My Top 5 Cube Cards
By Evan on Feb 28, 2009 in Draft Strategy
Here are my Top 5 Cube cards.
First, let me get the biggies out of the way: Ancestral Recall and Time Walk are sorta ‘gimmes’ and won’t be discussed. They’re awesome, and would be #3 and #4 on this list. However, they’re just not that interesting to talk about. You know what they do is unfair for the price you pay, and that’s why I like them. Otherwise, snooze.
So, with no further ado:
#1 Sol Ring
It puts you two turns ahead of your opponent. There is no card that is more powerful in a limited environment than one that suddenly allows you to burst ahead of your opponent’s curve so far it’s like you’re playing a different game.
This is a card that is so powerful many have removed it from their cubes because of the unfair/unfun gamestates that it can cause. While it’s not an instant game over by any means, it is always the card you are hoping to open.
#2 Library of Alexandria
Nuts good, and works in every deck. You’ll find that a lot of my picks are ubiquitous, meaning they’ll be in 5C Control just as much as they’ll be in G/W Aggro. Library of Alexandria is the card you want in your opening hand more than any other. If Sol Ring puts you turns ahead of your opponent in mana, Library puts you turns ahead in cards in just a few untap steps.
Late game it’s simply a colorless land, but even then if you’re in an attrition war it is worth building up to the seven cards needed to make this The Best Land Evar.
#3 Treachery
How do you win games in the Cube? By swinging with dudes in the red zone. And there is nothing more powerful than Control Magic For Free when faced with that as your win condition. There are incredible few creatures who are immune to Treachery (Troll Ascetic, Mother of Runes, etc) and it is easily one of the strongest signals that the person who passed it to you doesn’t want to play Blue or perhaps win games they shouldn’t have. Righteously unfair.
#4 Sensei’s Divining Top
Card quality is king in the Cube, and this card gives you the quality and then some. You could say Sylvan Library is close (and, granted, it’s a hell of a card), but it doesn’t come down on Turn 1 and doesn’t make every shuffle effect provide you a 1-colorless-mana Brainstorm. Sensei’s Divining Top allows your hand to grow by three cards, every turn, and allows you to replace those three cards with shuffle effects. Just insane.
#5 Sword of Fire and Ice
Ah, good ole SoFI (pronounced ‘Sophie’). Yet another artifact on this list, because every creature with this on it turns into Super Awesome Duder. With Blue and Red being one of the most powerful and popular combinations of colors, this nullifies the entire deck and requires them to have something like Crystal Shard while your shields are down (i.e. no mana to pay for its effect) and/or some Shatter effect to rid them of this accursed Equipment that will destroy them if given just a little bit of time.
So that’s my five. What are yours?
Here’s the top 5 list of my favorite cards in my cube (i.e. cards I will auto first pick):
1. Sol Ring - I have to agree with you on this one. This is a ridiculously good card, yet it isn’t in and of itself a game winner. That’s part of the mystique of Sol Ring - you still have to be a good player to win with it.
2. Akroma, Angel of Wrath - This has been a favorite card of mine since I started playing in Legions block. It’s actually the very first rare I ever opened. Since then, I’ve enjoyed mercilessly smashing my opponents’ faces with her. I know that she’s by no means invulnerable, but sometimes it certainly feels like it when you’re facing one on the other side of the table. I’ve picked Akroma 4th or 5th and “splashed” her successfully in a U/B deck. This is how much I love this card.
3. Swords to Plowshares - Now that I’ve praised Akroma, I have to mention the card that kills her the most. Everyone knows why Swords is good, so I won’t even waste your time.
4. Bitterblossom - A lot of my friends really underestimate the power of the blossom. It’s easily playable in EVERY archetype that uses black, and almost as playable in those that don’t. Making a dude every turn is incredibly powerful in any limited format.
5. Aether Vial/Umezawa’s Jitte - If I see either of these early, I’m pretty much going aggro. I’ve won every game ever on the back of some small dude carrying the jitte or on an instant speed blocker off the vial to disrupt there combat math.
Keep in mind that the above cards aren’t the most powerful in my cube by any means, but they are my five favorite cards to see in my opening pack.
Mox_or_Menos | Feb 28, 2009 | Reply
Evan,
My friends and I have a cube based on your list, although by no means is it finished we are at about 90% and always getting cards to try and finish up as much as we can within our budget.
