"Fast" multiplayer cube

I had an old thread with an out of date cube and out of date goals so I figured I would just post a new one and try to keep the thread updated better as this helps map out my thoughts.

Cube list

Background: I (used to) cube with 3-4 players on a semi-regular basis. We play free-for-all multiplayer (MP) games. One of my friends has a powered cube with all the most busted cards and that is more battlecruiser. It's fun and broken, but I want something else so that when we switch cubes the experience different. Enter this "fast" MP cube.

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Cube goals:

Create a high powered cube environment that isn't battlecruiser style magic.

I like having the early turns of a game be impactful and more than just be about ramping to skip through to turn 4-5. This means that my curve is going to be lower and that I will limit the amount of ramp available. At the same time, I don't want the game to end just because you've reached 7+ mana and are casting dragon after dragon. So instead of supporting the top end of the curve, the lower/middle of it will be more fleshed out.

Have small synergies be part of the cube: Reward synergy, don't demand it.

In my previous attempts, I would try and force synergy too much either by lowering the power level of the cube so the synergy could shine, or by adding some overly narrow cards. In both cases, it did not correspond to what my drafters were looking for. A splash of synergy to make you feel clever is cool, but asking to build complex engines was not (especially since we play Friday nights after long work weeks!).
In this iteration, I will be adding cards that synergize, but not at the cost of power and I want the cards to be able to be generally good by themselves. I decided on small archetype packages to get it to work.

Avoid non-games due to variance as much as possible (mana/color-screw, mana-flood).

Having a non-game due to variance is always bad, but especially so in MP games where it means you will likely have to watch a long game from the sidelines (which has me thinking of making Jump Start decks in case 2 players are out and are bored). The lower curve will hopefully help, as well as cheap cantrips and filtering effects. I would love to play with the new Zendikar MDFC, but I am afraid they will be too much for my less enfranchised players.

Engaging gameplay, even when it isn't your turn.

It is easy to zone out when it is not your turn in a MP game, so I want to keep people interested. To do this, most of my interaction is at instant speed to give players a chance to respond. Also if the combat step is relevant, people have to pay attention to attackers at all times.

To make attacking worthwhile, I want aggro to be a thing (more on this later), but also encourage players to attack. Vigilance is great for that as you don't feel as vulnerable if your creature can still block. The Monarch mechanic is also nice since you want to draw cards and prevent the opponent from doing so. Then there are cards with attack triggers or abilities when dealing damage to an opponent.
Omitting pillow fort effects (Propaganda) and defensive beasts (Ophimancer) also go a long way to make attacking a thing.
I've read an article about how 3/2 formats were more prone to attacking than 2/3 formats, but I am not good enough to fully implement this into my cube. If anyone has specific insight on this subject, that would be awesome!

Make the games end quickly (relative to other MP games).

I don't want easy finishers like Cyclonic Rift, but games do need to end. If possible, I would like to avoid long drawn out finishes so that if someone dies early, they can hop back in quickly. Limiting resets (Wrath of God) seems like one way to do so, but also providing a sufficient density of effects that can push through damage (Overrun, Embercleave, Dictate of Heliod, Profane Command, ...).

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Cube size: 420

The cube size is 420 cards so that we can draft it all whether we play 3 or 4 players. Since we are fewer players than a regular pod, I don't want the same packs to wheel multiple times. Thus burning one or two cards simulates extra players taking cards while also letting us wheel something. We've been drafting like this for years and it's been awesome for smaller groups. The decks however are stronger than usual since you have more first picks. Making cuts is very difficult, but that is part of the fun!


3 players: 10 packs of 14 cards. Pick 1, burn 2 then pass the pack. Switch sides every 2 packs.
Total of 50 cards drafted. 420 cards used.

4 players: 7 packs of 15 cards. Pick 1, burn 1, the pass the pack. When there are 2 cards left in the pack, burn them and open the next one.
Total of 49 cards drafted. 420 cards used.

