14 Comment(s)

1. Kor Firewalker is not a Silver Knight at all. The Kor is good against one deck: mono red. Against RX he’s mediocre. Against everything else, he’s a hard to cast bear. At least Silver Knight has first strike. Kor Firewalker doesn’t belong anywhere near the cube.

   Marshal’s Anthem was solid, but we cut it to make room for Gideon (I know you won’t make the RoE update for a bit, but Anthem was short lived in our cube.)

   I don’t think your cube is anywhere near large enough to run something like Soltari Emissary. If you want evasion on a small dude, run Stormfront Pegasus or Mistral Charger. You’re also not running Kor Skyfisher and that guy has been pretty ridic around here. Shadow != good.

   Old Man of the Sea is not cube worthy at all, IMO. He’s no Shackles. He only hits little guys and he’s extremely fragile. You’re not running Time Spiral or Treachery and both of those cards would be absolute upgrades to the Old Man. I’d also rather have any of the following in that slot: Willbender, Tradewind Rider, Morphling, Inkwell Leviathan, Ponder, Serum Visions, Unsummon, Miscalculation, Compulsive Research, Hinder, Time Twister, Sleep, Turnabout, Confiscate, Upheaval, Condescend, Repeal, or Stroke of Genius.

   Abyssal Persecutor is awful for the cube. If a card says, “You can’t win the game,” it’s probably not worthy. Any other cube worthy 4-drop is better than this guy. He may get your opponent to 0 faster, but then you have to hope you draw that removal spell to get rid of him so you can win the game. The fact that he’s black and 6/6 really narrows the amount of spells available that can actually remove him, not to mention the fact that they have to be in the draft pod somewhere, you have to have drafted them and then you have to draw them. Boo on all that. I’ll just draft my Phyrexian Scuta or Plague Sliver and use my removal on my opponent’s creatures and let my 5/5 get me there just as quickly. Heck, I’d rather have Mirri the Cursed in that slot for my black aggro deck.

   Also… I gotta ask… You cut Morphling because the M10 rules changes supposedly made it weak (I disagree, but that’s another debate for another day). Why, then, is Phyrexian Plaguelord still sitting in your black section? If M10 made anything weaker, it was definitely that guy.

   And where is Oona’s Prowler? I’d expect that to be an auto include in a cube like yours that supports so much reanimator. It’s a much much better option than something like Mesmeric Fiend… especially if you’re wanting to push black aggro. He’s either a 1/1 flyer that makes my opponent discard a card, an 0/1 flyer that makes my opponent discard two cards, or a 3/1 flying beat stick. He also doubles as a discard outlet for me should I need that sort of thing. He’s amazing for any cube, really.

   Sulfuric Vortex is absolutely retarded. It’s probably the second or third best red card available for cube. Excellent addition, there.

   I don’t like Searing Blaze because it’s dependent on landfall to be worth anything at all. And then it’s sorcery speed which is pretty meh when it comes to burn spells. A sorcery speed burn spell has to be pretty bad ass before it’s worth it, IMO. Searing Blaze is not as awesome sauce as you think. Make it just hit an opponent and a creature both for three at instant speed for RR and it’d make the cut. As it is, I’d say it’s pretty mediocre and only worthy of larger cubes.

   I think your green update is pretty mediocre. Vines of Vastwood is really good and Mold Shambler is decent. Sylvan Scrying is much better than Search for Tomorrow. SfT is ok because it does ramp, but Sylvan Scrying can go get your Library of Alexandria that just wins you the game. Bestial Menace is a whole handful of power for five mana, but I’d rather have something that seriously effects the gamestate like Terastodon or Woodfall Primus. Green cards that kill planeswalkers are made of win. Wolfbriar Elemental is way overpriced and way too green heavy by the time he becomes slightly useful. Again, I’d rather have Terastodon or Woodfall Primus here. Omnath is mediocre at best and is such a Timmy card. Heck, even Indrik Stomphowler is better than that guy.

   I don’t much care for the non blue Signets either, but I think they are a necessary evil. They both ramp and fix your mana, so while the BR one may not see much play, the UB and GR ones should see play. I completely disagree with Mr. LaPille and his logic behind signets making green worse. Green is the color of mana fix and mana ramp, but that has absolutely nothing to do with signets and I’m still picking Sylvan Scrying over Selesnya Signet in my GW deck. I like the artifacts you’re adding, but removing the Signets is a mistake IMO. Oh, and Thran Dynamo > Everflowing Chalice all day every day. Chalice doesn’t become better until you can invest a ton of mana into it and by that time you don’t need it anyway.

   Also, your renaming of artifacts to colorless will be fruitless, IMO. The only “colorless” spell worthy of cube is All is Dust and even that card has some pretty big cons against it.

