MTG Salvation

The Modal Cube



The Modal Cube is designed to promote complex decisions and options. Cube is known for its fantastical plays and ridiculous interactions, but not every arch-type makes use of these on a regular basis (such as aggro). To take the point further, my goal isn't to create a combo cube, but games in which you look down at your hand, see several viable options, and have to make a game-altering decision. Every. Single. Game.

There will always be choices in Magic, with a typical Cube or the Modal Cube. However, cards like Deftblade Elite have more choices built into their design than cards like Savannah Lions.

Please keep in mind that this is a budget list. The power level is roughly where I'd like to remain, but there are certain cards that I'd like to replace, which I will address at the end.


Modal Cube on Cube Tutor

I'd just like to say this is a really cool concept.
There were a few spelling mistakes I saw while glancing through the list:

Icatian Scout
Martyr of Frost
Siege Wurm
Sekki, Seasons' Guide

Thanks! Errors were fixed!

Maybe you could replace Silt Crawler with Phantom Tiger, Descendant of Masumaro or Fertilid , depending on what you're looking for. Those would fit in with the +1/+1 counter theme you have in Green.

Quote from Sorrynametaken

Maybe you could replace Silt Crawler with Phantom Tiger, Descendant of Masumaro or Fertilid , depending on what you're looking for. Those would fit in with the +1/+1 counter theme you have in Green.

Good idea! I think I have a Phantom Tiger somewhere. Considering their fondness for Dawntreader Elk, I think my playgroup would enjoy Fertilid the most, so I'll see if I can get my hands on one. It also seems to fit the choice theme of the cube the most.

Alright, I finally got around to entering all the updates from the past three or four months. Black, Red, and Green saw major changes and solidified their identities. Blue saw some important shifts (including more/better counterspells that fit the theme). White largely stayed the same, but trimmed some of the fat.

I finally found some equipments that have been satisfactory. Similarly, the multicolour section has been more to my liking with the addition of battlemages and volvers.

My current concern is that we may be reaching an excessive number of wraths and counterspells. White has limited spot removal in the Modal cube, though, so we'll see after a few more drafts. Blue's Runeboggle and Frightful Delusion could go if the number of counters is excessive.

Quote from Blind Piper

My current concern is that we may be reaching an excessive number of wraths...

In just White you have:

• Austere Command
  
• Phyrexian Rebirth
  
• Akroma's Vengeance
  
• Rout
  
• Solar Tide

Other colors have sweeper effects:

• Pestilence
  
• Pyrohemia
  
• Sulfurous Blast

That does seem like a lot. I think that would really tip against aggressive decks.

If you need spot removal in White, you could try some damage redirection spells like:

• Carom
  
• Kor Chant
  
• Harm's Way
  
• Shining Shoal

Other Options:
Angelic Favor is another option outside of the typical White removal. Alternate cost/surprise blocker. Seems like it really fits the spirit of your cube.

Parallax Wave is very versatile and is something that an aggressive deck could use to wrap up a game.

I'd be curious to see what decks get built out of this cube. Got any deck lists/draft reports?

There's also Sunblast Angel in White. I'll probably look at cutting the least modal wrath effects (arguably Phyrexian Rebirth and Rout). The X cost in Shining Shoal, the alternate cost in Angelic Favor, and the number of targets vs. duration dynamic of Parallax Wave all hit the modal mark, so I'll look into acquiring them.

EDIT: Sorry, missed the last line. It's been a little while since we've managed to draft, due to university/work, but I could probably recall some rough lists. It hasn't been played since the most recent update (the second and third update in the most recent section of the changelog), so there'll be some differences, but general cube arch-types should be representative. I keep logs on BoardGameGeek of all our drafts, so that'll help spur my memory. I'll get back to you with some decks after going through those logs.

Here's a vague recollection of the deck I played at the last draft, going 4-0.



I'm sure there were some other creatures in there, but I can't recall them. The wraths paired nicely with Sorin, and one game I managed to live the dream by hitting my Carnifex Demon with Rite of Replication for endless -1/-1 counters. The deck was solid, but every game was close. The soft counters weren't my favourite in the cube, but I did cast Frightful Delusion just to force my opponent to discard a card and cast Spell Contortion just to draw two cards, so their modal nature was present.

One player put together this Golgari deck. It went 2-2. He was fighting with another player to draft +1/+1 counter Green creatures, but he had a lot of latent synergy and general quality creatures to rely on. Again, this is just a vague recollection.



It was interesting to see how it could change gears during the game. Corpsejack Menace was frightening paired with any +1/+1 counter creature, while Undertaker and Sheoldred was quite persistent.

