|
I didn't know this thread existed until someone mentioned it just now in the main thread. I'm very close to completing my own powered cube, I have about 10 cards left to acquire (spamming about it in the trade thread, I've been working on this for over a year and I want it to be over). I COULD just proxy the last few things, I might do it for the Tarmogoyf and Polluted Delta, but meh...I feel compelled to finish it for real. Anyway, here's my list: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/4787 I was having trouble settling on a final number. I didn't want to do a small cube, but I didn't want to go up to 720 either. 600 seemed a nice compromise that allowed for some variation between drafts, multiple archetypes per color, ability to do more than 8 people, and allowed me to include all the cards I wanted without having to make some uncomfortable cuts and retain balance....with smaller cubes I found it really difficult to keep blue from being ridiculously overpowered compared to the other colors. Obviously things like Power are proxied, anyone who's active in the trading thread would be familiar with my work in that area. It's updated through Theros, but I realized a huge oversight in not including Polukranos...suggestions on what to cut for him would be nice. Anyway, there it is. I only started playing a week before Innistrad came out and last year decided to start a cube when I was unemployed and didn't have the money to draft real sets. I briefly abandoned the endeavour to support Standard, but after I finally got a great job I redoubled my efforts. I'm really, really hoping to pick up the last few cards in the next couple of weeks at most (if anyone's curious, this is what's missing: http://deckbox.org/sets/176343).
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2014 23:24
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 17, 2024 19:18 |
|
|
Time to share some pictues. After fifteen months of nonstop trading, IT'S DONE! The last cards came in the mail today, as did my massive box of sleeves. I decided to take pictures for insurance purposes, since carrying around a $4000 box of cards is inherently risky, but I thought I'd share it here. This was a solo cube, so I'm pretty proud of getting this done in just over a year, most of which was spent unemployed (which left tons of times to make proxies to trade away). CUBE PORN!!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 27, 2014 21:07
|
|
|
logis posted:Power!! How many multi-colored cards are you running (as a percentage)? 1/6, 100 multicolor total in a 600 card cube. Full list: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/4787 Kasonic posted:Man, and I was bitching about how sleeving my peasant cube costs like $70. Well done, sir. I spent about that on sleeves today. It's a bitch. Tonde Mo Nai posted:Congrats on getting it all together, it's looking nice. This reminds me that I need to get around to taking more recent pictures of mine, I like the binder page set-up, it's much neater than the pictures I took last year back on the first page of this thread. I had them in perfect fits in the binder while I was acquiring everything, decided to snap photos quickly before breaking it apart. Today I bought 800 pro mattes so now it's completely double-sleeved, including 30 of each basic land (zendikar full art eventually). I'm trying to include every token it produces (just single-sleeved), but I'm currently missing quite a few. I'm going to probably put out a call and share my spreadsheet in the trading thread to try to get them all quickly. This is the final form of the cube, fits nicely in a holiday box: 
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2014 06:40
|
|
|
uggy posted:So my brother and I have spent the last two months working on this cube. Finished trading in most of our bulk this weekend and continued to fix up the cube. Here's what it looks like today: I'm not a big fan of TNN in Cube. I don't really play Legacy, so I'll reserve judgment in that format, but in a Limited environment I think it's just too strong. I was just miserable any time my opponent drafted it on MTGO.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2014 07:26
|
|
|
Null1fy posted:This reddit post was the beginning of my research into printing proxies. I started to scour the internet and I found that the MTG Salvation forums has a great thread that includes a lot of tutorials. Basically, I used photoshop to make a template to print the cards out on, I printed the cards onto transparencies, then glued them onto stripped foils such that the ink on the transparencies glue to the face of the card so they will (hopefully) never fade. Not only are the decals expensive and the ink exposed, but they are also unforgiving when placing the film. With spray adhesive you can reposition the film slightly before setting it (I roll mine out with a rolling pin to get out any bubbles). They come out thinner but don't last as long and aren't worth the trouble. ...but take any advice from me with a grain of salt as I have OCD level insanity about making proxies (not exaggerating: I trim my film under a helping hands magnifier to get flawlessly flush edges and corners). It keeps the goblins asleep to do it perfectly and it means everyone else wants infinite proxies from me, so I guess it's a win for everyone in the end.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 25, 2014 21:22
|
|
|