These are a few cards that when I play cube I would probably never pass based on personal success, getting crushed with them, or just because I think they are just cute as hell.
#1 Sol Ring – Yeah not original, but this card is just way too good to let anyone else have. I have never passed this card because whoever gets it is going to use it, and play cards way too soon that I really don’t ever want to see.
#2 Maze of Ith – There is always that one creature that you cannot afford to deal with (say Rith with an armadillo cloak?) in the red zone or has some sort of evasion and is going to get some damage in on you. This card allows you to buy tons of time until you find whatever answer or sweeper you can find to deal with your opponents board. To make the deal even sweeter, its casting cost is zero and its ability is free. So while you are frustrating the hell out of your opponent, you are still free to cast whatever spells you want.
#3 Umezawa’s Jitte – 5 words: your combat math doesn’t matter. Once this baby starts getting some counters on it, it becomes a powerhouse on its own with the ability to manipulate the red zone so much after just one swing grants you a huge advantage over your opponent. Basically if this card goes unanswered for more than 2 turns, your opponent is going to be crying.
#4 Mistmeadow Witch – This card may seem like his effect isn’t too powerful, but when you start bouncing the board around to avoid sweepers and targeting effects, or your FTKs and Shriekmaws to clear out your opponents board this little guy gets to be insane. I know this guy has changed the game state for me more times than I can count especially since W/U control is my deck of choice.
#5 Bribery – I like to think of this card as the blue Akroma, because I’d say 80% of the time, you are getting one of the two from your opponents with this card. Maybe not a card I would always draft, but if I am playing blue I would love to have this card. Seriously, a turn 5 Darksteel Colossus is pretty damn rad and I can think of quite a few other late game bomb creatures that I would love to see on my side of the board when I passed them for one of the other cards on this list.
Pay_a_blue | Feb 28, 2009 | Reply
1) LoA
2) Sol Ring
3) Jitte
4) Bribery
5) Maze of Ith
Shi.ar | Mar 1, 2009 | Reply
1.Treachery
Free control magic is always good especially in a cube where every creature is good. Steal his creature and still have mana to defend next turn. =)
2.Sword of Ice and Fire
So good in a creature based deck. It’s able to deal more damage, pick off non-blocking creatures and draw more cards. What’s more to ask for?
3.Jitte
Make a mess for combat math with counters.totally agree with Pay_a_blue.
4.Bribery
Casting your friend’s akroma without white mana, anyone?
5.Recurring Nightmare
Recurring raise dead is very good. Without permission stopping it, it’s very good.
Xenon | Mar 2, 2009 | Reply
1. Sol Ring- Tempo is crucial in limited.
2. Demonic Tutor- You need to be able to get answers at crucial times.
3. Sensei’s Divining top- Nothing new to say.
4. Sword of Fire and Ice- You draw cards and do damage with protection and pump. This card is just broken.
5. Balance- Card advantage is big. This does that, along with board sweeping.
sfielder001 | Mar 2, 2009 | Reply
I definitely agree on Sol Ring. #2 in my cube is probably Tinker. Big artifact dudes generally table, so it’s pretty easy to pick one or two up if you can snatch the Tinker.
Tinkering a Chromatic Star away for Darksteel Colossus is good times. Platinum Angel is also nice when you’re in a tight spot.
Pox22 | Mar 2, 2009 | Reply
First four I can’t really disagree with, but there’s a lot of other cards I’d put above SoFI like Umezawa’s Jitte, Recurring Nightmare, and Mind Twist.
paragon | Mar 3, 2009 | Reply
1 sol ring (insane)
2 life from the loam (my fave card evarr!!!)
3 sacred mesa (made of win)
4 goyf (i love myself som */*+1)
5 jitte (100% more win)
x
Josh | Mar 4, 2009 | Reply
1) Library of Alex
2) Black Lotus
3) Mind Twist
4) Yawgmoths Will
5) Timewalk
I’d put Sol-Ring very highly but these cards IMO are just “win” cards most of the time if played correctly and deserve to be a little higher than Ring.
Electrohead | Mar 5, 2009 | Reply
I own a cube so massive I have so many favorites to add. Without any of the power cards involved (even though they are insane) here is my top five:
1. Library of Alexandria- no matter what everyone says, this card without a doubt is a broken card in cube drafts. Whoever passes Library is an idiot and should not ever draft again lol.