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The problem of aggro in MP

Aggro is tough in MP games because of the amount of damage you need to deal. Since you will not be winning early, most decks are on a spectrum of fast to slow midrange decks. This means that you need a long term plan to keep up with slower decks. I've broken it down to the following elements:

Reach: Deal early damage and try and finish the game with some non-combat damage once slower decks have stabilized (think Zulaport Cutthroat, Throne of the God-Pharaoah, Impact Tremors, ...). I've tried to keep most global damage cards for aggro to incentivize players to go for it.
Other cards like Dictate of Heliod, Embercleave, Berserk, Mass Mutiny can kill someone with weaker defenses and advance your game plan.

Scaling: Scaling threats (Student of Warfare, Figure of Destiny, Hexdrinker) work well at any point in the game. This also applies to cards like Winds of Abandon that can seal a game for you should you draw it late.

Wrath/removal protection: Your threats will be under a lot of pressure if the game is going your way early. You need to be able to protect them (Mother of Runes) , recur them (Reveillark, Luminous Broodmoth, Volrath's Stronghold, ...) or just have resilient threats (Voice of Resurgence, Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger, Flesh Carver).

Aggro-Combo: One way to win against multiple players is to snowball your way to victory with potent threats (Goblin Rabblemaster) and/or combining different pieces to "combo" off. The classic aristocrats deck with Zulaport Cutthroat and Goblin bombardment works well in that regard. Token strategies also have explosive finishes with an Overrun effect or an anthem.

Value: Running out of gas is a very real problem, so I've tried to make some of the card advantage creature or aggro friendly. Cards like Valakut Exploration, The Great Henge, Midnight Reaper and a huge outlier in power level: Skullclamp. The decks this is good in are usually not ones with strong card advantage engines, so this is a brute force way to get around that.

And finally, the aspect with the most impact on aggro:

Design choices: Some marco and micro decisions are going to have an important part in the success of aggro.
  • Wraths: Too many wraths kills aggro in it's tracks. That being said, I want slower decks to be viable so a few make sense. I chose to keep the best wraths available among the ones I am running, time will tell if I have to scale back the CMC or not.
  • Mana bases: Untapped and damaging. For fast decks to work, they need to be able to cast their cheap cards on time (a 2 drop on turn 3 is so much worse than casting it on time). This means untapped lands are best for encouraging aggro. If some of these lands also damage the players, then there is a real cost to having greedy 3+ color piles. Between shocks, fetches and horizon lands, I think there will be some non negligible damage done to players with crazy mana bases.
  • Limiting ramp: If everyone can jam a 6 drop on turn 4, then there is no real reason to play aggro. Therefore I am limiting the amount and power of mana dorks and rocks. Green will have exclusive access to 1CMC ramp and there will be the non-green Talisman cycle for mana rocks. I have also included a few Nature's Lore and Harrow effects for green decks less interested in the 1CMC mana dorks. The numbers will most likely need tweaking, but you have to start somewhere!
  • Limiting Planeswalkers: I really enjoy planeswalkers, but they tend to take over the game (a little less so with 4 players, but they stay powerful with 3) just by casting them and having some defense. They also virtually increase players life totals which I would like to avoid. I like the ones that can offer some reach (Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Garruk Wildspeaker) or those that have synergy (Wrenn and Six, Daretti, Scrap Savant). I keep a few goodstuff ones around, but even then, they have synergy potential (Tezzeret, Artifice Master).
  • Individual card choices: Some cards are just going to ruin some aggro player's day. I'm thinking of cards like Ophiomancer, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, Soul Warden, Brimaz, King of Oreskos, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Thragtusk and their ilk.
  • Careful with the finishers: If one card can undo all of aggro's effort, that's not very interesting. I don't find it interesting either when you can just win by reaching 7+ mana. That is why I decided to exclude cards that win with zero effort (Craterhoof Behemoth, Exporpriate, Rite of Replication, Cyclonic Rift, Sepulchral Primordial, Sylvan Primordial, ...).
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So there it is, the big picture and some of the challenges facing this cube as well as solutions to tackle them. Next, I will try and give an idea of what archetypes/decks are supported with examples and discussion.
Thanks for reading and feel free to give any type of feedback, it is always appreciated.
 
So archetypes and color combinations. I'll start with Selesnya, just because it is the one I've been working on the most recently. This guild really cares about it's creatures and although the different archetypes and decks do different things with them, they are the key pieces.