In contrast, this Simic Midrange deck was made in the same draft. The player is quite inexperienced and this was his first time drafting the Modal Cube, so he could have done more shenanigans with the Spikes, but he was catching on by the end of the night.



He grabbed a fair chunk of ramp, which helped him get out his pricier finishers. He may have had some signets, too, but I'm not sure. I think he had some card draw, as well, as I distinctly recall him discarding Sekki, then casting Body Double is a copy of it. This deck went 1-3, though I think some early losses could have gone the other way, but it took him some time to get a feel for the games.

I really like the idea of the modal cube. It sounds a lot like drafting Odyssey block, which honestly if you want to experience a very tough limited format with a lot of options you could simulate a draft of that set.

But, seeing as there are some pretty solid Odyssey creatures here (definitely Wild Mongrel) I’d still like to offer some suggestions to up the “modalness” of your cube.

1. More morph creatures. I love morph creatures as it creates an interesting tension, and can provide “faster than instant speed” changes to the gamestate. Sometime you want to play your 2/2 for 3, other times you want to flip your Bane of the Living and wipe the board.
Just some suggestions:

• Bane of the Living
  
• Chromeshell Crab
  
• Echo Tracer
  
• Fathom Seer
  
• Karona’s Zealot
  
• Mischievous Quanar
  
• Nantuko Vigilante
  
• Shaper Parasite
  
• Skirk Marauder
  
• Thelonite Hermit

2. Another suggestion would be to give more of your spells the same option as “morph” creatures. Cycling would fit this role beautifully, as you can get some valuable niche effects when you need them and cycle when you don’t. (Miscalculation is a good example of this)
Some suggestions:

• Akroma’s Blessing
  
• Complicate
  
• Death Pulse
  
• Edge of Autumn
  
• Expunge
  
• Primal Boost
  
• Radiant’s Judgment
  
• Swat
  
• Unearth

The “cycling lands” (Urza’s and Onslaught)

For these cards here are my thoughts on your cube by color:
White-
Windborn Muse: Now granted maybe it’s really solid in this environment but Windborn Muse is difficult to fit into a traditional archetype as control would rather wrath and midrange would rather just lay guys that are bigger than what the aggro guy has. For me it’s a bust.
Kitesail Apprentice: Obviously the dude plays nice with equipment, but is it really that modal? This is a card that I imagine getting passed around the table and scooping up as a last pick. I mean he could be decent but without Trusty Machete, Bonesplitter, or Darksteel Axe I don’t think this is the cube for him.

Blue-
Soothsaying: Ehh, this card doesn’t do so much. It sits on the table and durdles like top, but it takes so much more effort. I don’t even think control would like this that much. But personally I have not tested the card so maybe it belongs in a deck you typically draft.
Jace Beleren: Now don’t get me wrong. I like Jace, he’s a good card. He gives you some good options as well. However, I suppose the other colors don’t get planeswalkers for budget considerations. If other colors don’t get planeswalkers this could be a potential cut for balancing reasons.
Frightful Delusion: I would rather have Spell Snip honestly. I played this card in Innistrad limited and it was pretty bad. Though the discard isn’t irrelevant.
Tezzeret, the Seeker: for the same reasons as Jace.

I'll get to more later, slowly making my way through each color but for now these are my suggestions. Thanks for sharing Blind Piper.

Thanks for the feedback, IRranger!

There were some morph creatures that we had tinkered with. Shaper Parasite proved to be more effort than it was worth, it seemed. I'm missing some of the big ticket items in my collection (Bane of the Living and Chromeshell Crab), but I'll definitely keep an eye out for them. I'd definitely like to add to our Morph section, though. We recently added Blistering Firecat, which one player drafted alongside Akroma, Angel of Fury, which created a lot of tension.

We have a decent amount of cycling, including several cards you listed. Unfortunately, I wasn't playing Magic during Urza's block, so I'm missing most of the older cycling cards. I'm quite fond of the ones that have added effects while cycling, like Primal Boost. Though, I think I might have a copy of Unearth sitting around somewhere.

As for your specific "questionable cards," I don't necessarily disagree. Kitesail Apprentice is mostly there to keep aggro viable, which has been a struggle. However, I think it does provide the option when paired with equipment in the mid-game of either having the Apprentice with evasion, or potentially a larger, land-locked creature with higher P/T. I'm not saying it's my most modal card in the Cube, but it'll do until I can find a better two power one-drop.

Windborn Muse has been quite reliable in control, actually. There are a lot of 2/2's, so its body is relevant, and expenditure of mana is critical. I wouldn't be opposed to cutting it, but it's definitely played a useful role in several decks.