Null1fy posted:Did you use the CCGHQ pictures to print your proxies on? I found that the color on them is like 90% accurate but there are small discrepancies that irk me a little bit. I really, really like how mine turned out but using the FNM or GP promos, the FNM never stands out well enough and some cards (Scavenging Ooze, Scalding Tarn), etc are just a bit too dark. It's the reason I used the MM Tarmogoyf instead of the FUT one. If I could have closer to accurate colors that would be awesome, but, I remind myself they're just proxies. And I didn't cut mine to the detail you did. I just use a scissors and make like 3 cuts on the edges for a faux-smooth bevel. No, I made all my own images in photoshop (er....GIMP, because open source bitches). I've had a few color issues, but it's mostly the art itself (particularly older cards), but by constructing it in layers I can tweak it without ruining the rest of the card. I also use the MMA Goyf. I get special requests all the time for FUT frames, and I'll do it, but I can't get them right and the art frame is so awkward for art that wasn't designed to be put in it. For others here who have asked about the film I use, the one I USED TO use from 3M really is gone. I finally found a new one, this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YA8RSI/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
|
|
#
¿
Mar 25, 2014 21:39
|
|
|
Null1fy posted:You definitely went way further into this than I did. I just reaped the fruits of the hard labors of the dudes at the CCGHQ. I used that same film except the staples brand. And it was a mistake, since I paid the full price. I should have just bought them online. Can you speak on my concern about the sleeving at all? Ah, that got appended after. Double sleeving is the way to go, but I used them on the proxies as well and they're nearly undetectable that way. They can't be seen in the deck or the packs, you will only notice it as you draw the card (they're stiffer than real cards).
|
|
#
¿
Mar 25, 2014 21:51
|
|
|
AlsoD posted:When does MTGO post the new cube? I can't wait to play with the flash heartbeat of spring I really like that new card for that reason. I love playing green ramp, but I HATE drafting heartbeat because the last thing I want to do is give my opponent a full turn of double mana before I get to take advantage of it. I rarely play symmetrical effects like that....I will first pick a Mirari's Wake any day.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 18, 2014 19:16
|
|
|
Null1fy posted:What are some powerful 'fun' cards that don't threaten balance too much in a powered cube? The ones that, when you look at it in a draft pack and say, 'oh boy, this would be fun!'. Currently I have, to name a few, The Abyss, Sphinx of the Steel Wind, Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker and Eureka. Eureka might make it to my watch list as I've seen players whom have drafted it encounter awkward positions where they aren't comfortable casting it for various reasons. Eureka is a somewhat balanced card for cheating big fun things out because it can just as easily backfire since theoretically your opponent can empty their entire hand. It's less spike-y than Show and Tell, which I always pair with Angel of Despair (3 mana, get the angel and opponent essentially discards a card since you just blow up whatever they play with angel's trigger). Isochron Scepter is an interesting artifact that can be really powerful but requires some thought to make it work properly. The Sphinx and Nicol Bolas made my cube (list: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/4787), my other shard cards are Retaliator Griffin and Broodmate Dragon. Sadly I haven't found a decent Bant card to have one from each shard. Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas, is one that a lot of lists don't include but I think he's really interesting if you can draft around him with artifacts. Sheoldred, Whispering One, is a big early pick that pushes someone toward reanimator. I will P1P1 her every time if there isn't power in the pack. I also really really love Recurring Nightmare in combination with cards like Bone Shredder and Precursor Golem which set up a nice loop together. In blue something like Opposition is really fun without being too oppressive. I've drafted blue stall decks that win through either a giant Blue Sun's Zenith to make my opponent deck himself or loop it multiple times. Martial Coup is a personal favorite in white, as is Angelic Destiny.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 25, 2014 22:19
|
|
|
Aston posted:So with Conspiracy coming out next week, is anyone thinking about trying out some conspiracies in their cube? I know I'm certainly going to give Worldknit (all your lands tap for every colour if you play every card you draft), and probably Advantageous Proclamation (maximum deck size is -5 cards). I could also see an argument for Back Up Plan (draw 2 hands before mulligans) and Unexpected Potential (secretly name a card, you can spend mana of any colour to cast that card). For the normal cards, I might try the 1WW exile a creatue and Grenzo, the XBR Goblin with 2: put the bottom card of your library into your graveyard and if it's a creature with power less than Grenzo's then you can put it into play. I've considered it, but I feel like in a Powered Cube like mine, some of the effects could be horribly overpowered. I can see them being good in an unpowered cube though.
