I kind of would like to have an extended conversation on something random but I have no idea what to talk about. Girls? No. Trains? Always, but I doubt that's a conversation any of you would like to have. Something cube related? I'm tired of constantly upgrading things to no avail. Actually...
I'm really tired of constantly feeling like I need to throw cards from the newest set(s) into my cube. Cube isn't an exact science, so I find it difficult to get to a perfectly balanced format, or at least one where every deck I'm trying to support is playable in some capacity. I keep finding that the things I want to do that aren't working either require a deeper support pool than I need or have space for, while the things I'm currently making work can't be scaled back. Meanwhile, Wizards of the Coast keeps making new cards that either add to an existing archetype or support something new that I want to try. So, I end up in the following cycle:
-I want to improve my cube by cutting cards that are too weak or too good.
-Since I've built my cube out of pre-existing cards, clearly old cards aren't the answer to my problems.
-Therefore, I should be constantly acquiring the latest and greatest cards.
The thing is, I don't always feel like the new cards actually make my cube more fun. I remember thinking when I first started working on my current cube that using the Mentor mechanic from Guilds of Ravnica was going to revolutionize the way my cube played. After all, mentor is a sweet mechanic. Less than a year later, I've cut some of the mentor cards I was using, and I'm almost ready to cut all of the remaining mentors except for
the Goblin Rabblemaster Clone. The same thing happened with the Afterlife cards. I started using some afterlife cards from Ravnica Allegiance as a way to support an aristocrats deck. I've been cutting those cards the entire time I've had the cube, to the point where I'm down to just
Tithe Taker.
Actually, my aristocrats deck as a whole was kind of a flop. It's not like I didn't put powerful pieces for that deck into the cube. I mean, I may not have had enough enough sacrifice outlets in the cube when I first implemented the deck. Right now I know I'm a bit light on sac outlets, but that was after months of the deck not really panning out. What's left is all that really ever saw any play- and I'm not even sure it's worth leaving most of that in still because the most fun parts don't really need the extra support.
Maybe this issue is just because my cube's power level might be running slightly above the point where a true decks-not-cards format. I've been cutting cards that have just been winning games without needing a whole lot of help from the rest of their deck, but I'm still left with a format where drafters are looking to build decks to make certain payoff cards good. It's like a weird fusion of the "Color pair says do X" and "Card W says do X." But this doesn't lead to un-fun games, nor does it explain why new cards hand-picked for this environment aren't putting up their intended results.
I'm also finding that I keep adding new cards to the cube and then coming back a couple months later and wondering why. For example, I added
Grumgully, the Generous to the cube when he first released with Throne of Eldraine, but now I think I want to go back to the card I was previously running in his slot,
Rhythm of the Wild. It's not that
Grumgully, the Generous has been bad. His ability to be used with tokens is actually quite useful in red decks because of Thopter token makers like
Pia and Kiran Nalaar.
Rhythm of the Wild is probably a little bit worse than Grumgully, but I find myself liking it more and more every time it crosses my mind.
Usually, when I write long reflective posts like this, I feel unhappy with how my cube is built or is playing, but that's not how I feel this time. My cube is the best it's ever been, and I've sloughed off most of the inelegance that has plagued my earlier attempts at design. I am feeling a fatigue for the breakneck rate we're seeing good cube cards be released. It used to be that you'd be lucky to see 40 cube worthy cards in a year, and now it's like we're getting 40 or so per set. I think I'm experiencing a real fear of missing out on the shiny new-ness of magic. I remember intensely wanting to add a
Bone Miser to my cube when Commander 2019 was released, but now I can't even remember that it exists half of the time. The same is true with
Apex Altisaur. Not having these cards is not the end of the world, and honestly hasn't even really mattered.
Now, we're going back into spoiler season with a set that has a heavy graveyard theme and an enchantment theme- both things I either support or have always wanted to make work in my cube. I'm excited, but I just don't feel that sense of wonder around magic that I felt even a year ago. I'm tired.
