Blacksmithy's Cube

B

blacksmithy

Yeah my bots are dumb. It doesn't help that I reset my picks fairly recently after a big overhaul.

Speaking of green, one green archetype I've been trying to make work is land recursion with Titania and Life from the Loam, etc. It hasn't really ever come together though. I feel like all the pieces are there—I even run friggin' Zuran Orb and Expedition Map!



That's everything in Green, Gold, and Colorless that would specifically fuel a Loamish deck. Are there not enough cards? Is the payoff not there? Idk.
 
Eric Chan

Eric Chan

Hyalopterous Lemure
Staff member
safra said:
you don't have a lot of ramp but the ramp you do have is really strong, so a spell with utility wherever you are on your curve (especially if you ramp and then flood!) seems pretty good. Of the options Defiance is i think the best/most fun, and goddamn does casting it feel good
Click to expand...

Sorry to butt in on this quality thread like this, but safra, I wanted to bug you about the curious choice of Clan Defiance, which I noticed in your list from before. It seems like a really sweet top-end Gruul ramp card, and you've got me seriously considering it. Is there an overlap between it and Kessig Wolf Run (which kind of fills the same role as a mana sink, only without costing a deck slot)? Do you think Defiance has a high enough upside to cover for taking up a spell slot?
 
safra

safra

Eric Chan said:
Sorry to butt in on this quality thread like this, but safra, I wanted to bug you about the curious choice of Clan Defiance, which I noticed in your list from before. It seems like a really sweet top-end Gruul ramp card, and you've got me seriously considering it. Is there an overlap between it and Kessig Wolf Run (which kind of fills the same role as a mana sink, only without costing a deck slot)? Do you think Defiance has a high enough upside to cover for taking up a spell slot?
Click to expand...

my format's 'critical toughness' is two, so I think it's often cast for just X=2 or 3. It's divisible burn (ish), contribute's to green's flyer hate, and lategame it's really something fierce. Taking out their big threat, overkilling a spirit token, and doming them for six is pretty impressive when you think about how the card supports variance. If you're drawing lands or other mana sources for a few turns, that sucks, but eventually you might draw Defiance so the player is emotionally still in the game. There's, like, no actual "top end", it just scales forever.

(since you like my cube, bonus trivia: all the x spells get hit by inquisition of kozilek, bringing home my CMC 3 theme)

It and Wolf Run go in the same deck but they do different things, if that makes sense? The damage to player is ~70% of the time upside, not the intended purpose.
 
Grillo_Parlante

Grillo_Parlante

Contributor
blacksmithy said:
I think you're right that players who are drafting midrange are generally going for derpy durdle builds. Like I said, usually at least 1/3 of the drafted decks are midrange, and they usually have more or less 50-50 records. They're capable of big plays but are mostly just goodstuff piles.
Let's talk about RW for a bit. That is, I suppose, the classic aggro color pair. In my cube, some of the archetypes I'm trying to nudge people towards in RW are tokens (Purphoros is really popular here), prowess (Monastery Mentor and etc), and double strike with pants/anthems. So far, tokens has been a hit, but only one guy has done the prowess deck, and no one's tried a pants Boros build. However, I have seen people do Alesha.dek a couple times since her inclusion. The guys seem to really like pairing her with stuff like Grenzo and Hornet Queen, and that makes me happy.
So that brings us to aggro fixing. I asked this in an earlier post, but how much fixing is enough to make 2-3 color aggro decks appealing at the 400-450 range? Cuz guys, I love aggro, and I want to see more of it on Cube nights. Thanks again!
Click to expand...

You have a few issues re: aggro:

1. There is a bunch of value midrange cards, which means people aren't really drafting strategically, so much as they are just putting together good stuff piles (as you noted). There is no good stuff equivalent for your aggro decks, so your drafters have to approach an aggro draft strategically--which they are clearly not willing to do atm.