|
|
#
¿
May 30, 2014 21:05
|
|
|
So I have been and am continuing to feel really lazy. I haven't updated my cube since Theros, so I have nothing from Born of the Gods, Journey Into Nyx, or M15 in there yet. What cards from those sets are worthy of inclusion in a Powered Cube? Current list: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/4787
|
|
#
¿
Jul 22, 2014 22:48
|
|
|
Null1fy posted:A hell of a lot, especially at 600. Here's an abridged list for what I had in my 465: Thanks, it's somewhere to start. I have almost everything you have from Theros. Lightning Strike is the same as Searing Spear, so that doesn't make it (Spear has a bitchin' promo version, so it wins). Gruul already has very strong multicolor spells and a planeswalker (Domri), so Xenagos didn't make it. Black may already have the most OP low curve creatures as it is, so Tormented Hero got the cut, though he is always an option to replace another creature later. The others I will have to think on for a while and see where I can make cuts while also preserving the balance, since right now things play pretty evenly. The only obvious one is switching Mana Confluence for City of Brass, that's a no-brainer, though it will have to wait for me to get another one. I'm trying to avoid Conspiracy, though. It's SO tempting, but as much as I'd love to be the guy taking two pieces of power off a Librarian, I know I'd hate playing against the guy who got to do that (as would everyone else hate playing against me if I was the lucky bitch that time). Cute idea, but the effect is a little too powerful in cube. Something like Dack might make it, though, Izzet is by far the weakest multicolor section....
|
|
#
¿
Jul 23, 2014 18:24
|
|
|
Ramos posted:
 That's probably my most popular alternative shockland. I can see, especially using that frame, why it might be misleading, but really as long as you point out what you're playing when it drops, I haven't found proxies with alternate full art to be a problem. Other examples, because I like showing off art:           Most were custom jobs for individual tastes, but the revised duals are by far the most popular except for perhaps the power 9 and I run those in my own cube. I have at least a half dozen versions of those with varying art and frames.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 30, 2014 15:18
|
|
|
Null1fy posted:More cube swag! I live near the guy who ran the kickstarter for the CubeVault (cubevault.com) who ended up being an awesome dude. Also, his collection is ridiculous - he has quite possibly 20 to 30 grand in misprints including power in alpha and beta as well as ridiculous foils, alters and etc. As far as the box goes the thing is built like a tank. It's a little weighty, but it makes up for that in construction quality and I think it's pretty. Since you spoke with him, any word if this is a one-off thing or can I eventually order one of those things? I'm bringing my cube with me to GP Orlando (just moved away from FL so my old play group wants to do a draft at the hotel for old times' sake), and I am thinking about the logistics of traveling on a plane with it. This thing would be my carry-on if I had one, I don't trust putting ANY of my cards in my checked bags after my experiences with the TSA (e.g. a few months ago I found a little note that my bag had been opened for inspection and discovered that my digital camera magically vanished).