2. Sol Ring- again this card is broken in cube. Gives you xtra mana quick in turn one.
3. Treachery- I have had underestimated this card for a while until I ended up drafting this and realized how ridiculously insane it is. No way can you lose when treachery is in play.
4. Umezawa’s Jitte/SoFI- these artifacts are a must includ in your cube decks. They are the beaters especially if you are or playing against aggro.
5. Sensei’s Divining Top- Can you say bah-row-ken??? Ridiculous. This card has been banned and unbanned plenty times in my cube group LOL.
Chris M (nopausenogain) | Mar 6, 2009 | Reply
My list:
1) Mana Crypt
It’s like Sol Ring, only it’s free, so you’re not pressured into dropping it… make your opponent think you’ve got a burn spell. Of course, the irony is that if you don’t play this card effectively you’ll literally only be burning yourself.
Still, you’re still effectively 2-3 turns ahead of your opponent when you drop this because it’s a free, mana-producing artifact.
2) Black Lotus
Nothing like going land-lotus-mox on turn 1 to drop Serra Angel. Even without the mox, though, there are still plenty of nasties that can hit the board courtesy of this freebie.
3) Library of Alexandria
This comes close to Lotus, for me, because even though Library keeps you ahead of the game.. it does take a little bit of sacrifice to get it to work right. If you’re on the play and you pull it in your opening hand, or a mulligan, you essentially have to skip a turn to get the full use out of it. Missing early beats will hurt you, but then again you’ll probably still get lucky with this guy.
4) Scroll Rack
It’s no twist of irony that I’d not only exclude Sensei’s Divining Top from this list, but that’d I’d list this right after Library; the two are quite synergistic (almost as much as Scroll Rack + Academy Ruins + Chaos Orb/Lotus). While Scroll Rack isn’t pseudo-indestructible, it DOES let you trade your handful of chaff for some new beef. also comboes with counterbalance (better than the almighty Top!)
5) Umezawa’s Jitte
It’s just good in any deck. period. Aggro, control, combo. Who cares? Just play the darn thing and win already so your opponent can scoop and go on to a new draft! Lol
Brandon | Mar 15, 2009 | Reply
my top cube picks
1.)Balance
2.)Sol Ring
3.)Library of Alexandria
4.)Ancestral Recall
5.)Time Walk
conway | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
1. ancestral recall-need i say more?
2. sword of fire and ice-makes any dude a beast!
3. treachery-free control magic anyone?
4. sol ring-2 mana every turn for only 1 cost?
5. isochron scepter-good with almost any instant, really good with a counterspell, busted with orim’s chant
steven | May 14, 2009 | Reply
1 - LoA. Uncounterable CA on T1, priceless.
2 - Maze of Ith - Simply the easiest way to take care of their most dangerous dude. Helps you guarantee better results by forcing them to extend both their board and attackers. Adding effectiveness to your sweepers.
3 - Treachery - Everyone understands that free control magic is one of the biggest game changers, this card never has a smalll effect on the course of a game
4 - Akroma - Really either one. Angel of Wrath which is pro almost all spot removal and Fury because she can morph early and Firebreathing Trample is pretty good last time I checked.
5 - Debtor’s Knell - Sure it costs 7. Sure it needs cards in the ‘yard but have you ever untapped with this thing? They not only need to have an answer in their deck, but they need to find it fast. It’s hybrid mana which makes it easier to fit into more decks and it is backed up with all the best sweepers and removal in its colors to help set it up for domination.
Sooo many great cards left out w/such a short list but that’s what makes Cubing so Amazing!
Churro4 | Jun 2, 2009 | Reply
1) Contract from Below
One-sided Wheel of Fortune for B. Buh-roken. Yeah, you’re betting the value of whatever you flip ($20 on average), but you’ll seldom actually lose after playing it.
2) Sol Ring
Unlike everything else on this list, this card is nearly insurmountable and puts you two turns ahead. I cut it from my cube for reducing games to opening hands.
3) Treachery
Huge swing in CA and tempo.
4) Bribery
The best creature in your opponent’s deck for 3UU. You usually end up with a Kokusho/Akroma etc that’s a pain to answer and should cost way more than 5 mana.
5) Jitte/Survival of the Fittest/Recurring Nightmare
Overwhelming advantage in combat. ’nuff said.
Library and Divining top are strong, but I have a relatively ‘fast’ cube which makes their tempo cost more limitting.
