did ramp up mana, but then they didn't have enough quality drops. The drops should be around 4-6. Since I had already pretty much covered my 4th drop most of the changes were adding 5 and 6 drops.
Out: Ghazban Ogre
In: Farhaven Elf
Since green aggro is already thriving and has too many cards, I cut one of the weaker aggressive drops for another accelerator, the only one this update.
Out: Jade Leech
In: Rhox Charger
Upgrade. Green fatties really need their trample (and shroud).
Out: Hurricane
In: Arashi, the Sky Asunder
This is almost an upgrade anyway, as instant speed and uncounterability do make the extra green mana worth it, and especially so if it comes with a fat body with a useful ability.
Out: Witherscale Wurm
In: Weatherseed Treefolk
Trample. Green fatties need trample, and recursion is nice as a pseudo-shroud. Triple green is intimidating but still probably better than Witherscale Wurm.
Out: Summoner's Pact
In: Chord of Calling
Another upgrade. Chord toturs non-green creatures and put them into play. Again triple green, but convoke will probably make it easily affordable.
Out: Wren's Run Vanquisher
In: Stunted Growth
Vanquisher was a last try of tribal cards. It's failed as all the other did. Stunted Growth is a new direction for midrange decks - big sorceries. Plow Under is very solid, so this could be too. Usually green can replay it for a devastating effect.
Out: Godhead of Awe
In: Deft Duelist
Godhead of Awe is outclassed by the high drops in both of its colors. As more and more time passes I expect fewer avatars to stay in. Deft Duelist would definitely see more play. I'm not hot about it, but it can play a good defender in UW control, and maybe even to go on the offense in a White-wenee based deck, carrying big equipment to victory.
Out: Safewright Quest
In: Phantom Nishoba
Safewrifght Quest is a wasted slot. I waited so much for replacing it because I've tried pretty much all the other W/G cards and they failed (Saffi, Gaddock Teeg, Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers...). I missed this one, so in it goes.
Artifact:
Out: Pithing Needle
In: Epochrasite
Pithing Needle seems solid because it can hit so many different permanents. In practice though naming Oona isn't going to solve your problems with the 5/5 flier and naming 8.5 tails is card disadvantage, as he got a 2/2 creature for WW. A friend of mine told me long time ago to take it out, he was right all the way.
Epochrasite seems like a fun card that'll make it to basically all non-aggro decks. It's happy with a blink effect.
Out: Crucible of Worlds
In: Triskelavus
Crucible of Worlds is narrow. It has some sick interactions, but in a big cube the chance you'll draft it + Strip Mine/ Wasteland is slim. In a big cube, those lands may not even be in your pod, so why the hell would anyone pick it unless he already has the aforementioned lands. And still he'd prefer a burn spell if he cannot tutor the combo. Triskelion and Puppet were solid, so perhaps I do have enough space for all three.
Out: Mox Diamond
In: Stuffy Doll
Mox diamond's card disadvantage made it bad. Stuffy Doll is another card aimed for midrange strategies. It can be a lot of fun with red.
Out: Crystal Shard
In: Sigil of Distinction
Crystal shard proved to be unplayable in non-blue decks so it moved to the blue section. Most of the haters of Sigil are small cube owners, so I guess it can make the cut in my cube.
Lands:
Out: Shelldock Isle
In: Riptide Laboratory
I saw that many extended decks use Riptide Laboratory and in the cube I play all the targets anyway so it's worth a try.
Sure, you can cut Crystal shard, but only do so for reasons of not liking artifacts needing a specific color. Because it is so much more powerful than sigil of distinction, regardless of the size of your cube.
Also, remember that hurricane is direct damage in green, and that really is a big deal. Otherwise a really good update with solid trades of cards all around.
* I wouldn't cut Form of the Dragon. It has won a few games on it's own here and is a feared card that often even get's hated out while drafting. Imo it's a worthy inclusion.
Red right now is probably the in the best place of all the colors: it's open-ended, supporting ramp decks, aggro, land destruction and all sorts of combo decks (Squee, Goblin Nabob, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Sneak Attack are good examples). It's splashable and modular, drafting red you'll never end up with a pile that feels unplayable.
With that in mind, a card that costs triple red has to be played in red-based decks only. Red-heavy decks tend to be aggro decks anyway most of the time, and ramp decks have trouble with the mana cost and better targets to choose. So yes, it can be supported but I don't want to.
* Deft Duelist will not pick up any equipments, sadly. He's still very good, i can assure you that. He's a major thorn in the eye for each aggro player and can be played in aggro decks alongside Crusade effects. This is the point where he can get ridiculous. Luckily he's white so all Crusades pump this guy, not only the Anthems.