|
|
#
¿
Aug 27, 2014 22:21
|
|
|
Null1fy posted:Call him up - he doesn't like people trying to just click and buy online because it really is an intimate process that he takes a lot of pride in, in making them. I had the benefit of going there to make one with him but I'm sure he would be willing to help you select a color for the case and velvet that he lines the inside with. Will do. Seems to be worth the investment, especially if I'm going to travel with this thing.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 27, 2014 23:13
|
|
|
Sampatrick posted:Suppose I want to build a powered cube but don't have the money for it - would it be legal/possible for me to pay somebody or purchase foil proxies of all the cards in the cube, supposing that those cards are pretty clearly not meant to be legitimate versions of those cards? Yeah this is pretty much what I've been doing for quite some time. It was pretty funny that I used making proxies for other people's cubes as the means to get all of the real cards that comprise my own.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 25, 2014 00:16
|
|
|
jassi007 posted:Just use a different colored sleeve so they're distinguished from the normal cube cards and don't get shuffled in? Keep them in the same box as the rest of the cube. That's what I do with mine. The Cube cards are sleeved in black, the tokens are sleeved in white and are alphabetically stored in their own row with the pre-sleeved basic lands (I use a holiday box to store it), so there's no possible confusion.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 25, 2014 17:43
|
|
|
Lord Of Texas posted:Easiest thing you can do is use a playmat. I find my sleeves stay relatively clean as long as I'm not playing on grungy FLGS tables. Doesn't matter with Dragon Shields. They're filthy by the end of one or two tournaments just from behind handled. They're DURABLE sleeves, but they just accumulate grime like no other, which is why I never use them.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 26, 2014 19:28
|
|
|
I Love You! posted:
That's because you're supposed to cast Plow Under on turn 2, not turn 4 when they have a looter out to negate a lot of the tempo-loss.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 30, 2014 00:10
|
|
|
Probably the most appropriate thread for it. I've been just forcing mono red every single time. Every so often someone screws me out of it and I lose, but the ratio of win/lose is good enough, and most of the time the color is wide open anyway. If you can pick Sulfuric Vortex, make it happen. Actually, the most valuable red card for me has been Prophetic Flamespeaker. He allows me to spend my burn clearing the board because he just gets all of that card advantage right back for me. Throw Grafted Wargear on him and it's basically game over if you get to hit once. Other than that there's also a really good RW token deck I've found. Lots of things to make goblins plus your usual white token generators and anthems. Get the two Battle Cry guys that usually get passed and, if you're lucky, Hero of Oxid Ridge.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 21, 2014 15:32
|
|
|
WhiteWolf123 posted:The Black 5cc Creature slot is awful. In my own cube I'm considering adding that guy from M15 where your opponent has to sac a creature or pay some life or you get to draw an extra card just to shore up that slot. Herald of Torment is a 5-drop most of the time, but otherwise that slot's lacking.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 22, 2014 18:56
|
|
|
Aston posted:Surely that guy's worse than Bloodgift Demon. It was in addition to, not instead of. My cube is 600 cards so I really just need to up the count for that slot so you can get one in your pool. Liliana's great, she's in there. I was just talking about creatures.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 22, 2014 20:00
|
|
|
Snacksmaniac posted:Rolling with my last mono red deck (splash blue for Ice!) is making me always want to force it. And I think I just passed a really fun deck for a bunch of bolts I run 16, but no more than 4 4-drops and nothing costing more than 4.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 23, 2014 03:34
|
|
|
Mikujin posted:You can usually get away with dropping one 4-drop in favor of a 5-drop like Thundermaw/Stormbreath if you've got some Scry or stuff like Chandra Pyromancer. Don't play other stocky bad 4+ drops, though. This is true, but if my pick were between Thundermaw and a good burn spell, I'd take the burn and hope the dragon came back around unless my deck REALLY supported it already. I think the best curve-toppers are Chandra, Purphoros, Hero of Oxid Ridge, and sometimes Beetleback Chief (if I have Purphoros) or Koth.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 23, 2014 05:08
|
|
|
Ebethron posted:Eternal Witness and Reclamation Sage are good, but I think green could do with some solid beaters at 3cc playing the role that above-curve creatures like Nessian Courser play in normal limited. The RG guild really falls off in quality after the top few picks as well. I dunno, RG has been good for me, but I do usually splash blue. I had one great queue where I got both Bloodbraid Elf and Shardless Agent, managed to cast the one to cascade into the other and then cascade into Mizzium Mortars to clear away my opponent's last creature. It felt good. If someone passes me both Bloodbraid Elf and Hunter of the Fells it's a good deck, but I agree that the 3-drop spot is lackluster. I can't even remember if Kitchen Finks is around. I assume it is because I get Murderous Redcap all the time in red, but I don't think I've actually seen it. Mikujin posted:Definitely, and I'm not saying to seek out the 5-drop, moreso just if it falls in your lap. Thundermaw wheeled for me tonight. If memory serves I think I took Searing Blaze or Firebolt over it initially. Agreed. You'd be surprised how often it does just fall in your lap like that, I have no idea why it is such a low priority for other decks but I guess my best guess would be everyone tries going 3 colors and double red scares them off.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 23, 2014 17:51
|
|
|
Maybe a LITTLE greedy, but I'm more curious as to why you're not running the Shrine. That card has been an absolute house for me. In mono red it's usually a guaranteed 8 damage after 2-3 turns.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 23, 2014 20:17
|
|
|
Searing Blood would be my pick depending on your matchup. It's the most often stranded card in my hand, I tend to leave it in the side and then bring it in against decks with little mana dorks.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 23, 2014 20:27
|
|
|
I have to take a break for dinner then do another. Just did a VMA draft with some of my free packs and somehow 3-0'd with what I shall call "CounterGoblins". P1P1 foil Force of Will, didn't switch from black to red until pack 2, but got a pair of Goblin Chiefs and a full playset of Beetleback Chief and a slew of tempo bounce spells and burn to clear the way. I was actually just being goofy, figured switching colors so late was bad, but it worked out! But I miss cube. Way more fun format, I just wanted to play Power Nine Roulette once (and it paid off!).