2. Due to the midrange value engines, your aggro decks have to hit the ground running, as they lack any way to really combat that advantage; as a result you have a lot of fragile savannah lion clones. Because the aggro decks don't have much in the way of visible value engines, or many tools to assert themselves affirmatively in the later stages of the game, they become less attractive to drafters overvaluing midrange.

3. Because of the singleton limitation, you can only have one copy of gravecrawler, which is the usual value engine people go to for aggro in these types of formats.

If you want to encourage more strategic drafting, you'll have to give more definition across the entire cube, which means redesigning your midrange section so it focuses less on value plays, and giving aggro some more tools to last into the late game. At that point you should naturally start to see some of the more fringe aggro archetypes come alive, and can adjust from there.

Your other choice is to break singleton on fetches/shocks, so the aggro decks can at least pivot around the draft, though I doubt it will make players more likely to engage in the strategic drafting they seem to be avoiding.
 
B

blacksmithy

Hey guys, I made some updates to Cubetutor. I'm trying a bigger gold section to go with the bigger duals, and since original duals are no bueno for modern frame, I'm going to sharpie out the "enters tapped" part of 10 of these dang Guildgates I have laying around the house, and use them in the cube as quality fixing.
In re: Gravecrawler, I know he's super popular here, but seriously have y'all tried Bloodsoaked Champion? The dude supports Humans, Warriors (hello Blood-Chin Rager and Mardu Woe-Reaper), and recurs himself much, MUCH easier than Gravecrawler in a cube that doesn't bend over backwards to make Zombies a thing. Him and Bloodghast together are silly.
Now that said, I am looking for a copy of Carrion Feeder to put into my black one-drops, cuz I like Gravecrawler a lot too—just not enough to run two of 'em.
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
I'll humor you with a few more drafts :)

Sol Ring remains the most insane thing in your cube I think. It's probably better than the original moxen, and that says a lot.

Onderzeeboot's WU Five-Drops from CubeTutor.com













Slightly risky with the mana base, but Backup Plan should smooth that out a bit. Deck has a few insane bombs.

Onderzeeboot's Esper ArtiGifts draft from CubeTutor.com












Edit: And a sick reanimator deck. P1P1 Recurring Nightmare, I'm not blaming the bots this time!

Onderzeeboot's wUBr Reanimator draft from CubeTutor.com












Edit2: CRUNCH!

Onderzeeboot's Rakdos Aggro draft from CubeTutor.com










Edit3: I'm starting to see less obvious broken cards being passed...

Onderzeeboot's Junk draft from CubeTutor.com












Edit4: I'll just keep at this, ok?

Onderzeeboot's Mono Red Naya draft from CubeTutor.com










The mana fixing got a lot better!
 
B

blacksmithy

Onderzeeboot said:
I'll humor you with a few more drafts :)

Sol Ring remains the most insane thing in your cube I think. It's probably better than the original moxen, and that says a lot.

Edit3: I'm starting to see less obvious broken cards being passed...

The mana fixing got a lot better!
Click to expand...


