600 Unpowered, Lower Curve, No Planeswalkers, Synergy Leaning

[xyz]

Cube: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1460 https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/dzi

EDIT 7/26/21: Cube massively updated and link switched over to CubeCobra
EDIT 4/14/16: The stuff below is 3 years old and will be updated when I'm ready to sit down and type for infinite hours again. The link above is more up to date.

Overview

• 560 = approximately 2/3 of the pool per draft. I find the redraft variation exciting and believe it outweighs the larger range in power level and an increased inconsistency for a specific archetype.​

• Unpowered / No Planeswalkers : I am poor . On a more serious note... I could proxy them, but Power feels too swingy for what I am trying to make. Planeswalkers might not be too much, but I started without them for budget reasons and I do not particularly miss them. Not having 10-15ish extra life gain spells also makes aggro intrinsically better. ​

• No fast mana rocks that make more than they cost.​

• 50%+ creatures!!​

• Cards I wish were cheaper for cube / I will get...eventually:​

• Dark Confidant​

• Thoughtseize​

• Goblin Settler​

• Imperial Recruiter​

• Cards I am considering make room for:​

• (7/23) - Flame Jab (Gonna try this over Firebolt I think)​

• (7/20) - Coastal Piracy (Nothing screams play creatures in blue more. Probably cutting Capsize? Because nothing screams do nothing in blue more. and I already have enough control slanted elements.)​

• Imposing Sovereign (Most likely replacing Gather the Townsfolk)​

• Ratchet Bomb (A little slow and clunky, but kinda sweet with Goblin Welder and Trading Post)​

• Ankh of Mishra (Might not need it since I recently added Jinxed Idol instead)​

• Stinkweed Imp (Dredge 5 is a lot, but I am not sure it has enough synergy with the rest of the cube)​

• Samurai of the Pale Curtain (I like the effect, but the body is so so)​

• The goal of my cube is to have the most interesting draft format possible by supporting a broad range of archetypes and synergies.​

(My newest iteration tries to stretch that as much as possible by including tribal and a "creatures dying" theme.)​

• Archetypes and Themes I try to support (besides the obvious) [and interesting choices for the idea]:​

• Tokens (Wbrg): Intangible Virtue, Mentor of the Meek, Undercity Informer, Goblin Sharpshooter, Overrun, Assemble the Legion, Sprouting Thrinax, Master Biomancer​

• Blink (Wur): Glimmerpoint Stag, Momentary Blink, Splinter Twin​

• Soldiers (Wu): War Falcon, Preeminent Captain, Enlistment Officer, Lu Xun, Scholar General, Sun Ce, Young Conquerer, Lavinia of the Tenth​

• Blue Creatures/Aggro/Tempo (Uwr): Cloudfin Raptor, Grand Architect, Sun Ce, Young Conquerer, Aven Mindcensor, Jilt​

• Spells Matter/Free Spells/Storm (URg): Gush, Guttersnipe, Rift Bolt, Search for Tomorrow, Nostalgic Dreams, Goblin Electromancer, Desperate Ravings, Aurelia's Fury​

• Artifact Deck (URb): Grand Architect, Executioner's Capsule, Pyrite Spellbomb, Trading Post, Contagion Clasp, Thopter Foundry​

• Recursive Creatures (BGr): Nether Traitor, Haakon, Stromgald Scourge, Undead Gladiator, Pyrewild Shaman, Masked Admirers, Rot Farm Skeleton​

• Creature Death (B): Promise of Bunrei, Kalastria Highborn, Pawn of Ulamog, Falkenrath Noble, Quest for the Gravelord, Grave Pact, Blade of the Bloodchief,​

• Sacrifice Stuff (BR): Fanatical Devotion, Viscera Seer, Ember Hauler, Devastating Summons, Kuldotha Rebirth, Furnace Celebration, Jinxed Idol, Spawning Pit, Sword of the Meek​

• Vampires (B): Pulse Tracker, Kalastria Highborn, Blade of the Bloodchief​

• Heavy Black Control/Life Gain Support (Bw): Necropotence, Blood Artist, Contagion, Consuming Vapors, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Crypt Ghast, Timely Reinforcements, Tithe Drinker, Gerrard's Verdict, Trading Post​

• Dredge/Self Mill/Graveyard Recursion (BG): Undercity Informer, Oversold Cemetery, Nostalgic Dreams, Grave Tutor, Golgari Grave-Troll, Spider Spawning, Rot Farm Skeleton, Altar of Dementia​

• Goblins (R): Goblin Ritual, Goblin Tutor, Goblin Stampede, Goblin Bombardment, Goblingoat Ranger, Goblin Shock, Goblin Growth, Goblin Epochrasite, Goblin Procession, Goblin of Oxid Ridge, Gobliny Warp​

• Big Red/Red Control (R): Wildfire, Crater Hellion, Slagstorm, Ember Hauler, Aurelia's Fury, Assemble the Legion​

• Sweet Combat Tricks (Gur): Scryb Ranger, Briarhorn, Yeva, Nature's Herald, Ghor-Clan Rampager, Simic Charm, Jilt, Lightning Bolt​

• COMBO​

• Deciever Exarch/Pestermite/Restoration Angel/Zealous Conscripts + Kiki-Jiki, the Mirror Breaker, Splinter Twin​

• Sword of the Meek + Thopter Foundry​

• Wake Thrasher + Basalt Monolith​

• Gifts Ungiven + Unburial Rites​

• Life From the Loam + Seismic Assault/Stormbind​

• Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Triskelion​

• Mikaeus, the Unhallowed/Master Biomancer + Kitchen Finks + Murderous Redcap + Sacrifice Outlet​

• Body Double/Phyrexian Metamorph/Phantasmal Image + Sacrifice Outlet + Reveillark + Value in the graveyard​

• Necropotence + Trading Post​

• Brain Freeze + Regrowth/Nostalgic Dreams/Snapcaster Mage/Remand + Brain Freeze​

• Dream Halls + Spells​

• Haakon, Stromgald Scourge + Nameless Inversion​

• Storm​

Detailed Notes / Discussion Points / More of the Above

(Warning: Too much text ahead...)​

• I really like a lot of the cross synergies the new iteration has. ​

• Tokens work so well both aggressively with anthems, and in conjunction with the numerous sacrifice outlets / things that want creatures to die.​

• Gather the Townsfolk is a little loose. I will probably replace it with Imposing Sovereign. What I really want is a 2/2 Soldier that brings two 0/1 s when it enters.​