{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}

ETB





Many of the guild's creatures have strong ETBs which makes whites suite of blink effects very potent. You just have to remember to find a way to close the game!
Example: GW Pod - https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5ffa7d71ad328e37d6b2fd3a

{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}

Tokens





White tends to have more token makers than green, but green has the explosive finishes. I tend not to use narrow anthems like Intangible Virtue, but it is in the perfect spot on the curve and vigilance is really clutch.
Example: GW tokens - https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5feffc944640174e69fd4813

{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}

Lands





This is mostly green enablers and payoffs, but white still offers strong support
Example: GWr lands - https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5ffa7fe5ad328e37d6b32ca9

{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}

Sacrifice





You get the resilient threats and recursion for good measure and green provides you with the extra value. Tough deck to play against as it can really grind out removal.

{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}

Deck of shame
GWr Pile (https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5fc5b393b32cd10c85a4fe9c)
Sometimes your synergies don't quite get there and you are left with a pile. In this case, the individual power of the cards is strong enough that curving out is a strong game plan!

Deck of pride
GWb control (https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5ffcecf61a5b92104b142615)
Green offers ramp and value via your lands, while white offers removal and win condition. I've never really hand a GW control deck pop up before and I think it's cool that these decks exist.

{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}{G/W}

Almost got there

+1/+1 counters
With Rishkar, Peema Renegade and Basri's Lieutenant you have 2 very strong lords that are playable by themselves. I just wish there were more support in other colors. Simic has nice ones (Zegana, Utopian Speaker), but blue by itself not really and black needs more enablers and payoffs. In a few years (months?) I think there will be a critical mass in enough colors that I will be supporting the theme.

Flash
While Simic is usually thought of as the flash colors, white has some good options. Between Cast Out, Settle the Wreckage, Secure the Wastes, Restoration Angel, Archangel Avacyn, Dictate of Heliod you have a suite of playables that plays into the kind of decks Selesnya wants. Green is a little lighter in this with only Wildborn Preserver and Nightpack Ambusher as the more powerful options. March of the Multitudes hints at the theme while being a good card. A few more green flash cards and it's an easy theme to support at almost no cost.

Next up, some other guild!
 
Next up for whatever reason is Rakdos. Both red and black have ample amounts of reach, meaning they play aggro well. At the same time, they have strong removal and sweepers allowing them to perform as control decks too. Then you have a few synergy decks like aristocrats and cheat strategies.

{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}

Artifacts





There are 2 types of BR artifact decks generally: sacrifice or cheat. Sacrifice plays to the board usually with tokens or baubles. Then depending on the payoffs you have, you can gain value (Lurrus, Daretti) or deal damage (P&K, Marionette Master). The cheat deck is pretty simple: dump stuff in the GY and reanimate it. A lot of fatties are artifacts, which makes it possible to have this cross over between Welder and reanimation effects.
The example one is a hybrid of both, but they can lean more into one direction depending on the packs.
Example: BR artifacts - https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5f860318138feb107482d462

{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}

Sacrifice





Black is the color with the most sacrifice outlets and payoffs. Red makes tokens and can also sacrifice cards. Classic archetype that works well in MP since you get global damage usually with Zulaport Cutthroat and such. I would like some more Threaten effects (only have 2 so far), but they tend to be narrow. I am eyeing Captivating Crew and The Akroan War, but haven't tested them.
The downside of the deck is that you need a bunch of different pieces to really go off so sometimes the draws can be awkward. However, MP is more forgiving than duels so you have more time to set up.
Example: BR sacrifice - https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5fbaa0788e1dc31071b05767

{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}

Graveyard





This is a super broad theme, but Rakdos decks can do stuff using the GY. It can be faster or slower or even have a small theme (see spells decks). The idea is to use discard and self-mill to power out strong cards. For the aggro decks to really click, I would like more recursive creatures. However, most of the ones we have now can't block and that isn't a good place to be in a MP game. Sure, you don't want to block if you are aggro, but sometimes you just need to because someone had a better start than you.
Example: BR GY fast - https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5fc9c267bada5f7f15fc856e
Example: BR GY slow - https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5fd03b649c0782105beea4ac
Example: BRu spells - https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5fc44aaaee9dee177199091c

{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}

Deck of shame
BR aggro (https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5ffa79129cca763a28d5f696)
Similar to the Selesnya deck of shame, this is just a pile of aggressive cards that tries to kill the opponent. The decks are rarely going to be 100% terrible since I tried keeping the narrow cards out of the cube, but this isn't doing anything flashy or exciting.

