General Currently Standard

Velrun

Velrun

This is a thread for cards that are currently legal in Standard. Right now this applies to cards from
Ixalan
Rivals of Ixalan
Dominaria
Core 2019
Guilds of Ravnica
Ravnica Allegiance
War of the Spark
Core 2020

However the next time you decide to visit this thread you might find discussions from sets that have currently not been released yet. Sort of a rotating thread, just like the format.

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The first topic I would like to bring up is the colorless activation lands we have in Ixalan-Core 2020 Standard. I feel like the number is quite high but that simply means we have more options for our cube constructions. Do you like how they play in your cubes so far?

Examples:




 
shamizy

shamizy

I only play Blast Zone from that list of cards in my main cube, the rest of those are too low impact or slow and I didn't really want to add them to my ULD set-up. Blast Zone has such little commitment for great utility and I thought it was well worth main cube inclusion. It does a little too much as a ULD pick. Field of Ruin is pretty nice if you don't like doubling up land destruction effects, but honestly I just went with 4 Wastelands in my ULD and haven't looked back. It really depends on how slow and lower-powered your environment is to determine whether the durdlier lands will work. I just think most of them are too slow in my cube except in very very specific decks that just grind into the late game.
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
Just watched Huey play the Kethis combo deck on his channel. What nonsense is this! :)



And a slew of other legendaries that got exiled from his graveyard to keep looping Moxen and Fblthps. What a magnificent but excruciatingly slow deck :') I still can't believe these particular cards are played in a serious standard deck! Sadly, no relevance to cube whatsoever...
 
Seeker

Seeker

I don't know, "legendary matters" is a theme that they keep coming back to, one of these days Abzan Legendary could have enough support to be a real deck in a lower powered cube.

In Standard right now, there's Kethis, Mox Amber, Blackblade Reforged, the legendary sorceries, Arvad the Cursed, and Mobilized District.

Plus things that say "historic" instead, i.e. Cabal Paladin, D'Avenant Trapper, Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle.

...oh, and Sisay, Weatherlight Captain was randomly in Modern Horizons so my head shortcutted her into being in Standard.

There's also the original Captain Sisay, plus some random Kamigawa block all-stars.

Expand the theme with Isamaru-style cheap legends, which blue and red can help with to some degree. Cards like Kari Zev are just fine and also happen to be legendary, plus ones like Fblthp can be the 40th card but with a higher ceiling for the legendary drafter. For the full experience, also add the combo pieces - that doesn't take more than Diligent Excavator, Lazav, and maybe Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain or Rona, Disciple of Gix depending on power level and desired speed. And Traxos, Scourge of Kroog exists, to attack for 7 and fit into artifact decks.

I'm not going to insult us collectively by pretending anyone will ever want Reki, the History of Kamigawa, although I do love Honor-Worn Shaku enough that I had to put it in this post somewhere, but there's definitely enough moving pieces that I could see someone caring.
 
Erik Twice

Erik Twice

I like Field of the Dead in Limited but it only works because people don't draft lands and you can end with 5-colour abominations with 12 different non-basics. I don't think it works with anyone who knows a third-pick Volcanic Island is great.
 
sigh

sigh

I've found my average cube deck to have far more non-basics than virtually any draft deck I've made. I think FotD would more easily proc in cube than in limited, with the caveat that you actually have to get to that critical mass of lands (game has to go on long enough).
 
Erik Twice

Erik Twice

sigh said:
I've found my average cube deck to have far more non-basics than virtually any draft deck I've made. I think FotD would more easily proc in cube than in limited, with the caveat that you actually have to get to that critical mass of lands (game has to go on long enough).
Click to expand...
Sorry, I was thinking of Limited as opposed to Constructed as a whole, not really about retail limited. I just see time and time again that people don't draft lands in cube. And I feel the only reason I have had success with Field of the Dead is because people don't and I pick them all up.

Seriously, lands have not just wheeled but consistently finished last in all cube drafts I've done on Magic Arena. That's just wrong!
 
sigh

sigh

Erik Twice said:
Sorry, I was thinking of Limited as opposed to Constructed as a whole, not really about retail limited. I just see time and time again that people don't draft lands in cube. And I feel the only reason I have had success with Field of the Dead is because people don't and I pick them all up.

Seriously, lands have not just wheeled but consistently finished last in all cube drafts I've done on Magic Arena. That's just wrong!
Click to expand...

That's pretty odd. They go very highly in my playgroup. I guess the general populace of Arena is less experienced with cube drafting in general.
 
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