   Yay at cutting multicolor cards! Less multicolor cards results in much higher pack quality which results in much higher deck quality. The less multicolor, the better. I’m down to six per color combo, one of each allied shard, and no enemy wedges for my 555 card cube. I think that’s perfect for us, but it could probably be cut to five per section fairly easily.

   Overall a decent update. I really like the push for black aggro.

   calibretto | Apr 25, 2010 | Reply

2. Like the update alot, I´m going to try without Karoos ans Signets.

   Keep up the gooodies….and the preorders looks to be solid cards.

   slanfan | Apr 25, 2010 | Reply

3. Kor Firewalker: while Silver Knight is decent against nonred decks as well (firs strike works with burn, powerboosting equipments and when you double block) this Kor looks like a sideboard only card
   Soltari Emissary: I would play Soltari Trooper over him, because you don’t want to block with this creatures anyway

   Old Man of the Sea : It is far worse than V Shackles, but we had a lot of fun with Callous Oppressor in the early days of my cube. OmotS is a cool card to play with, but the Oppressor isn’t restricted to 1-2 power creatures and costs 1 less mana.

   Your aggro update for black looks really good. 2 thumbs up!
   I hope Abyssal Persecutor works better in your cube, since we always had the problem of getting rid of AP against blue decks, that could just turn there whole gameplan into countering our removal spells while winning with a negative lifetotal.
   A card that would fit perfect into both your aggro and reanimator plan is Oona’s Prowler: for only 2 mana, you get a evasive 3 powered creature that gives you a discard outlet to reanimate them later.

   I don’t know how high you value the fact that Skirk Marauder can be a decoy for your other morphs, but I would rather have Ghitu Slinger in this slot, because he deals the damage immediately, even if he dies before you spend additional mana + works with cards that get value out of etb creatures.

   (You might have switched the description on Gorilla Shaman and Viashino Heretic)
   I always thought Mox Monkey was a staple for powered cubes and with 19 cmc 0-1 targets + 7 more for 2 mana it looks like there is enough fodder for him available.

   Terastodon is probably the best green fatty ever printed: it either gives you 18 power worth of dudes or acts as a Vioent Ultimatum for noncreature permanents. How about cutting the superslow Centaur Glade or Mycoloth that gives your opponent the chance to X-for-1 you

   “Choosing colors was much more interesting! All of a sudden committing to a color actually meant something! How exciting!” But this is a problem of too much mana fixing in general and not because of the signets in particular. One of the biggest advantages of them (and the Karoos) over other fixers is that you will most likely play them if your deck has only one of their colors resulting in less “dead” cards + they “combo” with a couple of cards.
   I don’t see how Everflowing Chalice is a nobrainer: there are better options for 2 (Mindstone) 4 (Thran Dynamo) and 6 mana (Dreamstone Hedron) available.

   I support all the cuts in your multicolor section except Uri, the Miststalker who is a more appropriate choice for the slot than Woolly Thoctar, because you might often not be able to cast him on T3 anyway.

   Without Karoo in your cube, Halimar Depths isn’t that good anymore and I would rather fill that slot with Academy Ruins or Faerie Conclave.

   My WWK additions are almost identical with yours:
   Perimeter Captain: handles 2 aggro creatures for a single mana and gets even better with Wall of Omens
   Arbor Elf: to emphasize the ramp theme in green
   Terastodon: most likely one of the top 20 cube cards in green

   Loam Lion
   Lodestone Golem
   Marshal’s Anthem
   Jace, the Mind Sculptor
   Comet Storm
   Celestial Colonnade
   Creeping Tar Pit
   (I count those manlands as multicolor cards and the other guilds have better cards available if you only have 5 slots for each color pair.)

   So to sum it up you did a great job with this update, even if I disagree on the removal of Signets and Karoos (but there has already been plenty of discussion about this topic).

   For RotE I am currently playing these cards:
   Wall of Omens: it is easy to evaluate this card, since Wall of Blossom is a great card in green and Wx control profits even more from this wall
   Consuming Vapors: at worst it is a edict that buys you some time against aggro, but bcs you get a 2 for 1 and 5-10 life that black can invest into Bob, Bargain or other cards that let you lose life
   Forked Bolt: the Fire half from one of UR best cards
   Flame Slash: kill target creature for only 1 mana
   Staggershock: potential 2 for 1 or 4 damagefor your opponent for 3 mana
   Evolving Wilds = Terramorphic Expanse

   on a trial basis:
   Lone Missionary
   Oust
   Survival Cache
   Enclave Cryptologist
   Sea Gate Oracle
   Inquisition of Kozilek
   Jogara Treespeaker
   Momentous Fall
   Pelakka Wurm

   +I still need to get these staples
   Student of Warfare
   Gideon Jura
   Vengevine

   Happy cubing, eidolon

   eidolon | Apr 25, 2010 | Reply

4. LOL! I have to say, I have Ancestral Vision in my cube AS A REPLACEMENT FOR Ancestral Recall. Now I have to go back to the drawing board for another good blue card draw spell.

