Archetypes I'd like to see pop up:
- multicolor aggro/tempo, control, ramp, midrange
- Pod decks
- black-based loners
- UR spells matter (Kiln Fiend/dragonauts)
- an Aristocrats style deck
Notes and concerns:
- I've included three Pods since they seem fun to build around, but I avoided multiples of anything else for lack of knowledge. I have doubled up on Zendikar fetches and shocklands because I don't have the older lands (except Windswept Heath). I'll add them if I get my hands on them.
- Some black cards might need to be exchanged for white ones.
- Am I trying to support too many things? I'm willing to cut archetypes that may turn into traps.
- I noticed my green section produces a LOT of mana. Is that acceptable if I still want it to occasionally play beatdown? Should I add more ramp targets?
- Titans and Baneslayer. Too powerful? Should I preemptively cut them for weaker, more synergistic cards?
Always happy to see a new cube pop up
Here's my thoughts, per archetype/point:
Aggro: Some of those 1 drops aren't that great.
Jackel Famaliar and
Gul Draz Vampire play less well than they appear, and could probably be cut for better ones. For overlap with the Aristocrats deck, you'll probably want mroe gravecrawler-esque cards, like
reassembling skeleton or
nether traitor, or simply more gravecrawlers. Interacting before the opponent is off their feet is key, and one drops make that much easier.
Control: This is a harder nut to crack, but I've noticed a few key gaps. In red, there's no sweeper other than blasphemous act. Given all the advantages blue/white/black have as control colors, giving red at least one cheap wrath like
slagstorm or the new
anger of the gods (if you want a card to interact with the aristocrats deck) does wonders. Also if you can manage it,
rolling earthquake is the best of these. Earthquake not hitting fliers is always a bigger deal than it looks like.
Pod: My personal favorite pod card is
Mikaeus the Unhallowed, with a close second being
murderous redcap. I'm personally unfamaliar with the archetype myself (too complicated for me, I is bad drafter
), but sources tell me those help if you wanna give help.
Spells Matter: Personally I prefer the
young pyromancer style of this deck to the
kiln fiend style. The origional counter-burn decks were rather grindy, and I think it suits them better than pretending to be infect. My recommendations:
Runechanter's Pike (OH MY GOD THIS CARD IS SO SWEET), more cantrips (
Brainstorm,
Ponder,
Preordain etc), and more oneshot token cards (Eg:
Lingering Souls,
Raise the Alarm) since the UW version is sweet too. I haven't tried delver of secrets myself, but it could be cool.
Aristocrats: Goblin MFing Bombardment (Also
Blasting Station). This is the card that holds this deck together
Can't recommend it enough. While these are my favorite, really any noncreature (read: hard to remove) no mana required sac outlet will do, just typically 1 damage matters more than some mana (
phyrexian altar,
Ashnod's Altar), bears (
spawning pit) or some milled cards (
Altar of Dementia).
Also: I notice you don't run
skullclamp, but if that changes, it interacts in scary ways with this archetype. I've cut clamp for this very reason
Doubling Up: We all play this one by ear, but I've also doubled up on things where the alternative is too weak (eg:
Man-o'-War and
AEther adept,
Damnnation and
Black Sun's Zenith, etc) or too powerful (
strip mine -->
wasteland)
A lot of people here add multiple
gravecrawers simply because no recursive creature really exists that comes close to it's power (other than
bloodghast, which usually also gets multiplied
)
Color Section Sizes: Don't feel the need for these to be exactly the same, but a whole 10 card different might be worth considering.
Spread too thin: Almost certainly not. If you get worried, look to cards which help multiple archetypes, like
fatestitcher. It's a zombie, it untaps pod, and it's also a tapper. Thats control, Pod and aristocrats right there.
Green Mana: Keep a close eye on the number of accelerators in your cube, since the more there are the faster aggro decks need to be to keep up. Draft ramp in your next draft, and see if the accelleration comes too easily.
With regards to the ammount of mana green produces, assuming you want to keep the accellerators the way they are (personally be wary of anything that makes more than one mana:
Rofellos,
Coalition Relic,
Sol Ring etc), the rest is just adjusting your ramp targets. I think you could probably use a few more, but the green ramp deck planning to cast
Hornet Queen looks quite different than the deck planning to cast
Ulamog or
Worldspine Wurm, for example.
Titans: Depends on the Titan. They're all fine cards, and the only one I think is really opressive is
Grave Titan, but honestly black control needs the help in my opinion.
Inferno Titan could be bad, but everyone else is fine.
Primeval Titan might actually be bad, honestly
Baneslayer is just a big dumb idiot with lifelink. She's a perfectly reasonable, just don't include 7 other creatures like her. Baneslayer on her own is fine, Batterskull is fine, but enough of them together makes aggro drafters cry.