• I made sure to push enter the battlefield effects in more colors to broaden the blink deck. Red, especially, wants more sweet ETB effects because Splinter Twin is such a good value card. This reasoning led me to reinclude Ember Hauler as one of my "aggro" two drops because it fits into so many more decks. Red based control loves to have him as a blocker. He works with Splinter Twin and Kiki-Jiki, the Mirror Breaker so much better than Gore-House Chainwalker. He works really well with Furnace Celebration. If you want to make red deeper than straight aggro, then you have to make the appropriate power reductions. Do you include Kalonian Tusker in green just because it has raw stats? Lotus Cobra is not as big, but it can still be really good an aggressive deck...and conveniently enough it fits into other decks too. Same thing with Ember Hauler. ​

• A 2/2 First Strike and 2/3 First Strike do not seem completely abysmal for my cube's power level (hey, they work well with cheap equipment)....and they are the only really questionable inclusions in order to support a small soldiers theme, so I think it is worth a shot.​

• In my cube, the strength of blue's cheap creatures is evasion. They get to be near the top of the food chain since I do not play the soltaris in white. Combining them with counters brings a different flavor of aggro to the table and it has been worth it for us thus far. Cheap equipment (or Rancor) is probably the best support for them. Conveniently enough, Trinket Mage can get Bonesplitter, Adventuring Gear, and Blade of the Bloodchief.​

• Spell matter/free spells has been catching on lately, but the consensus seems to be that the power level is not there yet. Lucky for me, I do not care about their opinion. My group has enjoyed it. I have first picked Mystical Tutor looking to go into a spell heavy deck only to be cut off from the right because the guy first picked Talrand, Sky Summoner. Goblin Electromancer is SWEET for this strategy. He is also fine for a regular control deck and absurd in storm. Sweet card, not too much of the poison principle, try it? (Aside: Goblin Electromancer + Young Pyromancer + lots of Think Twice for standard anyone?)​

• The new framework for my black section seems a little underpowered but it also seems like it has a LOT of synergy, both internally and more importantly, with other colors. I have not tested it in full yet, but I have high hopes. I tried the pox idea for a while, but a lack of cross color synergy meant that was not as interesting to draft. I got a bunch of these ideas from Cooperfaus's list (Kalastria Highborn/Undercity Informer/Pawn of Ulamog off the top of my head), but I want to point out that in my opinion Grave Pact seems A LOT better than Attrition. Attrition is a lot more oppressive and it does not even do anything against black decks. Futhermore, I am not sure how many people want Attrition if they cannot abuse it. Grave Pact on the other hand is just a good card that someone can use to dominate a creature heavy mirror (like some people did with modern Jund before BBE banning). Granted, I am playing Contamination...but eh...at least it is harder to set up. Also, yes I know, Cooperfaus includes much more than vampires for Kalastria Highborn, but I do have 23ish vampires (lol, including changelings) which should be enough? In any case, as with soldiers, the other vampires are not completely far-fetched, so again, I am comfortable with a small inclusion to support the tribal.​

• Free spells play very well into Necropotence (surprise), so getting to support both with some of my choices is sweet. I imagine life gain support also makes Necropotence better in my cube than the average cube. I am not sure life gain is for every cube, but I feel like I can get away with it because of a lack of planeswalkers. Timely Reinforcements is kind of just Ajani Vengeant in a way. Except Ajani Vengeant does not get countered by Legion Loyalist. ​

• Altar of Dementia is definitely a HUGE question mark, but theoretically it fits into multiple decks so I have to try. (A token/recursive creature deck can use it to deck the opponent; a dredge / graveyard deck can use it to enable...and then deck the opponent.)​

• I might want Stinkweed Imp as another enabler for various decks. I already have enough do-nothing black cards though, so I am not sure about adding another one.​

• Gobliiiiiins. There is just a lot of synergy there. Aggro decks. Control decks. Midrange decks. Combo decks. They also work well with Splinter Twin and Furnace Celebration as mentioned above. Splinter Twin my Goblin Matron? Yes please. Also, did you know Goblin Welder's "exchange" means you sacrifice the artifact? Why yes, I would love to weld my Perilous Myr into a Contagion Clasp with a Furnace Celebration out....am I going too deep here? I have not tried out Furnace Celebration, but I did have a deck with Trading Post instead. Sacrifice my Perilous Myr, draw a card. Weld my Sword of the Meek away for Perilous Myr....which brings the Sword of the Meek back. Synergyyyyyyyy. Uhhh Goblins also work well with each other.​

• Goblins also make red control work because Goblin Matron -> Kiki-Jiki, the Mirror Breaker -> profit.​

• Green aggro is usually not a thing because it does not have reach/tricks/it just tries to stomp. So "combat tricks" is me trying to push its color pie. It seems to work out for us. I am guessing that is because my cube has a lot more creatures and combat than others cubes do. Also, proportionally less instant speed removal maybe? This also makes it play really well with blue.​

• Ahhhh combo. I include it in cube because I believe it is part of a fun draft experience to be able to put together a "super synergy"--an super powerful interaction you cannot normally get from draft. It adds an extra dimension to drafting without much cost. At least for the small combos....​

• Storm on the other hand...requires well planned support. BUT....it is not that difficult. Think of cube storm as Modern Masters storm. The goal is usually NOT to Grapeshot your opponent for 20. Empty the Warrens for 8-10 goblins will usually suffice. (Hey guess what? That also supports token decks!) Similarly, if you are playing a heavy black control deck with Necropotence, Tendrils of Agony for 10 is plenty of life and cards to win you the game. Brain Freeze, however, is the hardest to make work, since it either gets the job done or it does not. Such is the trade off for being disgustingly cheap. Anyway, thinking about it in the way I described might make you more comfortable in supporting "storm"...​

How did I support storm in my cube? (and What cards are good in storm?/How does one draft storm?)​

• Cloud of Faeries - It is a cheap tempo creature for aggressive blue; it is an ok to decent Azorius Charm (it trades for an early attacker / cycles) for control decks; and it is a nice support card for storm. It can be an early game speed bump, draw you into better action, or feed storm count and potentially ramp.​