|
|
#
¿
Nov 23, 2014 22:26
|
|
|
I Love You! posted:
I'm in a similar draft right now. As things stand near the end of pack 2...  THAT'S what I have to choose from in that pack. And I already took something else from it (I think Brimstone Volley). I started off P1P1 Thundermaw. Pick 2 was Keranos, followed by Metamorph. After that it was all burn all the time. That's the funny thing though....I DIDN'T want to draft red for once, but it's just too open to let it go!
|
|
#
¿
Nov 24, 2014 01:46
|
|
|
That draft with Keranos I actually took a long time to decide on one pick, deciding between some creature and Splinter Twin. I passed on Twin figuring what are the odds of finding Pestermite or Conscripts.... Next pick I was passed a Pestermite and later took a Conscripts 
|
|
#
¿
Nov 24, 2014 02:27
|
|
|
Another 3-0 with that Keranos-Metamorph build I drafted  Metamorph was brutal in the final round against RW aggro. One game I copied his Shrine of Burning Rage (THAT'S where it went....that bastard). Another I copied his Hero of Bladehold. A third time I copied his Precinct Captain then killed the original.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 24, 2014 03:40
|
|
|
Never pass Jitte. Ever. I just won an absolutely insane round against GW Ramp. I had nothing but a Restoration Angel and a Grim Lavamancer, Jitte on the Angel. I managed to win through a field of Obstinate Baloth, Burning-Tree Emissary, Polukranos, and an active Nissa who at first accelerated the other poo poo out in one turn then just vomited land-creatures at me. I mean, drawing Sarkhan helped deal with Nissa, but Jitte allowed me to profitably block and whittle down his field. Once he lost the Nissa he tried for one last alpha strike where I played Boros Charm to double strike my Angel against his Polukranos (which he had done Monstrosity 1 with in response to trying to put Grafted Wargear on my Lavamancer). Jitte already had 2 counters, so I was able to weaken his Polukranos so my angel survives, gets 4 more counters I can use to nuke the land, and in the end he has no creatures while I have an Angel with a Jitte and Wargear and an active Sarkhan. He was at 26 life and conceded when I was at 1. I have never come from so far behind with only casting three spells (charm, wargear, Sarkhan) because the power of ONE card I had on my field was just so high it was able to hold off monstrous poo poo and trampling lands and a planeswalker that only ticks up all by itself.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 24, 2014 21:12
|
|
|
I Love You! posted:Guess you haven't played with Vedalken Shackles then! I don't play WITH it much, but playing against it with Jitte is funny. They forget I still control the equipment, so they steal my equipped guy and swing with it. Thanks for the counters!
|
|
#
¿
Nov 24, 2014 21:22
|
|
|
I tried drafting Blue. I really did. First pick Tamiyo, second pick Ral Zarek, third pick Pestermite. Let's try for some UR Control? I picked up a few more blue spells, as well as Splinter Twin , but really the majority of spells that fit my deck were burn.....In the end I basically have burn again. Purphoros and goblin token spells, burn spells out the rear end, and a splash of blue for Ral Zarek, Pestermite for the combo, and Wake Thrasher (which is bonkers with so many tokens untapping each turn and Chandra to negate big blockers that might trade with it). Why can't I quit you, mono red Oh right, because I've won like 30 VMA packs forcing this poo poo over and over with zero tickets invested (I had phantom points leftover from the holiday cube in July).
