James's No Rare Cube

Yes on all except Death by Dragons.

I felt my heart start to tear out of my body when I said yes to Land Tax. That card is so abusive in so many decks. Then I remembered that Sol Ring is in there. If Sol Ring makes it, you can't really cut any cards for being too strong.

Ive updated the first post with additions and subtractions and total numbers per color.

Looks like ive got some unbalance in total numbers between colors.
I either need to add some red or cut a few from blue and black.
Thoughts?

Also, we discussed adding Hinder to blue, but something would definitely have to be cut for it.
Thoughts?

Grazing Gladehart OUT for Awakener Druid, Fertilid, Hedge Troll, Lowland Basilisk, or Killer Bees
Gemhide Sliver OUT for Devoted Druid

Im willing to consider the gladehart, the sliver im partial to over the devoted druid.

While discussing green...

I saw Centaur Glade for the first time ever a few minutes ago.
Should this be considered for cube?

also, what about the affinity golem group from Darksteel?

They seem like not terrible options at artifact creatures.
Thoughts?

Also considering Sleep and Frost Breath, neither of which are in blue at the moment.

Gemhide Sliver is one of the few 5 color effects in the cube. Plus he lets Changeling Hero tap for WUBRG (well, one of them).

Of those Gladehart replacements, Hedge Troll seems the only one that's any good. Awakener Druid is a distant second.

I like the white and blue affinity golems, but I'm not such a fan of the others. Black might be better than I think, since I'm tainted by having seen it in Mirrodin... where it sucks.

Dan, thanks. Wish others would weigh in on this.

Still looking for feedback on Hinder, Frost Breath and/or Sleep (Frost Breath seems better)

I think Sleep would be really good, I'd put that in over Frost Breath. I'd also keep the Gladehart in, since I know how good that critter can be in limited.

James, are you still looking more green and red cards? If so, here are some to consider (note, I do not remember what you had in for R/G, so forgive any suggestions that are already in the cube).

Cludgel Troll
Trollskin
Garruk's Packleader
Kiln Fiend
Hearth Kami
Smash to Smithereens
Cunning Sparkmage
Manamorphose
Vithian Renegades
Marisi's Twinclaws
Tattermunge Witch
Vengeful Rebirth

Hinder is often in rare cubes, so I think it's at least worth considering (turns off reanimation too!).

I think Sleep is stronger, but I still like the instant nature of Frost Breath. Sleep is my vote, too, if you're looking to add it into blue. I don't think it's necessary.

it's really hard to find holes in this Cube. i really like how it looks overall, i.e. really want to draft it soon.

redxxii wrote:
Cludgel Troll

for posterity.

I made a version of your cube accessible via MTG Forge, a tool for playing Magic solo with a somewhat passable AI. I posted it for others to use as well. It may be packaged in future builds of the program.

Not all of the cards from your cube are in MTG Forge (yet), so there are some holes, but it got a good 400 or so. I've played it a few times, and except for the computer not really understanding how to draft, it's pretty cool.

http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=5176

Taking opinions on what cards from Innistrad should be considered for my cube.
Murder of Crows is in.
What else?
Im seeing a buuunch of possibilities, but i want to hear from the peanut gallery.

For sure:
Forbidden Alchemy
Fiend Hunter
Avacyn's Pilgrim
Bramblecrush (I know you love Creeping Mold, but this is strictly better)
Diregraf Ghoul
Murder of Crows
Stitched Drake
Barrow Ghoul

Considerations:
Unburial Rites
Trepanation Blade
Cloistered Youth
Reckless Waif
Inqusitor's Flail
Screeching Bat

Slyphidine wrote:For sure:

Barrow Ghoul

I SAW THAT

Slyphidine wrote:For sure:
Forbidden Alchemy
Fiend Hunter
Avacyn's Pilgrim
Bramblecrush (I know you love Creeping Mold, but this is strictly better)
Diregraf Ghoul
Murder of Crows
Stitched Drake
Barrow Ghoul

Considerations:
Unburial Rites
Trepanation Blade
Cloistered Youth
Reckless Waif
Inqusitor's Flail
Screeching Bat

Dan, im not sure i agree with all of your "for sure"'s.

Fiend Hunter yes
Bramblecrush yes, and i thought the same thing you did although i have no Planeswalkers in my cube which nullifies its advantage a bit.
Diregraf Ghoul yes
Murder of Crows duh
Stitched Drake most likely

but
Forbidden Alchemy i need to be convinced on
is Avacyn's Pilgrim better than Fyndhorn Elves because it produces white mana?