• Grand Architect - If you have not already noticed from above, I really like this guy. He fits into two different niche archetypes with ease, and it turns out he can support storm too. A full dedicated storm deck (you intend to kill, unlike what I described above) is usually a form of a ramp/big mana + control deck hybrid, but instead of casting a huge threat, you are casting a lot of small things that end up finishing them instantly. Anyhow, this guy is a blue Worn Powerstone that blocks and turns your other defensive cantrips like Augur of Bolas and Sea Gate Oracle into mana too. (And conveniently enough, into better blockers as well.) Sure, he is restricted to artifacts, but those are everywhere (at least in my list) and you are already looking to pick up all the artifact mana anyway. Even casting one mana rock to build up and one on the turn you go off is a fine contribution. This ritual even saved you some life.​

• Deciever Exarch/Pestermite - Untapping a Gilded Lotus or Basalt Monolith is huge. AND they play fine defense early on. aaaand they are part of other combos. aaaaaaaaaaaaand they are great in tempo decks that want to be playing in the opponent's end step.​

• Riftwing Cloudskate - Just as good as it is in Modern Masters. Free storm, good defense, can even count for 2 spells on the storm turn (bouncing something cheap of yours).​

• Gush - An amazing free spell that draws more spells and maybe a land drop you did not have. Also supports the spells matter theme and helps tempo decks refuel for free.​

• Brainstorm/Mystical Tutor - They are not as amazing cube as in constructed...except in storm because when you need it, you need it now. Also, setting up the top of your deck or hiding away what you need is great if you're about to draw a new hand.​

• Remand/Snapcaster Mage/Regrowth/Nostalgic Dreams - These double your storm count, given you have enough mana. That is RIDICULOUS. If you want a full kill, these are the cards you NEED. These are the cards that really tell me I should go storm. Last week I Brain Freeze'd someone for 48 on turn 6-7ish? (All I remember is going off on the turn my Epochrasite came back in from chump blocking early on) This is in an unpowered cube, without super fast mana, and without any draw 7s. Storm is definitely supportable. Drafting it takes a loooot of practice though. Also, if you have Snapcaster Mage with Brain Freeze, play Snapcaster Mage first and respond with Brain Freeze while it is still on the stack for the extra storm.​

• Frantic Search - Freeee. Only decent though, because it does not do much until the turn you go off. Sea Gate Oracle is by far the better turn 3 play. Still also fine for reanimator, dredge, and graveyard value so I am giving it a shot.​

• Draw Spells - Yes. because you need to enough action to go off with. Really useful for going off with Dream Halls, but in my experience, not as important in a pure storm build. With those, you much prefer defensive cards that cantrip. Both versions really want the filter spells though...just like every other blue deck. Ancestral Vision is the nut high...free storm and more cards.​

• Time Spiral - Part of my new update, I am adding it to make storm better and to replace Inkwell Leviathan as the super finisher in blue. I have only gone off with it on the powered MODO cube, but the idea should be similar...accumulate as much mana as you can -> go nuts. I expect it to be a little harder in an unpowered cube where the overall card quality is lower (and you are not untapping Tolarian Academy to make mana), but as long you have got enough non action out of your deck, 7 new cards should win the game.​

• Treachery - Free spell. Free Defense. wtf?​

• Shelldock Isle - More free stuff. Also wtf?​

• Dream Halls - This turbopowers storm, but is not necessary nor exclusive for storm. You can definitely draft a powerful deck merely intending to use it for playing big spells. If you want to get degenerate with it, just draft as many draw 2+ spells as possible and set up a hand where you can chain together as many draws as possible. Looting effects are essentially the same, since you will have plenty of unneeded lands to discard.​

• Dark Ritual - Surprisingly not super good. Similar to Frantic Search in that it does nothing until you go off. Also, the colors get a little awkward since you are not usually black.​

• Necropotence - The only(?) reason to play heavy black storm. Best draw spell ever and great synergy with Tendrils of Agony as described above (as long as there is something else in the deck to deal the rest of the damage).​

• Demonic Tutor - ​

• Crypt Ghast + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - If you are not already heavy black it will not be as good because Crypt Ghast will just not do anything. On the other hand, doubling all your mana on every untap has got to be the dream right?​

• Consuming Vapors - Free storm and also a great way to make Necropotence better.​

• Young Pyromancer/Guttersnipe/Talrand, Sky Summoner - Spells matter is a great support theme (or maybe storm supports spells matter and not the other way around). Talrand, Sky Summoner might be too slow in comparison to the others, but all three are great plans Bs or can be the "build arounds" in their own decks.​

• Rift Bolt/Staggershock - Free storm that is also early defense! Not as good as a defensive cantrip, but makes up for it by going to the head to make Tendrils of Agony and Empty the Warrens easier. Switching these two in for two other generic burn spells does do quite a bit towards supporting storm.​

• Wheel of Fortune - Draw 7s are good? See Time Spiral though... I do not have any experience in my own cube yet.​

• Green Ramp - I prefer artifact mana because it is more flexible--not only do you get to use most of them right after casting, being Ur for just action spells and defense is easier than being UGr, just to play green just for the ramp--however, green ramp is more powerful and will help you splash red/black. The chump-blocking creature ramp can also somewhat replace the defensive cantrips in red. Search for Tomorrow replacing another generic ramp spell helps because it is exactly what you want...ramp that you do not have to wait to use and feeds storm count. Utopia Sprawl as a 1 mana accelerant and the one bounceland in my cube Simic Growth Chamber work well with the blue cards that untap lands. (I do not like bouncelands they are not aggro friendly, but I have the one because a land that essentially draws a card feels very blue-green to me.) Playing green also lets you take advantage of Nostalgic Dreams and Eternal Witness.​

• Rude Awakening - This is one of generic green ramp finishers of choice because it can be a ritual / free spell for storm too. Yay for less poison principle.​

• Awakening Zone - A good ramp spell that works well with token/sacrifice decks. It also happens to be great for a deck that only cares to use its big mana once.​

• Grand Arbiter Augustin IV - I did not have him in my last iteration, but a cost reducer is great for storm and he will definitely sees play in other decks.​

• Burning-Tree Emissary - It is no Manamorphose, but is still surprisingly useful. The potential for early defense should not be overlooked.​

• Fire // Ice/Electrolyze/Prophetic Bolt - Great reasons to be red. They protect you without costing cards that you will need later and can lower the storm you need for lethal. They are probably better than generic draw spells because drawing into more action spells for going off is not going to keep you alive and you do not have room to play 1 for 1 removal spells just to protect yourself.​

• Goblin Electromancer This card is really sweet, and not just in a storm deck. It will generally save you more mana than a ritual provides. Unfortunately, it only discounts colorless mana so it does not work as well with artifact mana as it does with green based ramp.​