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2014 19:12
|
|
|
weekly font posted:How's green superramp in this Cube? I remember the first MODO Cube that poo poo was money and I haven't really played on there since the first Holiday Cube but I'm thinking I might invest over Thanksgiving break. Yeah it's pretty weak. You don't get backbreakers like Terastodon that are just game over turn 3, most of what you can ramp into doesn't give you as much immediate value as you'd want. When I've drafted green I've had to supplement with another color and just play conservative midrange with Thragtusk and Titans and stuff. No Channel into Emrakul 
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2014 22:19
|
|
|
Huh. I think this last round was the first time where Baneslayer Angel's "protection from Dragons" has ever actually been relevant for me. I was barely hanging on with Isamaru with Basilisk Collar equipped when my opponent dropped a Thundermaw and started chipping away. Baneslayer shut that poo poo down, but later it also allowed me to just win because he couldn't chump in the air on a critical turn. Straight up amazing card in a vacuum, but I was amused to see that last line matter. Finally drafted something other than red. Tearing things up with BW Tokens: 3 versions of Ajani (only playing 2), new Sorin, Gideon Jura, Sublime Archangel, and every little white creature or token generator I could get with some removal to clear the way.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2014 22:53
|
|
|
And now for something completely different.... I finally sat down today and overhauled my cube to take into account over a year of new cards. I apologize in advance for the novel, but I wrote out my reason for each decision in a post both to share with friends who played this cube with me and to sort of justify to myself why it was being done so I knew I wasn't making a change just for its own sake. The updated list can be viewed at: http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/4787 1) Knight of Meadowgrain -> Banishing Light: Knight is powerful, but narrow. Double white at 2CMC is bad for RW Aggro, so it only ever gets picked by White Weenie. Banishing Light still helps that deck, but also has utility elsewhere so will see more play. 2) Armada Wurm -> Advent of the Wurm: Lowering the Selesnya curve and basically giving the token Flash. A much more interesting card to play with, and easier to splash with only a single white instead of double. 3) Abyssal Persecutor -> Ob Nixilis, Unshackled: Persecutor was very weird. It's powerful but narrow, and shapes your plays because you have to remove it at some point. It's either a dud or too strong, and we already have a more balanced 6/6 flier for the same cost and color in Desecration Demon. Ob Nixilis adds another card for Reanimator or Ramp that's much more interesting in how it interacts with other cards in the cube. 4) Spitting Image -> Prophet of Kruphix: Simic had the most gold cards of any guild, but was somehow still the weakest guild. Theros block showed these colors some love, and I included that here to give it a boost. Prophet is very powerful and also splashable, while Image was very expensive and never saw play. 5) Yavimaya's Embrace -> Kiora, the Crashing Wave: Another really expensive gold card for a much cheaper, more powerful option. No way Kiora wasn't finding a place, and this card needed to go anyway. Hopefully Simic/Bant gets more play. 6) Dauthi Slayer -> Grim Haruspex: Haruspex is a little new, and I don't like morphs, but it's a more skill-testing and interesting card than Slayer with it's "must attack" restriction. Might make black too strong, but I think white got enough of a similar buff to keep it in check. 7) Nath of the Gilt-Leaf -> Reaper of the Wilds: One powerful Golgari midrange card for another, but Reaper is less un-fun to play against. Nath combined with a little acceleration and other cheap black discard is just all the feel-bads. Reaper keeps the same power level but in a different, much-more-fun-to-play-against way. 8) Ember Swallower -> Anger of the Gods: Red had enough land destruction, and this effect was too pricey. It needed the cheap sweeper more and the undercosted aggro body less. 9) Spitemare -> Anax and Cymede: Boros might be the strongest guild behind Azorius, but Spitemare was a dumb redundancy. It's a strictly worse Boros Reckoner, which is also in the cube, so it gets the axe to make room for the much more interesting to build around Anax and Cymede, which should push more of an equipment/enchantment draft strategy. 