Duh, reading the cards you include in your cube is tech. I don't think it's that strong but he's best I don't play yet and will surely be more playable.
* Rhox Charger is interesting and i can see it's appeal. Perhaps i'll try it. If only the green 4drop wouldn't be as crowded as it is...
I had the space and I'm willing to try. Most green four-drops cost double green, making them unsplashable. Rhox Charger seems worthy of its cost and is splashable.
I am somewhat surprised by you cutting the Voidmage Prodigy, though.
Have you had any good experience with it? If so I'll be surprised.
* Good call on Epochrasite, he flew under my radar so far. Good card, i want one, too.
With your blink theme he might as well be a 4/4 for :2mana:, and with the never-dying mechanic it's some good.
Sure, you can cut Crystal shard, but only do so for reasons of not liking artifacts needing a specific color. Because it is so much more powerful than sigil of distinction, regardless of the size of your cube.
I didn't really cut him, I just moved him to the blue section (I added him there in my update). I do believe I play worse artifacts than Sigil of Distinction (or at least I did before this update).
On the same note, I personally like Crystal Shard. I think Erratic Portal should be in this cube, but I didn't add him yet because Crystal Shard hadn't made very impressive appearances yet and if I add him now people won't even give it a chance.
Also, remember that hurricane is direct damage in green, and that really is a big deal. Otherwise a really good update with solid trades of cards all around.
Usually when you are playing control you won't play him on turn 2 because
a) He won't survive until your next turn
b) You want to counter things if needed be.
If you want to play it later, you'll need three open blue mana and still most of the time he'll counter the removal pointed at him and not the real target. 2/1 for UU is not really threatening either.
We've ad fun with him in UB control comboing up with things like Recurring Nightmare and Phyrexian Reclamation. This type of deck has been pretty successful. An active recurring prodigy hits pretty hard. I can see why you wanted to cut him and I'm not trying to talk you into putting it back in, just giving an example of where he has worked.
Yeah Ive heard many good things about Archmage. I've only been able to play one cube with her due to the holidays, I was locked down pretty solid behind Glen, a Serpent Assasin and a Recurring Nightmare. It was pretty brutal and just based on that game I'm glad I added her.
Innocent blood to me is better, because the cube is not creature intensive by this i mean that it is about 50/50 instead of 70/30 like normal sets. Plus it makes them sac a creature for one mana.
Barter in blood is better if you feel like there's a lack of removal in the cube - or if you think a larger swath of removal is better. It's better in dedicated control decks. Innocent blood is good for the quick and easy early game one-sided removal and also works nicely to help you out as a topdeck when your opponent just laid a fattie. But you really need to think which is going to be more needed - do your games end up with a lot of creatures and do you need removal? Then put in barter. Or, do you need a untility control card that's cheap and easy? Then Innocent...
You're the one that knows your cube and how it plays the best.
Normal sets are about 55% creatures, not 70%. Even the creature sets don't really ever break 60% (with the exception of Legions.) Now maybe the commons have a higher representation of creatures than the other rarities - that I will check since I am interested. (and making a set of my own.)
Multilate and Damnation are better than Barter in Blood, for sure. That being said, Barter can be used to have a bomb creature survive while you sac some chumps. You can't really do that with damnation and you have a little less control over it with mutilate, plus mutilate can kill a big creature.
Still, overall, Damnation > Mutilate > Barter in Blood.
The latter counts swamps in your decks and incourages you to play a lot of swamps.
Its effect grows stronger if you do, but if you have just 2 (playing it 4th turn in a 2color deck) it's just an overcosted Infest.
Big guys can't easily be killed by it, while, if there are a low number of creatures, you can do so with Barter in Blood. It can be a dead card sometimes if the opponent has a lot of small creatures, but still I like it more.
Damnation beats both of them obv.
"Everybody dies, Tracey. Someone's carrying a bullet for you right now, doesn't even know it. The trick is to die of old age before it finds you."
My
540> 360 Powered CubeWhite: Nothing.
Blue:
- Mahamotti Djinn, + Body Double
Body double got out accidently. Mahamotti Djinn is weaker and not worth it's price in blue.
- Dream Halls, + False Summoning
Dream halls has a good effect, but few are the decks with blue that still want to cheat things into play after reaching 5 mana. It has a lot of potential bomb turn, but it was rarely worth the card disadvantage.
False Summoning is another Remove Soul effect.