• Aurelia's Fury - Hehe...playable, non-narrow storm hate. ​

• Tinder Wall - Exactly what storm wants. Defense and ritual all in one. I am not sure about this one though. It might not be worth the slot if other decks never want it.​

• Artifact Mana - Not insane unless it produces more than just but you will probably play as much as you can get anyway.​

• Memory Jar - Again, the draw 7 is not as good in unpowered cubes; however, it still gives you tons gas for building up resources. It also goes well with Grand Architect. ​

• Epochrasite - The perfect early drop. It blocks, it is easy to cast before your mana is set up, and it comes back to provide free storm.​

• Gitaxian Probe - The free spell. It should go in more than just storm decks. Information is very useful in a singleton/draft environment.​

• Noxious Revival - It is like Vampiric Tutor for decks that can get through a large percentage of its cards (control, dredge). It gets even better in cube because we are not playing with 4ofs and reusing your most powerful cards can be game breaking. It is an even bigger deal in storm where your best cards do a ton of extra work.​

Storm cards not in my cube:​

• Rituals - Aside from Dark Ritual the rest are not really that attractive for non storm decks. Poison principle. Pass.​

• Mirari's Wake - It is not really a green-white card and the others are already a lot better. I do not think storm will really miss this.​

• Palinchron - A great degenerate card, but with out Mirari's Wake I am not sure how sought after it would be. Dreams Halls is already iffy, but at least it comes down sooner and does more fun things than just going infinite.​

.

3/28 Edits: In case someone is randomly reading this, I'm going to be using this space temporarily to draft up a new cube blog before posting it in a new thread.

600 Cards = 3/5 of the pool per 8 person draft. No particular rhyme or reason. I like the increased variation and 600 is nice and round.

Unpowered / No Planeswalkers (except for the W/U/B transform creatures): Long ago, my cube started this way as a nod to budget considerations. While that's no longer a concern, the no planeswalkers paradigm has grown to define my cube. Designing around this stipulation and in conjunction with my other biases has led a pretty different cube format. The main takeaway here is that no planeswalkers opens up space for other repeatable value engines, and my cube has them in spades.

 

[Jason Waddell]

Hard to believe you are too poor when you have stuff like Voice of Resurgence floating around in there. I gave your cube a spin and it felt pretty good. You mentioned a ton of themes in your OP, but I'm not sure how well all of them come through. You also mentioned that this list is different from your paper list so maybe you don't actually have experience with it yet. But it felt like maybe some of the themes should either be pushed harder or cut entirely.

Dream Halls is a card that captures my imagination, and I tried to run it for a long time, but the deck never never came together.

 

[xyz]

Thanks for the feedback!

Voice is a proxy lol ...as are the ABU duals and stuff....although now that I am about to graduate and start working, I'll have a lot more room to grow this. On the other hand, I'm moving and will have to find a new cube group

The way I see it, themes aren't supposed to be fully fleshed out core/staple decks. It's not like saying you can draft aggro in my cube every time without fail. Theme might be the wrong word for it. They're more like specific paths you can take given the tools available. Lots of pieces exist to for it, but it's not going to come together every time. Having a 560 list makes a big difference. Some themes will inevitably be sold short in a given draft. But for me that's a good thing. I want drafts to have significant variation (a reason for having a big 560 list) and for people to have to adapt and maybe considering changing strategies mid-draft. It also helps that a lot of cards overlap between many of the strategies. For instance, a lot of times I like to draft grindy black value decks, but they can range from stax/recursion attrition to dredge/graveyard based depending on whats available in the pool.

It's similar to why 3xINN was so fun. You can go in wanting to draft a heavy self mill strategy, but you could end up creature heavy with spider spawning or skaabs or spell heavy with burning vengance and focusing on flashback, depending on what's opened. Here, using creatures in the yard is a one theme and flashback is another theme, but they do have a lot of overlap. Modern Masters draft has some of the same elements, where a blue-red deck arcane or storm (or other things). Two different, and pretty narrow strategies, but there's significant overlap. Example from my cube: say you start with Lingering Souls into Spectral Procession into Intangible Virtue, but can't seem to pick up any other token producers because the guy next to you is picking up Cloudgoat Ranger and the like for a blink deck. You can always use the token producers in conjunction with Smokestack or Blood Artist to do a lot of damage. It's definitely not a new idea (sorry for going through it like you don't get it), but it really explains why I'm comfortable focusing on pushing the breadth of themes rather than the depth of themes. I want a lot of replayability value, rather than 3xGTC where you basically have 5 decks to pick from.

It's the same reason I don't feel the need to have multiple copies of a card (no knock on people who do of course ). When I start a draft with an Eternal Witness and want to move in on a green value deck I make sure to keep a lot of options open. I try to draft a nice curve from the get go knowing I miiiiiight get a Birthing Pod. I draft as many ETB effects as I can, knowing I might be picking up a late Crystal Shard instead. I keep my eyes open for graveyard stockers so I'm ready to abuse a Genesis if it shows up. I like that the unpredictability makes drafts more dynamic and challenging. (Errr I recognize that the purpose of multiple Birthing Pods might be to make the gameplay experience more consistent rather than to make the drafting more interesting. But, since I view it is a strong card advantage/card selection spell rather than a necessary engine for a deck, it doesn't bother me that a deck will only have one.)

I think that a lot of offbeat ideas that cubes try (blue based aggro, storm, etc) but don't work out aren't really the designers' fault. I find that, usually, they don't work because drafters are not creative or savvy enough (from watching many draft videos online). Or...they don't know the ins and outs of the cube (just write a primer for them ). Axing those idea to cater to your group is certainly a valid solution. A primer is another solution, but even so, if they don't get excited over suiting up a Spellstutter Sprite with Rancor like I do, you can't really force it. Luckily for me, my group (which i'm moving away from unfortunately ) was willing to think outside of the box and make use of all the nonstandard cards I include. Imagination is very welcome in my cube drafts.

Some crazy examples:

• Sun Titan + Promise of Bunrei + Mortarpod was an interesting lock

• One of the cooler decks that came together a while back was a WBR value deck with Recurring Nightmare and Kiki-Jiki, the Mirror Breaker + Restoration Angel ...not everyday you see a midrange value deck featuring red and excluding green.

• I've been hit with a non lethal Tendrils of Agony for 10... only to be finished by direct burn damage from Myr Battlesphere on the same turn. (Storm is a ramp deck so it makes more sense than at first glance.)