   So I have a few questions if you check and can get around to answering them:

   1) I was wondering…in a Cube with no Power (Library of Alexandria is the closest I was able to get money-wise. I don’t prefer to play with proxies), which of your changes would you have made differently?

   2) I started my Cube with your Zendikar update (mostly because it was mostly additions and very few subtractions, so I wasn’t out much to to with your update). I’ve only had 1 Cube Draft since then, and it was only with 5 people. Would you suggest I draft more before implementing your changes here? Like for example, I noticed that 1) White was VERY popular and 2) most of the Signets and Karoos that appeared in our draft pool seemed to not go into players’ main decks. I also know we’re hesitant about having Shadow-heavy themes (considering you’re going the Shadow route for Black and White to an extent). Any ideas for changes to make/not to make in this case?

   Thanks for all your great work! My group LOVED the Cube Drafting! (probably because they got to play with cards they NEVER get to play with, either for cost or they cut them from normal decks). Anything that can make it better, I’m game for.

   One last question: Are there any Rise of the Eldrazi cards you’d say right off the bat “Go get this/these because they’re just THAT good and won’t even be a question as to whether I keep them in”?

   Thanks again!

   Preston | Apr 25, 2010 | Reply

5. Why does Journey to Nowhere not make the cut, when you run Arrest?

   Kor Sanctifiers is not an answer to Recurring Nightmare unless your opponent is just playing it out, but they shouldn’t be. That said, I think the sanctifiers are a totally reasonable inclusion.

   A lot of people are really skeptical about Abyssal Persecutor but it’s been really good for us so far. I don’t think I’ve lost a match where I had it. Black has plenty of sac effects to deal with, and any color pairing other than green gives you more answers. In my opinion a deck that can’t deal with it probably isn’t that great. Furthermore, your opponent will probably try to deal with it before it gets them to zero, unless they really think they can counter every answer you have.

   Oh, and Oona’s Prowler should definitely be in. She does everything you want.

   I agree with Searing Blaze- it’s been awesome in our cube.

   Those multicolor drops seem right-on. The power level increases when you don’t have so many hard-to-run cards, and that’s a good thing.

   About the Karoos and Signets- this discussion is pretty baffling to me. Are the people you play with really splashing every color they possibly can? I think it’s fairly clear that the strongest decks are one and two colors. Furthermore, green can actually use the signets to very good effect – green has many strong four-drops, which is the spot that benefits most from the signets. The filterlands are great, though, and support really “fair” two color decks, so I think that’s a good call.

   From Worldwake, we added Jace, TMS, Abyssal Persecutor, Searing Blaze, Comet Storm, Pilgrim’s Eye (I think that is worth a look for your cube, Evan), Basilisk Collar, and the man-lands.

   Thea Steele | Apr 25, 2010 | Reply

6. I really like this update, Evan. A few points responding to Calibretto/Eidolon’s posts:

   -I agree with both of you on the Kor Firewalker issue, but I can understand Evan wanting to give it a run through to see how it performs in this environment. I have a friend in my area who also has a cube and plays Firewalker in there, and he swears by the card.

   -Old Man at the Sea is a card that goes from mediocre to unreal depending on how often aggressive decks show up in drafts. He is the bane of White aggro decks due to how difficult it is to remove him, and it forces the red/black decks to use removal on him ASAP. All that being said, Upheavel and Compulsive Research are better blue cards that probably deserve the slot before the Old Man.

   -Skirk Marauder/Ghitu Slinger: One of these is better in aggro (Marauder), and one of these is better in mid-range/control (Slinger). I have room for both in my cube, but if I had to choose one it would be the Marauder no question. Having a two-drop in an aggro deck is HUGE, and I would rather sacrifice the guaranteed two-for-one that Slinger brings for the ability to maintain my tempo no matter what. The Marauder is a card for people that respect Kavu Titan, in that it’s good at mostly all stages of the game, but generally never insane.

   -I agree with you both about Terrastodon needing to make an appearance, along with Woodfall Primus. While both these creatures are expensive, they are excellent Ramp and Reanimator creatures that do awesome things.