- Chronozoa, + Repulse
I don't like cutting blue creatures, but if it doesn't see play ever there is no point in keeping it in. Repulse is a good tempo card I want to test.
- Jace Beleren, + Command of Unsummoning
I decided to try both variants over this weak planeswalker. It rarely saw any play, and when it did it sucked.
Black:
- Fledgling Djinn, + Mesmeric Fiend
Fledgling Djinn just isn't that good, Mesmeric Fiend has a solid effect that fits many different decks.
- Grim Harvest, + Dance of the Dead
One reanimation spell is better than the other.
- Culling the Weak, + Barter in Blood
Culling the weak was a sacrifice outlet and a ritual, but bad in both. Barter in bloods helps black-based control.
- Cabal Ritual, + Innocent Blood
Decks in this cube don't build their graveyard fast enough to need the ritual anymore. Because Innocent Blood seems to be around the same powerlevel of Barter in Blood, I decided to try both.
Red:
- Lava Hounds, + Hell's Thunder
an upgrade
- Ogre Arsonist, + Kumano, Master Yamabushi
Another upgrade
Green:
- Bloom Tender, +Wall of Roots
Bloom Tender didn't really provide the expected amounts of mana in time. Wall of roots seems great in all green midrange decks.
- Giant Growth, + Grizzly Fate
Giant Growth is just a trick. Grizzly Fate has a lot more potential to be a finisher.
- Abundance, + Nature's Lore
Abundance is too pricey for the effect, no one wanted to use it. Nature's Lore is a cheap accelerator and fixer.
- Exploration, + Harrow
Exploration was rarely used, I think Harrow will be more helpful to midrange decks.
Multicolored:
- Dominous of Fealty, + Nucklavee
Dominous of Fealty never saw much play. Nucklavee has a potential to be broken and is much more easily playable.
- Divinity of Pride, + Debtors' Knell
Debtors' Knell fits nicely into black or white based control. Divinity never saw much play anyway; she isn't as strong as the other late white or black drops.
- Esper Charm, + Dromar's Charm
Dromar's abilities are stronger individually.
- Gaddock Teeg, +Tidehollow Sculler
They are both small disruption creatures, but Sculler doesn't hurt you like Teeg does.
- Mystic Enforcer, + Mystic Snake
Snakes are more mystic than enforcers Mystic Snake is probably better than most UG creatures. I had too many GW stuff, so Mystic Enforcer goes. It's not very easy to get thresold here.
+ Snakeform, - Wilt-leaf Cavaliers
Snakeform is also probably among the better UG cards out there. Cavliers were good and saw play, but never were amazing and have never been a reason to play their color.
- Rahda, Heir to Keld, + Gelectrode
Rahda's red mana ability was useless. Gelectrode is another strong card in a weak combination.
Artifacts:
- Tangle Wire, + Sword of Light and Shadow
Tangle wire wasn't good even in land destruction, double protection is nice as taught to us by Stillmoon Cavalier.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
You should put tangle wire back in. It wins games. It is so sick how much tempo you gain - especially for control. You do realise that you can not only tap the tangle wire itself, but also that you can take a counter off before you tap things for yourself and that your oppoenent can't do that(either thing) and also has to tap out first.
I'm not interested in saying it's better than SOLAS, but you should really find a place to put it back in.
I hope you're not interested because it isn't.
I'm surprised Tangle Wire was the card that caught your attention, we took out many other staples in that update. We were generally fond of it so far, but not all the cards got used enough to judge them yet.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Those are my suggestions for some additional blue critters.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
Creatures (18)
Chromeshell Crab
Clone
Cloud of Faeries
Draining Whelk
Fathom Seer
Jushi Apprentice
Keiga the Tide Star
Maelstrom Djinn
Meloku the Clouded Mirror
Man-o'-war
Ninja of Deep Hours
Quicksilver Dragon
Rainbow Efreet
Riptide Survivor
Spiketail Hatchling
Venser, Shaper Savant
Vesuvan Doppelganger
Willbender
Teneb, the Harvester: Let there be life!
Drafting Aggro in the Cube: A Primer for Beginners
@ wamyc: I play most of your creatures. I don't support a morph theme, because it's hard to support it in a big cube. Do you think your morphs are good even without a large amount of morphs?
I hesitate about Clone. I play Vesuvan Shapeshifter and it's almost never played face-up. Is Clone better?
And the other options are Cloud of Faeries and Spiketail Hatchling.
@ LittlestMorte - Is it rewarding enough for getting 3 creatures in blue?