• Against someone else, the same deck tapped Mulldrifter for two mana off of Grand Architect with the evoke sacrifice on the stack....because you know...Mulldrifter wasn't value enough.

• I couldn't get a Cloud of Faeries to loop for my blue-white tempo deck in a FIVE MAN POD because someone was in 5cc and wanted the colorless cycling to smooth out his draws. As a drafter I was really bummed...as a designer I was like wow, this guy really gets it.

 

[Jason Waddell]

Thanks for the feedback!

Voice is a proxy lol ...as are the ABU duals and stuff....although now that I am about to graduate and start working, I'll have a lot more room to grow this. On the other hand, I'm moving and will have to find a new cube group

The way I see it, themes aren't supposed to be fully fleshed out core/staple decks. It's not like saying you can draft aggro in my cube every time without fail. Theme might be the wrong word for it. They're more like specific paths you can take given the tools available. Lots of pieces exist to for it, but it's not going to come together every time. Having a 560 list makes a big difference. Some themes will inevitably be sold short in a given draft. But for me that's a good thing. I want drafts to have significant variation (a reason for having a big 560 list) and for people to have to adapt and maybe considering changing strategies mid-draft. It also helps that a lot of cards overlap between many of the strategies. For instance, a lot of times I like to draft grindy black value decks, but they can range from stax/recursion attrition to dredge/graveyard based depending on whats available in the pool.

It's similar to why 3xINN was so fun. You can go in wanting to draft a heavy self mill strategy, but you could end up creature heavy with spider spawning or skaabs or spell heavy with burning vengance and focusing on flashback, depending on what's opened. Here, using creatures in the yard is a one theme and flashback is another theme, but they do have a lot of overlap. Modern Masters draft has some of the same elements, where a blue-red deck arcane or storm (or other things). Two different, and pretty narrow strategies, but there's significant overlap. Example from my cube: say you start with Lingering Souls into Spectral Procession into Intangible Virtue, but can't seem to pick up any other token producers because the guy next to you is picking up Cloudgoat Ranger and the like for a blink deck. You can always use the token producers in conjunction with Smokestack or Blood Artist to do a lot of damage. It's definitely not a new idea (sorry for going through it like you don't get it), but it really explains why I'm comfortable focusing on pushing the breadth of themes rather than the depth of themes. I want a lot of replayability value, rather than 3xGTC where you basically have 5 decks to pick from.

It's the same reason I don't feel the need to have multiple copies of a card (no knock on people who do of course ). When I start a draft with an Eternal Witness and want to move in on a green value deck I make sure to keep a lot of options open. I try to draft a nice curve from the get go knowing I miiiiiight get a Birthing Pod. I draft as many ETB effects as I can, knowing I might be picking up a late Crystal Shard instead. I keep my eyes open for graveyard stockers so I'm ready to abuse a Genesis if it shows up. I like that the unpredictability makes drafts more dynamic and challenging. (Errr I recognize that the purpose of multiple Birthing Pods might be to make the gameplay experience more consistent rather than to make the drafting more interesting. But, since I view it is a strong card advantage/card selection spell rather than a necessary engine for a deck, it doesn't bother me that a deck will only have one.)

I think that a lot of offbeat ideas that cubes try (blue based aggro, storm, etc) but don't work out aren't really the designers' fault. I find that, usually, they don't work because drafters are not creative or savvy enough (from watching many draft videos online). Or...they don't know the ins and outs of the cube (just write a primer for them ). Axing those idea to cater to your group is certainly a valid solution. A primer is another solution, but even so, if they don't get excited over suiting up a Spellstutter Sprite with Rancor like I do, you can't really force it. Luckily for me, my group (which i'm moving away from unfortunately ) was willing to think outside of the box and make use of all the nonstandard cards I include. Imagination is very welcome in my cube drafts.

Yeah, I see where you're coming from, and I think you have some good inspiration with Innistrad. I also like your ideas about overlapping and providing your drafters with an escape route.

I think that a lot of offbeat ideas that cubes try (blue based aggro, storm, etc) but don't work out aren't really the designers' fault. I find that, usually, they don't work because drafters are not creative or savvy enough (from watching many draft videos online). Or...they don't know the ins and outs of the cube (just write a primer for them ).

This part I'm not as sure if I agree with. I think the design should communicate its ideas with the players. Imagine somebody sold a board game, and then the designer complained that nobody "got it" or was playing it right. I would be inclined to say that the designer had failed on some level to properly communicate and implement his or her ideas. I don't think it has to be DGM level, but blaming the players feels off to me.

 

[xyz]

Yea, I definitely agree with the idea you are presenting. I think it is a little different in this case though. I didn't design magic! People already have a preconceived system for card evaluation and it's hard for me to change that with my cube design. Even when they can see the offbeat idea (it's hard to miscommunicate storm ) there are plenty of familiar strategies they can default to instead of exploring something new. That's more of what I was getting at. I am just trying to say from a design stand point that it's ok if you dont see something you support come together much (as long as it's not eating away from other design space). Just having the hidden layer of potential there adds depth to your cube. Maybe someone in the group will want to try something new after the 10th draft. Or maybe you bring it to a different group and people there capitalize on the potential. It's not bad if there are lesser drafted strategies (as long as it's not eating away from other design space). The cube already works and there are plenty of archetypes for average players to enjoy. It's just that storm is an advanced layer and most people don't understand how it works even if they can clearly see that it is supported from their first pack. For me, that's ok.

I don't think one should be afraid to write a drafting guide for their cube either. It does admit that you "failed on some level to properly communicate and implement [your] ideas", but to be fair Magic and drafting (and specifically cube drafting) is super complicated anyway. Heck, even WOTC gave us a drafting guide for MMA, which is an awesome draft format even if a lot of people didn't figure out storm (cause the format is too expensive to experiment with ). Just having the option there didn't hurt too much though.


I think blue aggro/blue tempo/blue aggrocontrol is in a similar boat. Just look at constructed metagames. At the beginning of a new format it's not hard to figure out how to jam all the aggressive creatures + burn in a deck and call it a day. Jamming all the value midrange creatures together is pretty easy too. Picking out answers to the aggro and midrange isn't thaaat much more difficult. But look at how long it took us to discover Delver of Secrets or CawBlade. It's hard to expect drafters to see it, assuming we've even implemented it well in the first place. It might not really be our fault!