10) Soltari Champion -> Banisher Priest: Another narrow White Weenie upgrade. Replaced the WW beater with something that still helps WW BUT will also be drafted elsewhere instead of being dead. Simultaneously slightly nerfs RW Aggro by removing a nigh-unblockable battle cry effect with no risk or drawback. 11) Viridian Shaman -> Reclamation Sage: The latter is literally the former with "or enchantment" added to its text, right down to its subtypes even. 'Nuff said. 12) Cataclysm -> Ajani Steadfast: White Weenie needed a buff to counteract the losses it took in #1 and #10, so it gets another planeswalker slash anthem effect, but one that can ALSO be drafted by multicolored Superfriends builds that are already out there. Notice a theme? I want cards that will be fought over by multiple strategies, not narrow ones (and incidentally Cataclysm was just for Wx control, which is way too strong). 13) Eternal Dragon -> Resolute Archangel: Another Wx control consideration. On the one hand, it did lose some power in Cataclysm, while I'm lowering curves and buffing aggro strategies, so the ETB effect is a nice compensation. On the other, Dragon's cycling loop was yet another card draw engine and Wx control has way too many of those. It does not get drafted outside that archetype, so it's gotta go, for a card with an ETB which I'm a fan of because they suggest synergies. 14) Kor Haven -> Mutavault: Mutavault belongs in any cube, especially powered. I left it out to nerf aggro, and that was a mistake. Kor Haven was too narrow, so it's the perfect swap. 15) Mimic Vat -> Siege Rhino: This is the only swap that changes the color balance. Rhino is an auto-include from Khans, but what do I remove for a 3-color card for balance? Answer--A colorless card! Mimic Vat was another weird one that was either bonkers or dead, and I'm also just sick of playing with it (I cut it in my Memnarch EDH deck too). 16) Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter -> Ajani, Mentor of Heroes: Vish Kal never saw play. Ever. He's too expensive and his abilities aren't that interesting in limited. Ajani is batshit. Orzhov had too many cards, Selesnya was average, so swap (and I get to use my Chewbacca alter  )17) Violent Outburst -> Tymaret, the Murder King: I like sacrifice effects. I also liked nerfing GR Aggro a little, especially by removing another cascade card that often led to super early alpha strikes. Cascade that into a burn spell or a Lightning Mauler? Brutal. Tymaret is similarly narrow, but more interesting to build around. 18) Jungle Lion -> Nissa, Worldwaker: The strength of green aggro is its unercosted creatures can switch to blocking. This does not do that, no one plays it. Nissa is interesting and a planeswalker. 19) Mikaeus, the Lunarch -> Brimaz, King of Oreskos: Mikaeus never got much play, and I had to throw a bone to White Weenie and RW Aggro to balance the other changes (or the other way around, Brimaz was my first decision). 20) Deadbridge Goliath -> Polukranos, World Eater: Almost a strict upgrade. Both are 5/5s for 2GG, but Polukranos has a more interesting ability. 21) Clone -> Clever Impersonator: I feel weird taking out Clone, it goes way back to Alpha! But I wanted Clever Impersonator for shenanigans, and I didn't want blue to get yet another copy effect. I might put Clone back in after I see how things play out, but for now it seemed an appropriate swap that shouldn't affect balance. 22) Pyrewild Shaman -> Goblin Rabblemaster: Second confirmed edit. RabbleRabble is a better 3-drop for red, the end. 23) Mindslaver -> Scuttling Doom Engine: The Mindslaver loop is in here. No one has ever done it. Mindslaver is just an un-fun and uninteresting card. Scuttling Doom Engine, on the other hand, can be drafted by any deck, has synergy in all colors (sac effects, artifact destruction, board clogging, recursion loops, you name it), and is generally a much more interesting card....and conveniently they're both colorless for 6 mana! That's that. Got rid of a few cards I hated, included a few I love. We'll have to see how the balance plays out, but conveniently I already had all of these new cards in my possession. Now I just have to find new friends up here in Michigan to draft it with....
|
|
#
¿
Dec 4, 2014 23:07
|
|
|
I Love You! posted:I live in Michigan I'm guessing probably Ann Arbor, just a hunch. I'm over in Grand Rapids though I go down to Kalamazoo occasionally (girlfriend's family lives there).
|
|
#
¿
Dec 4, 2014 23:54
|
|
|
If I have a job some time soon and can travel again....
|
|
#
¿
Dec 5, 2014 04:53
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 17, 2024 19:18 |
|
|
I Love You! posted:Nope, Lansing. It's actually practical! Yeah that's not too awful actually.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 5, 2014 05:52
|
|