Soothsaying was just added and I have no testing data for it, but it's a popular card around here from when our group first formed, so I'm giving it a run on nostalgia.

I'd actually like to cut Jace Beleren, I just forgot to bring it up with the group when last we met. I was thinking of putting in Echo Mage specifically, but that Chromeshell Crab is tempting if I can get my hands on one quickly. I find Jace isn't very modal compared to other 'walkers. Of all the Planeswalkers, he's kind of linear: minus him until you're at one, then either gamble on a plus to get more mileage or kill him off.

Frightful Delusion was in while I was sorting out what counters I wanted. I didn't have some things like Miscalculation on hand at the time, so it was certainly more modal than Counterspell and its kin. It's first on the chopping block for counterspells. I think we're a little above the perfect number of counters, so I'm expecting it'll go soon.

Tezzeret, the Seeker has been a great card that hasn't dominated the games at all. He's a fantastic toolbox, and the tutoring has limits (which I like in this environment) but fits into almost anything.

Generally speaking, my opinion on Planeswalkers is that I won't run any that are in my "normal" cube. I do have some budget restrictions, but I'm thinking of ordering some of the cheaper Planeswalkers at some point for the other colours that are missing them at this point (white and green). I do like how Planeswalkers force the other player to re-evaluate his offensive strategy, which is something that has been presented in other cards, as well (like Fatespinner), and that kind of tension has been quite thrilling.

My two multicoloured Planeswalkers definitely play a central role in their decks, but they're no scarier than any of the monocoloured finishers. Sorin, Lord of Innistrad has been especially fantastic, but he's never been the one-sided blowout that Sunblast Angel has been.

Updated with new cards from Christmas, most of which were specific singles one Cube player gave me. Still need to find a suitable replacement for Jace Beleren, but White now has a Planeswalker in Ajani Goldmane. After a discussion with another Cube player, Echo Mage isn't exactly what we're looking for, so I'll keep an eye out for the Chromeshell Crab. I'm also looking for a Hunting Wilds.

01/02/13 MINI UPDATE: After looking through my EDH decks and discussing it with my playgroup, Jace Beleren has been replaced by Turnabout.

I recorded the decks from our New Year's Eve draft. There were four of us drafting five packs of nine. The lands had been removed at this point, but you can probably assume most of that. The sideboard were also already returned to the rest of the cube, unfortunately.



This deck went 0-2. I didn't play against it, so I didn't see much of the interactions. I didn't see his sideboard, either, so I can't really say what other options he had drafted, but I'd probably try to cut the red, except maybe a Mountain or two to grab with Traveler's Amulet for Degavolver if he already had solid land out.



This deck went 1-1, losing in the first round before winning against the above listed Dega deck. The player was trying to force RG after a P1P1 Sarkhan Vol. Unfortunately, I was passing to him three out of five packs and I was going Naya. Still, he put together a good low manacost base with two consistent equipment and several devastating cards.

This was the first time I stared down Narcissism and it was quite intimidating. When he had the aforementioned enchantment, Wolfbitten Captive, and Spike Feeder with a freshly played Quest for the Gemblades and four mana untapped, I could really feel the pressure.

He was swapping around with his sideboard a fair bit. This was his deck after boarding for Dega. The most notable exclusion was Bonehoard, which I assume was boarded out because of Seance.



I drafted this deck, going 1-1. After picking up Street Spasm and Comet Storm early, I tried to go for as much ramp as possible. I got a respectable amount, but I would've liked more. However, the decked worked decently well, mucking up the ground until I could get out something beefy. Naya Battlemage continued to shine as a useful card for both offense and defense. Battlegrace Angel was fantastic for a stabilizer. I was most aggressively drafting mana fixing out of the four of us, and I don't regret it one bit.

This was the first draft with level up in the cube and I was quite happy with it. Lord of Shatterskull Pass drew removal like nobody's business, but Caravan Escort did exactly what I had hoped: it was a weenie in my opening hand, and was a 5/5 by the time it first got to swing when I top-decked it late-game.



This deck went 2-0, but for a very surprising reason. Contagion Clasp mixed with three Planeswalkers (two of which could tutor it out) was a potent combination, but that was just for consistency. The real monster was Demonic Rising. Between Sorin, Lord of Innistrad, Pestilence, and Azorius Keyrune, the player could easily end his turn with a single creature, often ending his next turn with only the 5/5 token. This engine was both fascinating and terrifying to watch unfold.

Arcane Sanctum, Crumbling Necropolis, Coastal Tower, and Azorius Signet provided the splash of white and red, both for Sorin and Obelisk of Alara. The Obelisk was vital to stabilizing against Dega, though it never stayed out more than a turn against Naya.