Thanks!
Sol Ring is pretty much nuts. It was the one thing that I was like, "YEAH BRUH i got so many of these about from all these EDH precons and it's banned in every other format—perfect for Cube!" But I think at this point I'd be okay with taking it out, because it's true that nothing else even comes close. But then I'd be faced with the horrible decision of taking out the Jitte :confused:
I like that you mention less obvious broken stuff being passed in a deck with multiple Conspiracies, hehe. I think stuff like Power Play and Backup Plan is a way better form of "power" for a cube than, well, power, because instead of providing a stupidly explosive advantage that totally swings a game, the Conspiracies always give your deck a consistently verifiable edge, without even needing to be drawn. They're not a "removal check," more like a small but noticeable win% handicap. That said, Double Stroke on Fireblast, or Muzzio's Preparations on Redcap with a sac outlet ready, or what have you, are pretty explosive, but IMO that's a better kind of explosive.
And yay, the mana fixing is better! (Especially since the Gates have a little Ebenezer Scrooge errata to keep me from having to buy more shocks.) Glad the change seemed to be a positive one. I'm definitely trying some wonky stuff in a few guild slots though, but I haven't touched my actual cube yet. I wanna see how y'all and my own playgroup react to the CT list before I mess with the real cards too much.
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
blacksmithy said:
I like that you mention less obvious broken stuff being passed in a deck with multiple Conspiracies, hehe. I think stuff like Power Play and Backup Plan is a way better form of "power" for a cube than, well, power, because instead of providing a stupidly explosive advantage that totally swings a game, the Conspiracies always give your deck a consistently verifiable edge, without even needing to be drawn. They're not a "removal check," more like a small but noticeable win% handicap.
Click to expand...
I'm glad you caught that, because I was definitely hinting at the Conspiracies :) I first-picked two of those I think. Those cards are definitely powerful!
 
Grillo_Parlante

Grillo_Parlante

Contributor
Did another aggro draft, ended up much happier this time.

GrilloParlante's draft of Smithy's Cube on 04/06/2015 from CubeTutor.com











The errata on the guild lands really helps. This is much more aggro-control, which I like. The list has some engines to grind out value, so it less of that all-in feel that players dislike, and there are some fun plays and complex lines. It has some mana sinks, ways to blank removal, but can also operate on a low mana count. Also, some of the more fringe themes (prowess/double strike) are present, since the better fixing meant it was easier for me to move around the draft.
 
B

blacksmithy

That's a good-looking aggro deck, Grillo—glad you liked your second try at the cube better!
And yeah, the guildgate errata is just me being a tightwad, but it opens up some interesting interactions with the "Gates-matter" cards from RTR block. Not sure if any of those cards are cube worthy though.
 
B

blacksmithy

Another CubeTutor update! I reworked the guild sections, and because my "DualGates" have basic land types, I replaced them with the original duals on CT. That more accurately reflects their function. There are more tri-color/tri-brid cards in the multicolor section too, including Doran and The Mimeoplasm. And, the cube is now exactly 450 cards! My OCD is pleased.
 
B

blacksmithy

Hosted a Cube event last night. We did two rounds of 4-person sealed duels, and my Bant tempo-ish deck went 2-0. I'll try to remember the list...

My mana was really fantastic, and I had Unexpected Potential for Grave Titan and Power Play for being the beatdown. I actually never cast Grave Titan or Wurmcoil Engine, as Silverblade Paladin + pretty much anything won all my games for me. Silverblade ended up functioning as a combo multiplier for all of the following shenanigans:
-Double Looter loots (hehehehe)
-Double Jitte counters (I won one game by stacking 4 counters on Jitte from a suicide-trade Geist attack, then re-bonding Paladin with some dork, equipping Jitte, and swinging for like 18)
-Double Elspeth buffs (I never made a single token all night cuz flying paladin OP)
Oh, and I nearly didn't main deck Stoic Angel, but I actually ended up taking out Restoration Angel for her, and I have zero regrets. She was never outclassed on board and usually functioned like a Moat that also prevented flying attacks while killing the opponent. She got especially dumb as a bodyguard for Elspeth and (of course) a buddy for Silverblade Paladin.
Other decks of the night:
-Sultai stax/ramp that used Tangle Wire and Crystal Shard to tie up mana sources, and also transformed into Jeskai tempo (?!) in game 2
-Esper control that removed stuff and drew cards until it could win with Elspeth, Sun's Champion or Mike n' Trike
-Sultai graveyards/artifacts with the ability to shift between an aggressive shell and a reanimator/ramp shell, and rocked Mimeoplasm, Scuttling Doom Engine, Aether Searcher, and Hornet Queen—with Channel for ramping into the robots

Overall, I'm a little concerned at the lack of red in the deck lists, but I was glad to see decks doing cool gimmicky stuff instead of just being midrange piles.
 
Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor

Contributor
blacksmithy said:
Hosted a Cube event last night. We did two rounds of 4-person sealed duels, and my Bant tempo-ish deck went 2-0. I'll try to remember the list...
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree with the bootman.
What are people picking over these? You can't have opened all 11 of these, and what the hell are people taking over them?
 
B

blacksmithy

This deck arose not from a draft, but a 90-card sealed pool—albeit a ridiculous one. I promise I don't stack my pools for Cube nights, lol.
 
B

blacksmithy

I'm not sure if this answers your question, but when I draft I usually go by my own internal "draft priority" list, something like this:
-Backup Plan
-Power Play
-Dumb artifacts (Jitte etc.)
-Hidden Agenda conspiracies
-Fetchlands
-Strong hybrids (Finks)
-Strong duals and rainbow lands (although I usually ignore rainbows if I'm firmly in two colors)
-Strong mono cards (Balance, Tinker, Flesh Carver, etc)
-Strong tribrids (like Alesha)
Usually, when I'm at the point where none of the above priorities apply (at least not in my colors), I start looking for utility lands and glue-y cards like removal and draw, or if there's a gold bomb available that I can reasonably cast, I'll take that. It's a really boring strategy from a certain perspective, but it's an easy one to remember while intoxicated, and I've only had one losing record in months of cubing with the same group. Plus it's totally reactive once the colorless stuff dries up, so I get a different deck every time! (Except for that one weird stretch where I played GBx Rock like 3x in a row, but I think that's because I got P1P1 Recurring Nightmare two of those three nights.)
Now, about one in every three drafts, I'll sit down and say "TIME TO FORCE MONO-U ARTIFACTS" or black aggro or Loam durdle or whatever just to test how healthy an archetype is. That is almost always fun too.
 
B

blacksmithy

Okay, i've got a hankering to play Dictate of Karametra in the Cube, cuz i think it'll be funny. I also got Become Immense in there, taking out Unravel the Aether. Anyone have a suggestion for what to cut for the Dictate?
 
Kirblinx

Kirblinx

Developer
Staff member
blacksmithy said:
Okay, i've got a hankering to play Dictate of Karametra in the Cube, cuz i think it'll be funny. I also got Become Immense in there, taking out Unravel the Aether. Anyone have a suggestion for what to cut for the Dictate?
Click to expand...

I don't feel Dictate actually does anything in your cube. Dictate is only there for mana sinks, because playing it on EOT turn 5, means you need things that are 7+ cost before it had any relevance. Let's have a look at what can use the mana?



Plus the 5 7+CMC creatures you have in the cube. I don't think it is worth it. None of these cards really need the help, plus notice that none of them are green, so you need to go to other colours for juicy ramp payoffs. Plus you have Channel, which is the broken version of the ramp anyway. If you want to put it in swap it for channel, I don't feel you need that much explosive ramp.
 
B

blacksmithy

Ehhhhhhh, you're probably right.... I'll probably give it one shot and then cut it. Can't hurt to see if anyone gets good use from it.
Of course, now I want to make a mana-sink cube. That actually sounds super fun.
 
B

blacksmithy

My wife and I had a kind-of epic 1v1 game after quilt drafting earlier today. (I may be misusing the term, but when I say quilt draft I mean you lay out a 4x4 grid of cards between two players and take turns picking up rows and/or columns. I find 6 quilts is about right.)
I won, but just barely. Here's the deck lists:
Grixis Sacrifice
Ones
1 Zurgo Bellstriker
1 Skullclamp
1 Inquisition of Kozilek

Twos
1 Go for the Throat
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Magma Jet
1 Looter Il-Kor
1 Mortarpod
1 Reassembling Skeleton
1 Pyroclasm
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Pack Rat

Threes
1 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
1 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Mardu Strike Leader
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Guttersnipe
Fours
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
Fives
1 Precursor Golem
Sixes+
1 Tombstalker
1 Dig Through Time
1 Backup Plan
1 Brago’s Favor