   -Everflowing Chalice is very good for what I guess I should now call “Kavu Titan syndrome”, in that it’s flexability is why it’s awesome. Sure, Mind Stone, Dynamo, and Dream Hedron are all better cards at their respective costs, but Chalice can still at least perform as a weaker imitator of ALL of them which is great. Need turn 3 Wrath, Chalice works. Turn 5 Simic Sky Swallower, Chalice is there. Turn 7 Martial Coup for 7 dudes, Chalice can hook you up. It just functions for what you need when you need it.

   -Searing Blaze is freaking awesome, and pretty much a giant kick in the nether regions to the person on the receiving end of it. It’s fundamentally Smash to Smithereens for creatures with a few more restrictions to it, but the fact that it’s costed so aggressively easily makes up for it. It is EXACTLY what you want to be doing when you are R/x aggro and your opponent lays something that can slow down your beats. You lose no tempo, and gain pseudo card-advantage depending on if you’re using the Philosophy of Fire as your guideline.

   -I agree with both of you that Soltari Trooper should come in before the Emissary, even though I find the Emissary very playable. The additional mana generally will function as a greater drawback than the lack of ability to block non-Shadow creatures. The easiest solution is to just find room for both, but in an either/or situation, the Trooper should generally come out ahead due to it not holding back your tempo in the early game.

   -Beastial Menace, Wolfbriar, and Omnath are all very playable cards for green. Menace functions as a card with greater P/T than it’s CC against control while also being hard to use removal against. The best use for it though, is dropping it turn four against aggro who has you on the ropes. Now you have a comparable board position that will give you the time to use your bigger monsters you cast later on to take over the game. Unlike most other non-Deranged Hermit 5 drops, you don’t get blown out by a removal spell from the aggro deck with this line of play. It’s not the best green card, but it’s certainly playable. Wolfbriar and Omnath both desire heavy green to be effective, but the reward is generally worth it. We’ve definitely had stalled out games where Omnath was 50+/50+ just eating away at the opponents defenses until they couldn’t handle it anymore. He’s also like the greatest Berserk target you’ll ever find if that helps. The Elemental is pretty easy to evaluate at face-value on the other hand. Can you make a good amount of green mana? If the answer is yes, than this card is going to be bonkers for you.

   -While I understand the value of Sylvan Scrying, if you don’t have a Library (and I guess it could be argued Maze of Ith) in your deck, the ability to fix AND accelerate should tip the scales in favor of Search for Tomorrow in my perspective. I personally value Search for Tomorrow far higher than Harrow, but I know that is a sacred cow to many magic players so I wouldn’t be surprised to find hardly any agreed with me on that position.

   Love the trimming of the Gold sections, Evan, and hopefully you have success with Black aggro. Don’t get discouraged if that archetype consistantly loses to red decks as cards like Arc Lightning (which I don’t see in your list, but I HIGHLY recommend including it in the future) and Fire(Ice) really put a hurting on the black aggressive creatures. That being said, the Black creatures are better against Green and White decks and comparable in power when facing Blue.

   Kenny Mayer | Apr 25, 2010 | Reply

7. Also, I hope the lack of Treachery on your list is a typo…

   Kenny Mayer | Apr 25, 2010 | Reply

8. The lack of Treachery WAS a typo and is fixed.

   Thanks for your feedback, everybody.

   I too feel like Woodfall Primus and Terastadon will probably go right in.

   Kor Skyfisher is also beginning to feel like an auto-add at this point as well…

   I’ll throw em in ASAP

   Evan | Apr 26, 2010 | Reply

9. Dark Confidant is still missing. Has been for several cube revisions.

   Pablo | Apr 26, 2010 | Reply

10. Thank you so much for the update.

    I’d like to mention a few apparent typos:

    1) I guess that Zombie Cutthroat should be added to the drops, in the Google Docs.

    2) In the web (non-Google docs) list, “Old Man of the sea” is duplicated. It should be replaced by another added card (but I’m not sure which one).

    Eric O. LEBIGOT (EOL) | Apr 26, 2010 | Reply

11. PS: the missing card from the web list is apparently Dismiss.

    Eric O. LEBIGOT (EOL) | Apr 26, 2010 | Reply

12. Evan, if Dark Confidant is not in the cube, I highly recommend that guy ASAP. He’s not on par with Tarmogoyf for “best creature ever” for nothing, especially with you adding the black aggro package.

    Kenny Mayer | Apr 26, 2010 | Reply

13. With ROE already out, will we have to wait as long for the next cube update? Hopefully we wont have to wait until m11 comes out. Also, why not run Prison Term over Arrest now?

    Bosh | Apr 27, 2010 | Reply

14. I’m sad to see cruel ultimatum go. I admit it, I’m a total griefer, but I love that card. nicol bolas is just a wanna be, trying to be as unfun as possible. But cruel just makes me cackle in delight.

    James | Apr 28, 2010 | Reply

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