In retrospect, control has been thriving in the cube. Admittedly, we haven't had as many drafts as I would have liked, so further testing may be in order. I'm hoping to get a few better low-cost creatures for red and white, and maybe replace some of the less drafted multicolour cards like Thunderscape Battlemage.

My brother and I conducted a Solomon draft over Google Docs, then played the first half of a game on Cockatrice before he had to run. Here are the drafted decks, for those who care (as someone asked for decklists before)



This is my brother's deck. Some low cost pressure, ramp in mana rocks and Grinning Ignus, and beefy finishers.



This one's mine. Evolution Vat is something that I've been wanting to try for a while now, but green is popular in Modal so it's hard to force it. It turned out to be excellent, and I'd probably run it in some builds without blue (like a Spike heavy Gx deck). The option to tap an opponent's creature was well worth the +1/+1 counter it gave (which was actually beneficial against his Thrill-Kill Assassin blocker).

An order of cards arrived, leading to this change:


A few notables:

1. Kitesail Apprentice has finally been replaced. I'm a little worried that Student of Warfare will be too strong, but aggro could use some help.

2. I finally replaced the ETB Tapped lands I was running.

3. I reduced the number of counterspells.

4. Rakdos received an overhaul.

Two cards that I'm considering for Rakdos over either Rix Maadi Guildmage and perhaps Traitor's Roar are Spiteflame Witch and/or Avatar of Discord. The Witch fits into Dega decks easily, which has proved to be a popular deck. On the other hand, Avatar plays well with discard themes (Squee, flashback, madness, etc.), and can end the game quickly if unanswered, but it's a terrible late-game topdeck. But if you're building around graveyard themes, the Avatar will probably be something you can discard to some other card in a late-game position.

In any case, I want to see how the Guildmage and Traitor's Roar play in the cube before any further considerations.

Sorry that I missed your message. I didn't realize it had hit page two.

In practice, the weaker level up are a real anchor for aggro decks. I'm very happy to include Caravan Escort and Knight of Cliffhaven, though I haven't had much of an opportunity to test Ikiral Outrider. The other two have seen quite extensive testing in Boros Aggro.

Caravan Escort isn't extraordinary, but its colourless level-up cost and 1 to play-2 to level cost plays well on shakier hands. It does have the threat of becoming a 5/5 First Strike during the late game, which helps aggro during a mana flood.

Knight of Cliffhaven is excellent. The level up cost is a little pricey, but getting both flying and +0/+1 is a good deal in this cube, as 2 power is quite common.

To be completely honest, aggro hasn't been excelling in the cube. There are times where it's quite impressive, but equipments are very popular around here, so it sometimes struggles to pick those up. I would like to find more aggro-oriented creatures to increase its presence, but Deftblade Elite just wasn't performing.

If I had the fetchlands for this cube, Steppe Lynx would definitely be in, as that could give more options for when to crack them, but I don't think it's a good fit currently, and I'm not going to run a vanilla creature.

soul ransom seems to fit perfectly but might be too strong

Quote from woodman663

How about Boros Elite from Gatecrash?

I didn't consider Battalion particularly modal. It isn't really a choice, it's just on if you have enough creatures and off if you don't. However, maybe I'll find it creates more dynamic plays in practice, so I'll add it to the "To Test" list.

Quote from chancer »

soul ransom seems to fit perfectly but might be too strong

It's worth testing. Dimir could use a replacement for Esper Battlemage. I'm also planning on testing Dimir Charm in this slot, but maybe another Dimir card could be cut.

on the subject of gatecrash pit fight is one of my favorite cards due to the millions of choices it creates(before combat, after combat, eot or end of opponents turn etc.). it seems really sweet in this cube

I was considering Pit Fight, as well, but Gruul's slots are all highly appreciated. I might just pick up a copy and discuss it with the group, since it's inexpensive.

Well, as I said, I'll give it a test and see how it goes.

boros elite isnt really up to snuff in gatecrash limited, im unconvinced that cube would be much better for him.

But as you said testing seems good

Acquired some Gatecrash cards (finally). Here's the most recent changelog. Card testing still in progress.

Update to increase the quality of four-drops, add land destruction and targeted discard, and testing some weird one-drops.

Update, including sizable changes to Blue and Green, plus a handful for other colours and split cards. This update brings a larger emphasis on cycling and morph.


This does give us a very chunky red four-drop section. The plan is to trim some of the fat after some cards get tested. It's likely that Lavaborn Muse won't stick around, but we wanted to give it a try in the hot-seat.