James's No Rare Cube

You mean the Eldrazi themselves?

Maybe Artisan of Kozilek?

definitely! they'd be bombs in this format... and some of the beefiest creatures possible given the restrictions.

i'd say include at lease the aforementioned Artisan and Ulamog's Crusher, and if they work out, add Pathrazer of Ulamog.

MidniteEffort wrote:definitely! they'd be bombs in this format... and some of the beefiest creatures possible given the restrictions.

i'd say include at lease the aforementioned Artisan and Ulamog's Crusher, and if they work out, add Pathrazer of Ulamog.

Pathrazer is so hard to cast. 10 mana is a crazy stretch, but at least you're getting 2 creatures for the deal. 11 seems to be where most people pros draw the line.

Slyphidine wrote:10 mana is a crazy stretch, but at least you're getting 2 creatures for the deal.

Artisan's 9, but it's still a crazy stretch.

the reason i like them in here is because it's a rareless cube, and ginormous creatures like these are few and far between. i say put 'em in just to see people try to make them work!

I want to make room for Bestial Menace in my cube. I think it belongs. I've pulled similiar casting cost Green spells to consider 1 being removed.
Help me decide which of these cards doesn't make the cut. You may disagree and choose to cut Bestial Menace.
Discuss.

Changeling Titan
Scragnoth
Giant Dustwasp
Baloth Cage Trap
Desert Twister
Bestial Menace

intrinsic wrote:Changeling Titan
Scragnoth
Giant Dustwasp
Baloth Cage Trap
Desert Twister
Bestial Menace

Changeling Titan - good, cheap beef, but dangerous in the face of removal.
Scragnoth - ok, but situational and usually sideboard material given a main deck with enough creatures.
Giant Dustwasp - necessary. green needs efficient flyers. i'd see this as sort of a bomb.
Baloth Cage Trap - very situational to get the discount, but a good instant speed trick, even hard cast.
Desert Twister - what! totally perfect for this format.
Bestial Menace - pretty damn good in limited.

i'd say get rid of either the Trap, or Scragnoth. i think most times i'd much rather have three creatures.

Not a fan of the Titan, Scragnoth, or Desert Twister. Also not so much a fan of the trap, as it was always a dud in limited (though maybe it's better in this environment). Of them, Scragnoth is probably the weakest (overpriced and weak; who cares if it gets countered).

im going to "mouse over" my cube list. started it last night, then my eyes got heavy.

Ambitious! I do not have the patience for that.

And once again, sorry this forum is too crappy to make it easy to do.

I have started making considerations for what is worthy enough to be added to my cube from the last 2 to 3 sets.

I have already added Crystal Ball and Skinrender. Contagion Clasp is being considered, but it doesnt have nearly as many targets in my non rare cube with no PWs or levelers of any kind in it.
Dan also suggested Palladium Myr, which i am also considering.

Does Grasp of Darkness replace Death Pulse in my cube?

Is the "cycle ping" of Death Pulse good enough to justify the 4CC over the 2CC Grasp?

Thoughts?

Also, Arc Trail definitely goes in.
Another DD question is does Galvanic Blast simple replace Shock or do i accept both? Im not patient enough to list all my direct damage, but im thinking if i add both Arc Trail AND Galvanic Blast, then Shock must depart.

Net question: The Mana Myrs. They seem like they should all go in. its a cheap dude with no mana restrictions and it accelerates. Rather than cycling out artifacts for them, perhaps i should just remove a small dude from each color? (Except Palladium, which will just go in on its own.)
Or maybe i should remove stuff like fellwar stone for them?
Pros and cons?

I like Death Pulse more than Grasp of Darkness. I like the uncounterable combat trick that cantrips. A lot!

Arc Trail is a solid inclusion (after having been blown out by it multiple times). It acts as a much cheaper, one-sided Barter in Blood in the early game. It may be time for Shock to depart. Truthfully, after the last few sets, the strict upgrades (Bolt, Burst Lightning, Galvanic Blast) have made me want to forget it all together. While I don't know if Galvanic Blast is really playable in a non-artifact set, it is still strictly better than Shock.