 

[Jason Waddell]

Yeah, I agree that draft guides should be useful. One thing I often see is that decks exist but that the cards aren't really powerful enough to push people into it. It's one thing I struggled with when pushing niche archetypes before, but once people started to draft cool things like sacrifice decks because of card power instead of me telling them about it the cube felt like it was in a better place anyways.

Another issue I see is that often with things like storm you really have to force the deck to make it happen, as the deck doesn't necessarily come together naturally by just picking strong cards. To get it you often have to intentionally ignore the packs' stronger cards to try and get that archetype to come together, but I don't know if that's a great dynamic. I like how retail drafts will use a few high-power rares or uncommons to push you into that space every once in a while.

 

[xyz]

Well, I think with blue aggro/tempo the power is there (Geist of Saint Traft, Cryptic Command [so much better when one of the modes says opponent dies instead of i don't die for a turn], Venser, Shaper Savant, etc) but people have a misconception of blue as control, so the cards don't push them towards something it should. At least with Opposition it is blatantly clear what you should do . I considered including Coastal Piracy for a time to really hammer it home. But I was afraid people would just not move in and it would be a waste of space. At least the other support I have for it right now is somewhat flexible...somewhat. Hmm...now that I think about it, I'm considering Coastal Piracy again lol. Also maybe part of the problem is because the unexciting dorks you need to support it aren't usually included and so it's circularly reinforcing people to not look for blue aggro/tempo decks.

Similarly it's like how Lightning Bolt pushes people into red-based aggro. Most people have blinders on and don't realize it's the 2nd(?)ish best removal spell. Also because they are used to cube designers include Jackal Pup even if it's not a super powerful card pushing them into RDW. They just learn from experience that a red deck wants as many 1drops as it can get. That's easy enough to learn, but most people aren't conditioned to say Spellstutter Sprite is still a great role player even if it doesn't counter anything. On a similar note, it bother me so much when people play Daze in a control deck cause they're like OOOH A COUNTER. I mean it's fiiine, but if you're picking up a land in the early game against a properly built non control deck.....

I agree that you have to force or draft for it, but I disagree that you're not drafting naturally strong cards. The last draft when I went for storm, I didn't get a kill condition until a few picks into pack 3, but my deck probably would have been fine without it. My early picks in pack 1 were things like Coalition Relic, Sea Gate Oracle, Ponder, Electrolyze, Fact or Fiction. Nothing out of the ordinary . Pack 2 I early picked Primeval Titan and Upheaval, and late picked a Maelstrom Wanderer because I wasn't sure the storm plan would work out, and random big finishers is also a fine back up plan. That said, I agree you do have to plan for it; it doesn't just fall into your lap. But I think that's a good thing! Drafting should reward good planning. Drafting a good curve in case you get Birthing Pod or AEther Vial and getting rewarded late in pack 2 or 3 because other people didn't plan is a great feeling that I want to support. In 3xINN drafting a lot of self mill and creatures and getting a late Spider Spawning nobody else could use was one of the best feelings. Sure you don't get there sometimes, and your deck might not be as powerful as it could have been. But balancing the risk and rewards is the joy of drafting.

Anyway, I'm headed out to an M14 release draft now (oh man i hope it's good =/). You should check out the storm draft I did for Dom's cube in his thread. I forced it (obviously) but it doesn't look like I was ignoring stronger cards.

 

[VincePendrell]

Hey! Took a good look on your list and runned a couple of drafts on cube tutor and I really can't say much about your list yet. I think I should have played with your group to give better advice. This is what I came up with in a draft after a first-pick Arc Trail: http://cubetutor.com/draftdeck/9643. Sideboard deck feels like it could do better against more creature-oriented decks but I went for a more aggressive approach because I thought it could play better against most themes you had listed in this thread.

Overall, I think your list looks good, though I do have some bullet points for you:
• What is the average speed that the good decks (the ones that win more often) tend to take to setup and play in your cube?
• It is probably me being too adapted to my cube where mana is very easy to come by and decks end up with 3-7 nonbasics, but I really miss more mana fixing, especially in the colorless sections. I really miss City of Brass and friends :/
• How have the Mirage Fetch-Lands worked out for you? I found they a bit too slow for what I was trying to do and eventually removed them.
• Have you tested Flame Jab and Raven's Crime for your spell matters/storm themes? Flame Jab in itself is a very ok card for red decks that run on low mana and retrace usually means extra spells while comboing out even when you draw lands for your spells.
• Is Fanatical Devotion any good? Feels like something I would never wnat to play outside a tokens deck and not before about turn 5 when I have a dominant board.
• Altar's Reap seems to fit well with some of your themes. So does Eldrazi Monument (was the best token support card I had on some commander decks).
• Spider Spawning deck looks awfully hard to put together and Rot Farm Skeleton doesn't look like he helps that much. How has this played out for you without Mulch or Tracker's Instinct around? My suggestion would be to include the Stinkweed Imp you had an eye for and Worm Harvest. Harvest also can be played on a Stax/Sacrifice shell and with your LftL+Seismic Assault engine as another recurring threat. Speaking of sacrificing stuff, graveyard and such, what are your thoughts on Ghave for your list?
• You say that necro is a really good engine for a lot of decks. How do you think that Yawgmoth's Bargain would fit in the same spot? Instant card draw seems a lot better than waiting a turn for storm strategies and it looks like your storm decks can ramp enough to cast it.

 

[Eric Chan]

Gonna agree with Vince here. I did a mock draft or two, and the fixing feels like it's lacking in quantity. It was hard to justify going more than two colours, as I didn't see enough duals to enable a light splash of a third colour.

 

[VincePendrell]

On a second note, it does looks like the lack in fixing makes up for the huge amount of things going on with the cube by making games run a little longer so things fall into places, but if the games are supposed to take a while longer, I think that big finishers like Grave Titan and Wurmcoil Engine become absurdly more powerful and could eventually deviate the drafts from all the cool themes rolling around to races for a 6 mana finisher. (not that it might be happening or, if so, that it might be unnintended, just some thoughts about stuff)

Eidt: Drafted this to try to prove a point: http://cubetutor.com/draftdeck/9765. How powerful would that deck be in your average meta?

 

[xyz]

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback and thanks for trying out a few drafts!

I do think though, that cubetutor does not give you an accurate feel for the cube at all. Especially since not many drafts have been done on mine, and so the most picked cards algorithm it's based on might be off. Especially since I did a lot of fun drafts forcing storm as soon as i put it up. -_-

In response to more specific things...