Justin | Jul 12, 2009 | Reply
1- Pernicous Deed
2- Sword of fire/ice
3- Exalted Angel
4- Jitte
5- Recurring nightmare
(Taking out the obvious power cards >.>)
Kira | Aug 5, 2009 | Reply
1- Sword of Fire and Ice. This card is probably pretty high on my list, but red and blue are both very hard colors to deal with. This card will make the cut for every list, so i pick it very highly.
2- Debt of Loyalty. If you are in white, this is the best card in your deck. Period.
3- Wash Out. Our play group was testing with this card and it gives blue exactly what it needed: a turn 4 reset button against aggro.
4- Goyf/Tog. Pretty obvious why.
5- Force of Will. Says no to broken situations.
The obvious first pick is Mana Vault/Sol Ring. I am still undecided on which is better, Sol Ring is far more reliable, but also the difference between 4 mana and 5 mana on turn 2 can make a huge difference to how the game plays out. My personal favorite is Vault though.
Brodie | Sep 4, 2009 | Reply
I’ve only cubed 5 times, but I have had a winning record every time and won two of them. I can’t get away from UWx control. Bearing in mind that the cube is legacy legal cards only, my top 5 are:
#1: Venser- I love this guy so much. He blocks and bounces or counters. He is the answer that the decks I draft need for manlands or the early Savanah Lion-esque creatures. The tempo gain from bouncing a karoo is also huge.
#2: Obelisk of Alara- In control, it’s hard to lose after resolving this card. You don’t even have to wait a turn before activating it, just play it with mana up. I have literally not lost after resolving this and keeping it for more than 1 turn. Not many decks can race 5 life a turn.
#3: Cryptic Command- I am never scared of anything when I have this in hand.
#4: Sword of F/I- My favorite first pick. It leaves you in any archtype, and is awesome in all of them.
#5: Desolation Angel- I played with this for the first time last draft, and I also had Treachery in my deck. Twice I had 4 lands and a karoo in play, tap for 6, play treachery untapping my karoo with one mana floating and then cast Desolation Angel. It’s a blowout on a stick. (Just don’t reanimate it)
Fin | Sep 18, 2009 | Reply
Let me describe our cube briefly…We have no power in our cube and there have been a number of cards cut for power level/fun reasons. As a pretty competitive play group this was hard to do, but the cube is the one casual format we allow ourselves, so fun is the priority. Examples of this are Sol Ring, Mana Drain, Grim Monolith, Vedalken Shackles and a few others. Mind Twist is currently on the chopping block, and Kokusho is banned in two-headed giant which has become the format we play most often.
On to my list:
1: Umezawas Jitte: The best equipment ever printed. Evan said it best when he said this was a creature dominated format, and Jitte dominates creature combat like nothing ever printed.
2: Sword of Fire and Ice: Giving your best creature added size and protection from Cryptic Command and Trechery from the control decks and Lightning Bolt, FTK and Incinerate from the aggro decks makes this card nuts.
3: Recurring Nightmare: An amazing way to abuse some of the Cubes most powerful creatures. Everything from Siege-Gang Commander and Deranged Hermit to Shriekmaw and Bogardan Hellkite can go from awesome to game-ending in the drop of a hat.
4: Bitterblossom: Combines nicely with my top three picks as well as other busted cards like Skullclamp and Mycoloth. It also allows control decks to turn the corner without tapping out and can provide some early-game defense.
5: Trechery: One of the biggest tempo swings ever printed. Turning their best blocker into your best attacker is pretty nice. As is stealing a creature with a game-breaking ability like Reveillark or Numot, The Devastator.
Honorable mentions:
Profane Command: One of the best limited cards ever.
Cryptic Command: Awesome in 2HG… And everywhere else.
Plow Under: Its game over if your winning.
Venser, Shaper Savant: Seemingly the best of the blue dorks. Flexible.
PLANESWALKERS: They cast free spells. Thats good, right?
Joe McGough | Oct 22, 2009 | Reply
Sol Ring
Scroll Rack
Library of Victory
Sensei’s Divining Top
Judgement Wishes (Sense we made “outside the game” mean “rest of the cube”)
Teccan9nja | Nov 7, 2009 | Reply
All those cards are all well and good but in my cube my favorite 5 are…
1.booster tutor
2.gifts given
3.force of will
4.karakas
5.crystal shard
fishness | Nov 14, 2009 | Reply