Mana Myrs... I don't think they merit a role, seeing as they aren't limited powerhouses... ok, they're all quite playable, and even highly desirable. I just feel like they'll be last picks with so many better cards around. I could be waaaay off on this, though. I always undervalue them in Mirrodin/Scars draft.

Mirrodin/Scars draft??? Sounds like a new format!

Another possible card inclusion.

Golem Artisan

In my much less bombier cube, he is actually a house, especially late.

He can pump to avoid burn, he flies, tramples, first strikes, whatever.

James, I pulled a foil Palladium Myr today, if you're interested. It could pay you back for that Myr Reservoir.

redxxii wrote:James, I pulled a foil Palladium Myr today, if you're interested. It could pay you back for that Myr Reservoir.

cool, sounds good to me

Acquired today.

Foil Mishra's Factory @$10
Foil, slightly dented Swords to Plowshares @$5
Foil Crop Rotation and Imperious Perfect @$4
Foil Incinerate from Deckmasters @$1

Today's question:
To infect or not to infect my cube?
You cant sort of infect right? No use half assing it, so i have to fully infect it or not.
Thoughts?

You can't sort of infect. I mean, cards like Rot Wolf and Blightwidow are solid defensive/card advantage cards. But if you can't commit to the archetype completely, I would avoid it. Those half and half decks are really just sad.

I pretty much knew the answer but was more looking to see if anyone thought it belonged in my cube. In its short existence does it have enough umph to warrant inclusion in the common/uncommon environment? Does excluding infect rares severely weaken the archetype?

Also, what about proliferate? It seems obsolete in a cube without Planeswalkers and infect.

ch-ch-ch-changes...

ok, so in light of all the new cool artifacts in recent sets ive decided to up my count of artifact to match the rest of the card totals. So im adding rough 16 or so artifacts.

There are some glaringly obvious choices as well as some highly opinionated choices.

Give me your feedback please.

Here are my current artifacts
Azorius Signet
Behemoth Sledge
Boros Signet
Bottle Gnomes
Chromatic Star
Contagion Clasp
Crystal Ball
Crystal Shard
Darksteel Ingot
Dimir Signet
Fellwar Stone
Golgari Signet
Gruul Signet
Icy Manipulator
Isochron Scepter
Izzet Signet
Juggernaut
Lotus Petal
Loxodon Warhammer
Mask of Memory
Mask of Riddles
Orzhov Signet
Pentad Prism
Phyrexian Totem
Pit Trap
Pyrite Spellbomb
Rakdos Signet
Scuttlemutt
Selesnya Signet
Sensei's Divining Top
Serrated Arrows
Simic signet
Skullclamp
Sol Ring
Sspectral Searchlight
Thran Dynamo
Ticking Gnomes
Tidehollow Sculler
Tower Gargoyle
Trust Machete
Viridian Longbow
Viseling
Vulshok Morningstar
Wayfarer's Bauble
Weatherseed Totem
Whispersilk Cloak

Here are my considerations from the last 3 sets.

did i miss anything?
prophetic prism
mana myrs?
contagion clasp (considering adding more levelers, but im NOT adding infect. not sure if this card makes sense in the cube with no PW's or infect)
darksteel myr
darksteel axe
darksteel sentinel
glint hawk idol
golem artisan -definite
horizon spellbomb (im ok with not having symetry in the cube regarding including all or none of a certain type of card that has a one of in each color.) this and the origin spellbomb seem like the only 2 high considerations
origin spellbomb
infiltration lens
memnite -definite
palladium myr -definite
perilous myr
rust tick
tumble magnet
wall of tanglecord for 1 green mana you stop nearly everything in my cube.
vulshok replica
Moriok Replica
Sylvok Replica
Auriok Replica
Neurok Replica
Bladed Pinions
flayer husk
mortarpod
myr sire
pierce strider
piston sledge
sphere of the suns -almost definite
viridian claw
Signal Pest

i feel there are better options than Pentad Prism in my cube
Prophetic Prism and Sphere of the Suns seem easily better. Agreed?