• I don't think my sample size is good enough to know for sure (definitely less than 20 full 8man drafts), but we do have one guy who basically forces Rx everytime. He usually tries to to curve out at 4 with Hellrider and consistently does well. Generally, control needs a pretty good hand to beat him. I think there was a game where the control player curved Augur of Bolas -> Pestermite -> Nekrataal (no longer in cube) and it was still a very close game (I forget who won). On the other hand, that day I stomped him with a Sprouting Thrinax + Goblin Bombardment + Reassembling Skeleton deck...and got crushed by the control player....so I can't really say what "speed" is good. I guess, you just have to position yourself well and have a plan against every deck you expect?

• Uhh... a more concrete answer....I think he usually won t5-6?​

• Also, the other week I lost to an aggro deck t6ish a couple times. I had early defense and ways to buy time (while still setting up), but my storm deck was probably a t6-8 deck if I NEEDED to goldfish?​

​

• Actually, Vince, I think our cubes are very similar in terms of fixing. I think you have 3-4 more pieces than I do, but that's it. Granted the two of us ARE on the lower end of fixing. We're around averaging 4 pieces in the draft per person. Where as Eric and Jason for instance are at 5 pieces per person. It might just be variance? I did couple drafts just now to check. The first time I had only 1 or 2 pieces and was shocked. I thought it might have something to do with me putting the lands in the guild section, but I rerolled a bunch of opening packs and it seemed fine. I did a second draft just now and ended up with 6 pieces which in my purely anecdotal experience has been the norm. I think I personally usually end up with 5-8, because I take them pretty highly. I don't know about the experience of the rest of my group though. I know one guy often goes 4 colors, usually GX with a couple light splashes, and I'm always in awe at how he always gets it to work. Not sure about the rest though. It might be that my group does not expect extremely good mana bases as is it comprised of predominantly limited players who have fairly little constructed experience because of time/money considerations. Usually we get mostly 2 colors decks, sometimes splashing a third and maybe 2-3ish 3+ color decks. I think that's a fine place to be? I definitely don't fault anyone for wanting more abundant fixing, but the challenge of drafting a mana base that maximizes your deck is a lot of fun too. (Coming from a guy who nearly 3-0 a DGR draft with a Progenitor Mimic + Deathpact Angel deck)

• It's probably harder for you to fit them in with power, but it's been fine for us in unpowered so far. Those fetches go later and really helps out the slow decks that want to be playing 3+ colors. I could just take the plunge and double up, but * shrug * I'm kinda indifferent I guess? and the status quo has been fine.

• Yea, Raven's Crime just did not do anything. It was never main decked and nobody wanted to try it with Life from the Loam. I fear the same fate for Flame Jab. I agree it can be good in red decks, but I feel like Seismic Assault is just better. Not to say that would be the swap, but they kinda fill the same role with Life from the Loam (which is a small interaction I like to have, but don't feel the need to push it for a deck) and I don't know if Flame Jab will be in demand elsewhere. It's a nice safety valve for storm maybe? I have no experience there, but I can definitely see it being ok support. It's cute with the spells matter creatures too. I've thought about it before, but I guess I just didn't know what to cut for it. I already have a lot of dorky support cards in red. On second thought though, perhaps it's along the same lines with Firebolt? Yes, yes, that might be a good swap. Thanks for getting me to think about it more.

• Any good? No idea. That's why I'm testing it. I have a feeling it plays a lot better than it looks. Like how Mother of Runes is deceptively good. I agree that you wouldn't want to play it on turn 3 most of the time (that's not what costing 3 mana means though!), but I think it goes in more than just token decks. It is a free sac outlet (plenty of sweet interactions there and such) and protecting dudes (in aggro or creature combo) is strong. For instance, in Eric's(?) sample draft of my cube http://cubetutor.com/draftdeck/9151 I think I would go mono white splash blue for Geist of Saint Traft and Phantasmal Image. I would cut the other blue cards for Kjeldoran Outpost, Azorius Arrester, Aven Mindcensor, and Fanatical Devotion...and I think it could do a lot of work here. Protecting Geist of Saint Traft so it can get in for 4 a turn is pretty nice. Suited up Silverblade Paladin / Fencing Ace, or just a random flier are good things to protect too. There's also no shortage of chump idiots to throw away. Steppe Lynx can get really bad late game, Stoneforge Mystic is pretty dorky, etc. Protecting Leonin Relic Warder and Fiend Hunter can be good too...or you can sac them in rsp to trigger. Also, Balance in an aggro deck? Don't think that works...

• Oooh! Perilous Research. Blue doesn't have as many creatures to sacrifice, but maybe this supports tempo since you can just sacrifice a land. Also it bridges black and blue maybe? At one point I also thought of Stitcher's Apprentice as a bridge. The power level prooooobably isn't there on that one lol. -____- Hmmm. Maybe Altar's Reap on top of that is ok too. Or maybe just instead of the blue cousin. My brain is too pooped right now to figure out what might be cut for those though...or if the power level is even there. I'll update yall after I get a chance to think about it.

• Hmmm...Eldrazi Monument...looks nice, but I'm already trying to fit in a couple other artifacts, so it might be a little tougher to justify.

• Rot Farm Skeleton is a very needs testing card. I just really like recurring creatures and graveyard shenanigans. It's an engine AND value in one. Varolz, the Scar-Striped would be the replacement almost for sure, since he reinforces a lot of the synergy in green-black, maybe to a fault?

• Spider Spawning is definitely a pet card. It bridges dredge with tokens which is neat. I think you're spot on about it being hard to put together though. I've had decks with it where it's been a good support card, but it's not really a deck in itself though? Which is kind of sad for 3xINN fans I guess.

• Stinkweed Imp would probably make a dredge deck more of a thing, but I just didn't know what to take out. The black section has gotten really congested with support cards. The two cards that stand out to me are Hypnotic Specter and Thrill Kill Assassin... both are kind of boring and don't do anything special with the rest of black. Hypnotic Specter is definitely the more powerful card and I got wrecked by it not that long ago. But it's also a 3 drop in section that is a getting a little crowded and doesn't switch out and have the option play defense like Thrill-Kill Assassin does. Black "aggro" is moving away from wanting a 2/3 deathtouch for 2, but on the other hand, black control doesn't really have a good 2 drop. Imp kiiinda replaces it, but 3 is a lot slower. I guess I'm leaning towards taking out Thrill-Kill Assassin.