My considerations:
Doomed Traveler
Hanweir Watchkeep
Falkenrath Noble (i found out first hand how nasty this card can be)
Festerhide Boar
Lantern Spirit
Midnight Haunting
Moan of the Unhallowed
Morkrut Banshee
Reckless Waif
Screeching Bat
Traitorous Blood
Unburial Rites
Village Bell Ringer

intrinsic wrote:
Forbidden Alchemy i need to be convinced on
is Avacyn's Pilgrim better than Fyndhorn Elves because it produces white mana?

I like the Impulse that flashes back and can randomly aid other Flashback/Reanimation strategies.
And I do like the pilgrim as fixing in green. If you have Fyndhorn and Llanowar, I would take one out for the pilgrim (that's what I'm doing).

intrinsic wrote:
My considerations:
Doomed Traveler
Hanweir Watchkeep
Falkenrath Noble (i found out first hand how nasty this card can be)
Festerhide Boar
Lantern Spirit
Midnight Haunting
Moan of the Unhallowed
Morkrut Banshee
Reckless Waif
Screeching Bat
Traitorous Blood
Unburial Rites
Village Bell Ringer

Of the ones I didn't mention, Falkenrath Noble is quite good. Not a huge fan of the rest, especially Traitorous Blood or Village Bell Ringer.

i really like Unburial Rites.

Bramblecrush is strictly worse than Creeping Mold without planeswalkers. sorry, that artifact creature stays right where it is.

Village Bell-Ringer is a fun combat trick.

MidniteEffort wrote:

Bramblecrush is strictly worse than Creeping Mold without planeswalkers. sorry, that artifact creature stays right where it is.

crap, good point

MidniteEffort wrote:
Village Bell-Ringer is a fun combat trick.

i thought so also.
it allows you to alpha swing in a stalemate and recover.

I never adjusted the cube to Innistrad, and now i think ill probably wait until the new set releases now.

But here are the considerations, again.

Lets put a finalization on these in pencil and see what DA brings us.

White
Fiend hunter -yep
Silverchase Fox -does paying for exile effect outweigh not paying for destroy effect i.e. Kami of ancient Law? (example -RANCOR)
Village Bell Ringer -fun combat trick, absolutely can save your ass/win you the game
Blue
Forbidden Alchemy -i agree now
Invisible Stalker -needs to be considered (only annoying, but lethal with rancor or warhammer effects and my cube doesnt have nearly as much mass removal)
Lantern Spirit -broken under combat stack rules, but still good and hard to kill after
Murder of Crows -der
Stitched Drake -der
Black
Abattoir Ghoul -3/2 first strike with mostly likely life link for 4cc in an underpowered cube.
Altar’s Reap has to be considered. Obviously situational, but is Night's Whisper definitely better than this?
Diregraf Ghoul
Falkenrath Noble
Screeching Bat
Tribute to Hunger -Isnt this better than Cruel Edict? 1 more cc but instant and lifegain.
Unburial Rites
Red
Hanweir Watchkeep -situational turn 4 5/5, but also forces your opponent to play differently.
Reckless Waif -yes
Green
Avacyn’s Pilgrim -still iffy. i only have Llanowar elves in my cube, cant cycle out fyndhorn for this (took fyndhorn out for joraga treespeaker)
Caravan Vigil -1 mana for untapped land search seems too good to not atleast consider
Villagers of Estwald -same as Hanweir, turn 4 4/6 but also forces your opponent to play differently.
Artifact
Trepanation blade -?

My thoughts

White
Fiend hunter - very good!
Silverchase Fox - not nearly as good as Ronom Unicorn and the like, except in corner cases (Diabloic Servitude, Rancor). Not a fan
Village Bell Ringer - not especially a fan. Even in a C/U cube, white can do better.
Blue
Forbidden Alchemy -
Invisible Stalker - really only fits in one archetype (aggro with equipment). Maybe a control finisher? An incredibly slow one?
Lantern Spirit - not a fan. Again, it's quite outclassed by your other blue 3 drops
Murder of Crows - This is awesome
Stitched Drake - I don't think this is quite as awesome, but I still think it's quite good.
Black
Abattoir Ghoul - Not as excited, but I'm interested to see how he does. He's not extremely efficient, but not everything has to be.
Altar’s Reap - Not a fan. You have Night's Whisper, Sign in Blood, and Skullclamp that all blow this out of the water.
Falkenrath Noble - Do you have Hissing Iguanar in? He's a slightly improved version. Looking forward to seeing him in there.
Screeching Bat - Versatile I suppose, but unexciting.
Tribute to Hunger - I do like it more than Cruel Edict for its instant speed. Dunno if the 1 extra cost is worth it.
Unburial Rites - Love it!
Red
Hanweir Watchkeep - Again, I feel like your current slots do this well, though it is a nice control card for red
Reckless Waif -yes(!)
Green
Avacyn’s Pilgrim - I love this. I was more excited about this than just about anything else from Innistrad. I like having those ramp creatures, especially a color fixing one. Think of it as the poor man's Noble Hierarch... ok, that's a stretch.
Caravan Vigil - too conditional in my opinion.
Villagers of Estwald - I prefer the uncommon werewolves
Artifact
Trepanation blade - I do NOT like this card. Maybe it would be different in cube than in Innistrad, where often putting cards in your opponent's graveyard is a liability.