Deck of pride
BR Lurrus (https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5fc31e856f04a5584b50ca02)
Lurrus as a companion in MP games actually has a real cost and isn't something you typically want to do. However, I think this decks pulls it off. Cheap threats (some that scale). Global burn and draw/filtering makes this deck look frightening. Really curious as to how it would play out IRL.

{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}

Almost got there

Spells
I would like a few more spells payoffs in black and red, ideally that care about the GY. I could jam Yawgmoth's Will and Dark Ritual into the cube, but they would be pretty narrow. The density of good spells is there, but the payoffs aren't.

{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}{B/R}

I am realizing that my Rakdos decks are very similar. I like the range that they can have, but I would like more variety than GY and sacrifice essentially. I'll talk about it more later, but this is a problem with Black as a whole.

Thanks for reading!
 
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Onto Simic!

This guild is seemingly at odds with green focusing heavily on creatures and blue on spells. However, this color combination manages to meld both aspects together and produce very powerful decks that can ramp early, play powerful creatures and refuel later while disrupting the opponent. Answering permanents, especially creatures has been a weakness of the guild, so I consciously tried to add a good amount of removal. As I will mention later in the "almost got there section", Simic is very close to having a bunch of themes supported, so that is something to look out for going forwards.

{G/U}{G/U}{G/U}{G/U}{G/U}

Graveyard








Just like Rakdos, this is quite a large category. The decks can be either creature focused, spell focused or land focused. Depending on what pieces you pick up, you can go from a midrange deck to a slow controlling one. Thassa's Oracle is there for the fun combo potential. It is generally easy to splash other colors at a low cost with green ramp, so these decks can look very different depending on what you find during the draft!

Example: UG self-mill - https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5fff7f2685b520104b82a461
Example: UGb GY value - https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5fbe8da15132cb1052ee5ee2
Example: UGr GY value - https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5fbaea4a8e1dc31071b75c6d

{G/U}{G/U}{G/U}{G/U}{G/U}

Tempo








Not exactly an archetype per se, this is just a solid deck with good threats, cheap interaction and card draw. The 1CMC mana dorks really make it tick and allow it to burst out of the gates faster than expected.

Example: UG tempo - https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/600664084d2d3b1049865a87

{G/U}{G/U}{G/U}{G/U}{G/U}

Deck of shame
UG creatures (https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/600dd747266466106c5bc172)
This is just a pile of green creatures with a few blue cards for counterspells and card draw. I'm sure it would play out nicely, but it isn't very interesting...

Deck of pride (more or less)
UG artifacts Pod (https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/6000b67715703810613dfcfc)
Urza + The Antiquities War are powerful artifact payoffs. Here though, they fit the Birthing Pod theme (the saga allowing you to find it more reliably, Urza with an ETB) making a unique deck.

{G/U}{G/U}{G/U}{G/U}{G/U}

Almost got there

Tokens
Even though it is possible to draft a tokens deck in UG (https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5fb499cbe318050fd544aee6), it is mostly on the back of green and colorless token makers and payoffs. With just a few more cards like Whirler Rogue (more thopters please!), this will become a really solid deck that further ties green into artifacts.

+1/+1 counters
Like I said in the Selesnya post, there are some good payoffs, but blue especially needs more enablers. Nadir Kraken is a step in the right direction and I imagine it is just a question of time.

Flash
Just like in Selesnya again, green is dropping the ball when it comes to flash cards (at my power level and with my themes).

Writing this up made me realize that while Simic decks are good in my cube, they aren't synergistic except for the GY theme. We are missing a few cards for tokens, counters and flash to make the guild really tick. This is where I wished I could make custom cards as merging the 3 themes with some choice cards would open up a world of possibilities.
 
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So after reading this great post by japahn, I decided to evaluate some of my payoffs and see if they were traps.



The payoff is good in any deck, and only slightly better in the archetype.
Nope. Emry definitely needs the right support to be worth it.