• Worm Harvest was something I had in a long time ago. It wasn't good then, but looking at it again is really interesting. It makes tokens! On the other hand it occupies similar space as Spider Spawning which I prefer, and I don't want both. They're both support for graveyard decks. They both have repeatable value, but Worm Harvest wins a tiny bit there. Life from the Loam support is another plus for Worm Harvest. Spider Spawning makes better tokens and can be played in normal decks without too much support though, which I think is huge and what makes me prefer it. On related note, this is the second draft I was talking about above. This was accidentally related!!! o_O It should be -Undead Gladiator +Profane Command though. And yes, if that Thrill-Kill Assassin were a Stinkweed Imp...oh man... (I do think this deck is pretty frickin sweet. Should stop aggro pretty decently, especially since it has room to go lower on the curve post board. It can grind out control with all the value. It can board more aggressive for combo. And it's not TOO reliant on the graveyard.)

• Ghave, Guru of Spores looks really cool. Never considered him before and never seen him in action either. It's definitely easy to imagine bestcasescenario...but is he too expensive?

• Hmmm I think the trade off of 6 mana being basically impossible for aggro decks, for being instant speed is a huge trade off. Storm doesn't need help in that department I think. (I don't think it needs too much help in general.

• It doesn't feel like games take a lot longer or anything. Some obviously do because that's what the deck is trying to do, but in general I can't tell (as I said above lol)? Also, I think I'm ok with big finishers for now. I definitely understand the sentiment a lot of the riptidelab has against it, but games do have to end. Also a lot of the midrange decks try to do oppressive things anyway. * shrug * And for instance, one of my favorite decks to draft is Smokestack and I really enjoy grinding people down with it, so I can't complain if someone drops a titan on me Also, I think I have less sweepers and draw power than others, so control might not be as strong? I dunno how strong that list would be... it would certainly be competitive at least. You can compare with my list I posted above? That one certainly has tools to grind out things against your BW list. Grave Titan is not the end all against it I think. Although to be fair, both lists are done against bots and probably not that representative.

• Aside I noticed while typing all this up: the all the new sacrifice stuff for aggro does hold Wurmcoil Engine in check a liiiitttle bit. Cute.

• Re Vince's RW aggro cubetutordraft on my list: Why is there a Sun Titan in an aggro list? Parallax Wave is insane and you should play it!!! Especially in aggro, it's like 1.5 to 3 times the card Oblivion Ring is. It's several removal spells / falters in one! You probably want the Pyrewild Shaman too. The creature count seems a little low. Dunno what to cut though. Maybe a Sword? Maybe the ORing? You can board to be slower later, but G1 you want to maximize speed I think. SoLaS probably isn't the game you want to be playing.

K, I'm done. I covered everything I think? My brain is mush now and I've spent enough time on this reply soooo yup, not going to bother going back and checking.

 

[VincePendrell]

No idea why I had the Titan there, but there was some logical reasoning when I built that list. I guess it was because game one I could better survive against control decks and side it out if I needed more speed or something. Either way, Opposition control would definitely be the best way to fully utilize that pool. I hate-picked so many control elements that I could end up building a control deck fairly easily.

Since there are so many bullet points in our messages, I'm going to sum it up and say that I think you could use having a test pool for your cube as soon as you build it physically (use all the proxies you can print). Our lists have some extra space to make room for variating draft pools and because of this, testing new cards is often very hard. Having a test pool makes your test subjects more easily available to the players so you can have a better sense on how they are played.

On another note, my list might have about as many lands as yours, but the way I prepare my boosters and the fact that we draft 4 12-card boosters guarantees about 4.2 mana fixing pieces per player. I really have to do the math on this again to get the right number, but at first I thought I wasn't running as much fixing as well just from looking at my list.

 

[xyz]

Eh, I think the aggro is better. It probably has enough speed and closing power and the colors are just better? In any case, thanks for the practice draft, even if it's not realistic/representitive.

The only thing is right now the test pool is basically 50ish cards because of the overhaul I just need a lot of drafts in general to fully test the ideas behind everything.

Yea, I think because my group just throws everything together to draft (like cube tutor does it), the variance is higher even if we have the same average land count.

 

[xyz]

Drafted at LGS last Wednesday. A full 8 man, but with mediocre(?) player quality. (In a retail draft I would put myself at 50%+ to 3-0 ... or I'm just full of myself ). Anyways... some notes:

• I tried to draft something fringe for fun / testing, even though I probably should have P1P1 Consecrated Sphinx and P1P2 Grave Titan. The guy I passed to ended up with a very good U/B control deck. Anyhow, I ended up with a BWg pile of tokens and sac stuff. Falkenrath Noble ended up being a lot better than I expected. Altar of Dementia was useful too. I nearly had a millkill with it on a board stall (but Enlightened Tutored for Skullclamp to be safe, since I was missing about 3-5 power) and it was a winning topdeck when I needed a sac outlet for my Falkenrath Noble.

• I lost 2-1 to a ramp deck playing Inferno Titan Primeval Titan Craterhoof Behemoth in part because I'm allergic to spot removal in my midrange synergy decks, which makes it easier to go over the top. My deck would have been crazy if I could have picked a Grave Pact, so that boosts its stock even without having played with it. That also opens my eyes to how something like Attrition might actually be necessarily to help midrange compete with stuff going over the top. Attrition still seems a lot less fair/fun though.

• I lost a game by exacties to a top decked Nameless Inversion on a Serendib Efreet out of a control deck when I would have won next turn against anything else (except a sweeper which he didn't have). Quite epic. It's sweet having non-vanilla removal spells like Go for the Throat.

• I played against a red-blue aggro tempo deck! It made me happy to see that someone drafting my cube for the first time with no knowledge of what was in it decided to do that. I don't know how good he is because I haven't played with him much, so maybe he just ended up with blue creatures in his deck because he's used to normal limited where people don't draft low creature control decks. Anyhow, according to him, he started on Cryptic Command -> Venser Shaper-Savant and then just picked up creatures like Coralhelm Commander and Welkin Tern because it was flowing. His deck probably could have been a good control deck too if you just swap out the cheap beaters for top end finishers, but Having beatdowns meant that I had no time to set up my game or play around stuff like Cryptic Command and Treachery which made them even more of a beating.

Dunno what else happened at the other tables, because it was an unorganized casual thing; we didn't have rounds or anything and people just played whoever.