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
riptide survivor
fathom seer
quicksilver dragon
Willbender should be good enough but for some reason it doesn't usually work. I do find that blue has a lot of good morph cards so even if you can't support morph everywhere blue is a good place to start. I don't recommend you put in cards for the theme of morph, just good cards with morph. The nice part is almost everyone tries to splash a little blue and the morph creatures fit in perfectly with that.
Thats the problem with only having played since 5th dawn, I miss a lot of cards, other than well know ones.
Trading
Teneb, the Harvester: Let there be life!
Drafting Aggro in the Cube: A Primer for Beginners
White:
Out: Endless Horizons
In: Miraculous Recovery
Endless Horizons costs too much and is way too slow to be effective. Mono white (or a deck with large amounts of white cards) tends to be very aggressive, and four mana is just too much for them. I wish to change that a bit, however, and both of the new cards in white aren't aimed for aggro strategies.
Miraculous Recovery was discussed in the forums a lot lately, and I think it'll help white to be more open-ended.
Out: Jotun Grunt
In: Crovax, Ascendant Hero
Jotun Grunt was used occasionally as a sideboard card, but it is still too narrow. Graveyards don't fill up fast in this cube. Crovax got out of the cube during some point, and it's the time to get him back in.
Blue:
I wanted to add in more blue creatures as per suggestions here. I'll probably do it in the next update.
Out: Voidmage Prodigy
In: Kira, Great Glass Spinner
The wizard didn't unmorph even once. Kira seems to be a playable blue three drop with a useful effect.
Out: Sea Drake
In: Wonder
I wanted to make this change a long time. Sea drake didn't fit its color well; Wonder is a defensive four-drop that's easily discardable in its color.
Out: Faerie Trickery
In: Future Sight
I must admit that without the continuous praising of the cards by pretty much every cube owner here I wouldn't have even considered it. Here we probably underrate it, but I'm going to try anyway. Faerie Trickery costs much for a counter. For this cost, it should better be all-upside and strictly better than Cancel.
Out: Mystical Teachings
In: Crystal Shard
Crystal shard proved to be unplayable in non-blue deck so it moved to the blue section. MysticalTeaching costs too much and isn't very interesting.
Black:
Out: Zombify
In: Diabolic Servitude
Pure upgrade?
Out: Skittering Skirge
In: Phyrexian Rager
Skittering Skirge just underperformed each time. I wish I could've said that it is because black is so aggressive (it's not, and IMO it's too controllish right now) but it underperformed in control decks, and that's a sign it should get out. Phyrexian Rager should fill its curve slot well for all kinds of black decks as a cantripping 3 drop.
Out: Order of the Ebon Hand
In: Twisted Abomination
Following the white knight that got kicked before it, Order of the Ebon hand lost it's spot because of the redundancy in the 3 "pump knighs". It was played only by mono-black decks anyway, so it's not a great loss. The Abomination is a card planted for reanimation decks, as a self-cycler fattie that helps overcome mana problems.
Red:
Out: Urza's Rage
In: Resounding Thunder
This change was discussed here recently, and I agree that Resounding Thunder has a realistic chance to get cycled, unlike Urza's unwelcoming emotion. The "cannot be countered" part is not too relevant in our cube, control isn't that powerful that ramp decks cannot reach 8 mana before losing.
Out: Shock
In: Arc Lightning
I think that any deck who ever played shock would have preffered Arc Lightning instead.
Out: Brute Force
In: Starstorm
Another cube staple finally getting in. Brute Force is outclassed by all the burn spells in it's color.
Out: Form of the Dragon
In: Crater Hellion
Form of the Dragon didn't have enough support in red. Red is pretty diverse and fun now, so I don't think I need to support it. I play Caldera Hellion, so I can obviously play its big brother.
Green:
I've been trying to make ramp decks a top-tier deck. They are certainly playable now but they are not winning enough high places. Last update I added a lot of acceleration, but it still didn't help. This update, I noticed some decks did ramp up mana, but then they didn't have enough quality drops. The drops should be around 4-6. Since I had already pretty much covered my 4th drop most of the changes were adding 5 and 6 drops.
Out: Ghazban Ogre
In: Farhaven Elf
Since green aggro is already thriving and has too many cards, I cut one of the weaker aggressive drops for another accelerator, the only one this update.
Out: Jade Leech
In: Rhox Charger
Upgrade. Green fatties really need their trample (and shroud).
Out: Hurricane
In: Arashi, the Sky Asunder
This is almost an upgrade anyway, as instant speed and uncounterability do make the extra green mana worth it, and especially so if it comes with a fat body with a useful ability.
Out: Roar of the Wurm
In: Mycoloth
Mycoloth was hyped here and Roar of the Wurm underperformed.