Orzhov Deathblade
Ones
1 Aether Vial
1 Steppe Lynx
1 Champion of the Parish
1 Mother of Runes
1 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
1 Dark Ritual
1 Reanimate
Twos
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Accorder Paladin
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Chainer’s Edict
Threes
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Recurring Nightmare
1 Dismember
1 Master of the Feast
1 Abolish
Fours
1 Sewer Nemesis
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Murderous Redcap
Fives
1 Batterskull
1 Dictate of Heliod
Sixes+
1 Grave Titan

I'm sorry guys, I tried like six times to get it to post as a cube deck. Idk how to computer. Anyways.

Game summary:
My wife started with Aether Vial into Champion of the Parish; however, I was able to Inquisition away her Jitte on my first turn, then Ratchet Bomb away her Champion and Vial before dashing in Zurgo. I never cast Zurgo, only dashed him, and this kept my board empty—which turned out to be a blessing when she got Sorin up to ultimate range while I was searching for a blue source. She ended up making a Sorin emblem since she had nothing to steal, and started pinging me down with Vampire Nighthawk and two Vampire token buddies. After her first tap-out swing, I was able to kill Sorin with a dashed Zurgo, then used Mortarpod and Zurgo to take out the tokens.
At this point, I was around 5 life, so I delved a Tombstalker to trade with the Nighthawk. She accepted the trade, then slammed down Recurring Nightmare, followed next turn by a 10/10ish Sewer Nemesis (naming herself). I got out Looter and Skullclamp, and started digging for answers while threatening (?) to chump the Nemesis with Reassembling Skeleton.
This state of affairs continued for a while. She would buy back Nighthawk (who stonewalled my entire pitiful creature suite) with some top-decked 1-drop, I would find a way to kill it, no one but the Looter could profitably attack. Finally I started really working on her life total (which had got up to around 30 at one point) with Purphoros, Goblin tokens, and Precursor Golem.
Then, she dropped Stoneforge, failing search, and dropped Batterskull from her hand next turn with the Mystic's activated ability. I ended the game just in time (as in, before she could attack with the Batterskull) by Digging Through Time for a Profane Command (X=8) aimed at her life total and the Tombstalker in my graveyard. This dropped her from 10 to 0, and I’d used literally every spell in my deck except Guttersnipe and Pack Rat to get there. I think my library had 8 cards in it on the final turn, and thanks to Sewer Nemesis, hers wasn’t much thicker.
 
B

blacksmithy

I know this is a triple post, but the Cube just got a big update to prepare for the release of ORI. Some of the things I was trying to accomplish:
-More combat tricks (Gods Willing, Vapor Snag, Undying Evil, Titan's Strength, Become Immense)
-More 1-2 cost stuff to increase sequencing decisions (see above, plus some other stuff)
-Most of the GRBS got moved into the sideboard (see here for more details)
-Tried to smooth out the curves of each color, with mixed success (Green is still super-bottlenecked at 2 for some reason)
-Took out most of the 3-color slush and replaced it with guild cards (kept the most awesomest FRF tribrids though)
My Cube is now at an average CMC of ~2.67, which surprised me by its lowness, but since I love aggressive decks it was a pleasant surprise. I think sealed play in particular will improve as a result of these changes. What do y'all think?

Also, I'm considering an errata for Renowned Weaponsmith to make his awkward restricted tutor actually useful in Cube. Any ideas?
 
FlowerSunRain

FlowerSunRain

Contributor
I love me a low curve cube.

You could sleeve him with a spellbomb or two. If you don't want to mess with the draft process, you could instead pick some of your disposable artifacts that are meant for the early game (Wayfairers Bauble, Mind stone) and let him grab those.

If you're looking for a blanket errata, I guess he could be a rebel for artifacts or something. Seems strong, though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top