I'm not as big of a fan of the Pilgrim as Dan is, but I agree with most of the rest. Here's what I would consider adding:

White:
Fiend Hunter

Blue:
Civilized Scholar
Grasp of Phantasms
Makeshift Mauler
Murder of Crows
Silent Departure
Stitched Drake

Black:
Abattoir Ghoul
Falkenrath Noble
Screeching Bat
Tribute to Hunger
Unburial Rights

Red
Reckless Waif
Brimstone Volley
Rolling Temblor

Green:
Avacyn’s Pilgrim
Travel Preparations
Ulvenwald Mystics

Jim... I agree with just about every one of those picks. Travel Prep can be back breaking for an aggressive WG deck, and it definitely belongs.

Grasp of Phantasms and Silent Departure do very well in this format because of how well tempo plays in. I think they'll be good in your cube, though they may be a bit slow. I'm very curious to see how they do, though.

Civilized Scholar is a really good Merfolk Looter variant. I don't know if you have Reckless Scholar or a functional reprint in there, but Civilized Scholar should certainly be in there over it.

Not as big of a fan of Brimstone Volley or Rolling Temblor. When Volley hits morbid, it's awesome, but is its overcostedness as a 3 mana lightning bolt worth occasionally doing 5. Maybe I'm underestimating it.

Im glad im getting feedback, but the hard part is this. The cube is large, almost too large at this point. It cannot grow exponentially. I have to cut things at this point to make room for new cards.
The HARDEST part is finding what to cut. So, if you have the spare 20 minutes or so, look at your suggestions again, and really consider what SHOULD be in versus what "might be good" in the cube. Then look at my cube list and suggest what to cut. Thats where i need the most feedback, since i designed this for all of us to play.

Civilized scholar is a no to me.

Merfolk looter and reckless looter are much better IMO.

You are paying 3 mana for an 0/1 that conditionally might be able to turn into a 5/1 on turn 4. 5 power on turn 4 is not groundbreaking, and with a fragile 1 toughness, not worth discarding a creature that made the cut into your limited deck.

Thats how i see it atleast.

Heres my feedback on my suggestions:
White
Fiend hunter for kor Hookmaster
Silverchase Fox – turns out I don’t have Ronom unicorn or Kami of ancient law in my cube to consider this replacing anyway. Should either of those be in then? And over what 2 slot card?
Village Bell Ringer for Whitemane Lion?

Blue
Forbidden Alchemy –nobody ever plays Fade Away, this might replace it
Invisible Stalker –ok not good enough agreed
Lantern Spirit – for Pestermite??
Murder of Crows –see you later Air Elemental
Stitched Drake –for Wormfang Drake? Vote.

Black
Abattoir Ghoul –no one really plays Okiba-gang Shinobi. Replace?
Altar’s Reap is Night's Whisper definitely better than this?
Diregraf Ghoul -so long Carnophage
Falkenrath Noble & Screeching Bat –thinking these 2 over, only 1 of these would make it but not sure what to cut. Keening Banshee perhaps? it kills but after that, its just a 2/2 flyer.
Tribute to Hunger -Isnt this better than Cruel Edict? 1 more cc but instant and lifegain.
Unburial Rites -Ill prob cut Spinning Darkness

Red
Hanweir Watchkeep –nothing worse than this in my cube in this mana slot. Doesnt make the cut.
Reckless Waif –I have a tiny bit of room to wiggle in red, so ill just add this

Green
Avacyn’s Pilgrim –have 1 or 2 open slots in green technically, might just add this
Caravan Vigil –is better than Search For Tomorrow imo. Thoughts?
Villagers of Estwald –or Gatstaf Shepherd ? either probably effects your win condition more than grazing gladeheart.

Artifact
Trepanation blade –I could just add this but don’t know if I will