Out: Witherscale Wurm
In: Weatherseed Treefolk
Trample. Green fatties need trample, and recursion is nice as a pseudo-shroud. Triple green is intimidating but still probably better than Witherscale Wurm.
Out: Summoner's Pact
In: Chord of Calling
Another upgrade. Chord toturs non-green creatures and put them into play. Again triple green, but convoke will probably make it easily affordable.
Out: Wren's Run Vanquisher
In: Stunted Growth
Vanquisher was a last try of tribal cards. It's failed as all the other did. Stunted Growth is a new direction for midrange decks - big sorceries. Plow Under is very solid, so this could be too. Usually green can replay it for a devastating effect.
Multicolored:
Out: Grixis Charm
In: Crosis's Charm
Upgrade
Out: Godhead of Awe
In: Deft Duelist
Godhead of Awe is outclassed by the high drops in both of its colors. As more and more time passes I expect fewer avatars to stay in. Deft Duelist would definitely see more play. I'm not hot about it, but it can play a good defender in UW control, and maybe even to go on the offense in a White-wenee based deck, carrying big equipment to victory.
Out: Safewright Quest
In: Phantom Nishoba
Safewrifght Quest is a wasted slot. I waited so much for replacing it because I've tried pretty much all the other W/G cards and they failed (Saffi, Gaddock Teeg, Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers...). I missed this one, so in it goes.
Artifact:
Out: Pithing Needle
In: Epochrasite
Pithing Needle seems solid because it can hit so many different permanents. In practice though naming Oona isn't going to solve your problems with the 5/5 flier and naming 8.5 tails is card disadvantage, as he got a 2/2 creature for WW. A friend of mine told me long time ago to take it out, he was right all the way.
Epochrasite seems like a fun card that'll make it to basically all non-aggro decks. It's happy with a blink effect.
Out: Crucible of Worlds
In: Triskelavus
Crucible of Worlds is narrow. It has some sick interactions, but in a big cube the chance you'll draft it + Strip Mine/ Wasteland is slim. In a big cube, those lands may not even be in your pod, so why the hell would anyone pick it unless he already has the aforementioned lands. And still he'd prefer a burn spell if he cannot tutor the combo. Triskelion and Puppet were solid, so perhaps I do have enough space for all three.
Out: Mox Diamond
In: Stuffy Doll
Mox diamond's card disadvantage made it bad. Stuffy Doll is another card aimed for midrange strategies. It can be a lot of fun with red.
Out: Crystal Shard
In: Sigil of Distinction
Crystal shard proved to be unplayable in non-blue decks so it moved to the blue section. Most of the haters of Sigil are small cube owners, so I guess it can make the cut in my cube.
Lands:
Out: Shelldock Isle
In: Riptide Laboratory
I saw that many extended decks use Riptide Laboratory and in the cube I play all the targets anyway so it's worth a try.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Also, remember that hurricane is direct damage in green, and that really is a big deal. Otherwise a really good update with solid trades of cards all around.
With that in mind, a card that costs triple red has to be played in red-based decks only. Red-heavy decks tend to be aggro decks anyway most of the time, and ramp decks have trouble with the mana cost and better targets to choose. So yes, it can be supported but I don't want to.
Duh, reading the cards you include in your cube is tech. I don't think it's that strong but he's best I don't play yet and will surely be more playable.
I had the space and I'm willing to try. Most green four-drops cost double green, making them unsplashable. Rhox Charger seems worthy of its cost and is splashable.
Have you had any good experience with it? If so I'll be surprised.
With your blink theme he might as well be a 4/4 for :2mana:, and with the never-dying mechanic it's some good.
I didn't really cut him, I just moved him to the blue section (I added him there in my update). I do believe I play worse artifacts than Sigil of Distinction (or at least I did before this update).
On the same note, I personally like Crystal Shard. I think Erratic Portal should be in this cube, but I didn't add him yet because Crystal Shard hadn't made very impressive appearances yet and if I add him now people won't even give it a chance.
I'll keep that in mind.
Thanks you all
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
a) He won't survive until your next turn
b) You want to counter things if needed be.
If you want to play it later, you'll need three open blue mana and still most of the time he'll counter the removal pointed at him and not the real target. 2/1 for UU is not really threatening either.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Trading
Yeah Ive heard many good things about Archmage. I've only been able to play one cube with her due to the holidays, I was locked down pretty solid behind Glen, a Serpent Assasin and a Recurring Nightmare. It was pretty brutal and just based on that game I'm glad I added her.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022