I'd like to up the artifact creatures, there are currently only about 6 or so. The Replicas seem a good way to do that.

Now, on to black...

I have decided to remove the black hand manipulation cards. They are such a part of the black color wheel but they rarely seem to be played and are nearly worthless in multiplayer.

So out goes:
Agonizing Memories
Duress
Hymn to Tourach
Stupor

Here are possible replacements. Outside of replacing these 4, whatever is left is still up for consideration to be added to the cube.
Go For the Scroat -definite, automatic
Gruesome Encore
Phyrexian Rager (old card, maybe should have made the cut to begin with?)
Blistergrub
Grasp of Darkness
necrogen scudder
Painsmith -with the increase in artifacts, makes more sense?
Skinrender is already in, just an fyi
Cadaver Imp (better than gravedigger?)
bloodrite invoker 3 power for 3 mana is never bad, plus disgusting late game swingyness
Skeletal Wurm Just seems like black should have atleast 1 giant creature in it. This would be him.
Virulent Swipe
Curse of Wizardry i enjoy having 1 off cards that do something different. Doesnt mean it makes the cut, it just adds a little individualism to the cube if it goes in.
Escaped Null this guy screams for attention when he hits the board, seems worthy of consideration.
Bala Ged Scorpion no shortage of targets in this cube

Possible Blue considerations from the last few sets include:

preordain
Deprive
drake umbra
Eel Umbra
enclave cryptologist
Frostwind Invoker late game BOMB
Guard Gomazoa
Hada Spy Patrol
reality spasm
Sea Gate Oracle
See Beyond
Skywatcher Adept
Disperse
riddlesmith
Turn Aside
Twisted Image situational for sure, but 1 blue mana for instant speed "removal" -in combat, plus a cantrip seems good. Good enough though?
neurok invisimancer
neurok commando
vedalken anatomist

I just realized, since i have Cancel in my cube, it should be replaced by Stoic Rebuttal. I think i may have only had the Cancel in their because i had the foil signed by the artist. LOL
Thoughts on Cancel/Stoic Rebuttal making the cut?

New Green considerations:

beastbreaker of bala ged
bramblesnap
boar umbra
growth spasm Land Grant isnt really that great in my cube since i dont have Dual Lands, maybe this replaces it?
Haze Frog His name should be Fog Frog, expensive but can really alter a combat sequence in your favor.
joraga treespeaker automatic?
Kozilek's Predator
overgrown battlement another extremely efficient green wall. Does it join Wall of Blossom and Wall of Roots, or are they enough for the cube?
pelakka wurm So ridiculous, but green is known for its studs.
prey's vengeance
snake umbra
Wildheart Invoker
Acid Web Spider
bellowing tanglewurm game changer
Untamed Might Green Fireball?
lead the stampede is there room for this and gift of the garg in the cube? Is one strictly better than the other?
viridian emissary Who is better, Civic Wayfinder or this guy? Room for both of them?

So many red damage spells to consider upgrading/swapping out...
Many of the new potential cube adds are sorcery though, so things have to really be thought through.
Burst Lightning
Firebolt
Flame Jab
Flame Javelin
Incinerate
Magma Jet
Puncture Blast
Rift Bolt
Resounding Thunder
Seal of Fire
Sudden Shock


Red considerations:

brimstone mage
Heat Ray
Lavafume Invoker
flameslash
forked bolt
goblin arsonist
staggershock
traitorous instinct
arc trail
Kuldotha Rebirth
barrage ogre with the increase in artifacts he could be pretty annoying
embersmith i have no idea if 16 more artifacts means this guy is playable. Thoughts?
oxidda scrapmelter get the theme change yet? but seriously, is this guy not better than keldon vandals? harder to kill, no echo, only 1 more to cast.
galvanic blast how about now?
goblin wardriver
kuldotha flamefiend
Kuldotha Ringleader