The payoff only rewards a small subset of the cards intended for the archetype.
This is true in part for Emry. The other artifact payoffs in blue care about flooding the board, but not the GY. However, red and black artifact decks either care about the GY or sacrificing artifacts for value, so it would fit there.

The payoff’s reward is not useful for the archetype.
Mostly true once again for the blue decks. For the other decks, you can recur a single artifact to sacrifice again, which is pretty low impact.

The payoff is not strong enough to justify drafting the archetype.
This is the case for Emry. While good when it works (I love using her with Memory Jar for some crazy games), it's just one artifact a turn, with no mana discount and requires you to tap her. She is more support than a payoff and might be sending the wrong signal.

The payoff is not strong enough even in a deck of the archetype.
If you have a certain density of high impact artifacts or cantripping ones, you can gain some serious value with Emry. She will usually cost 1-2 mana in those decks which is cheap. If you are the artifact deck, you will be happy to play her.

I tried to find decks I drafted with Emry and they do not come up often.
Here is one, a UB control deck that can recur Baleful Strix and Chromatic Star. Decent, but not very impactful. However, add Executioner's Capsule or Engineered Explosives and things are looking stronger.
https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5ff687e4d84f1010477927aa

Another is this UG self-mill deck
https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/5fc3195e6f04a5584b506e03
Recurring Memory Jar and Verdurous Gearhulk are the big payoffs, but blinking Emry with Thassa, also works with the deck's game plan.

So where does that leave us? Well I'm not sure!

Emry is not worth moving into the artifact deck for and doesn't explicitly support what other blue artifact cards are doing. However, it can still find it's way into other decks that either use artifacts or want to self-mill.

I see two options:
1. Cut Emry and replace her with something either more generic or another payoff (artifacts or not).
2. Add support so that Emry isn't as isolated in blue and can be more impactful.

Support for blue GY+artifacts or artifacts that sacrifice themselves




Ruins, seem narrow, but Scholar is solid. Not sure I want another 7 drop however. Mindslaver doesn't seem very fun and is very mana intensive. Ratchet Bomb wasn't great when I played it, but Wire, Bauble and Stone are all great. Mind Stone and Bauble would work well with the control deck and the self-mill deck.

What are your thoughts on Emry? Do you have other support cards that would work well with it (like Lurrus of the Dream-Den)?
 
So I drafted a pool with both Lurrus and Emry and was able to build 2 decks from there:

UB Oracle combo:
https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/602b41f6a78e7e4a2d52c6c8
UB Artifacts:
https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/602b3d6ca78e7e4a2d527ed5

The core of each deck is the same:




Cheap artifact cantrips and removal that you can recur, allowing you to find the key pieces of your deck or survive until you do.

After that the Oracle deck branches out towards self-mill harder while the artifact deck predictably plays more artifacts (Saheeli, Sublime Artificer being very strong here).
Two unassuming cards that play a major role in these decks are



These give you resiliency against removal for Emry, Lurrus and Oracle as well as allowing you to self-mill without fear. While less powerful than Animate Dead and Necromancy, I am happy to have made the switch as the decks that want these cards are more likely to get them.

Both decks are capable of having an explosive finishes. Thassa's Oracle kill for the first deck, while the second one can use Marionette Master or The Antiquities War to win. In that sense, the win conditions are pretty compact allowing you to fill out the rest of the deck with the engine pieces.

The reason I am posting this is that I was debating whether or not to keep Emry. The fact that decks like this can pop up with her in the format means that she is here to stay!
 
I decided to do a small update: (out -> in)

->
->

Mind Stone is back in for synergy reasons. It loses out on the fixing from the Talisman, but gains late game relevance. Tempted to run more Mind Stones, it really does tick a lot of boxes for mana rocks.
In the same vein, I am tempted by



It goes to the GY like Mind Stone, it triggers landfall, but it costs 3 mana to use it. Granted it can be spread out over a couple of turns, but I feel that this a downside that is too crippling. Have any of you tried the Bauble instead of mana rocks?

For Panharmonicon, it is a 4 mana do nothing artifact. That is a rough place to be. Plus, it's probably a bit win more since blink is already a powerful strategy that doesn't need help. This was originally in as a way to open the archetype to different colors, but the format is too fast for this one. Dismember can be used as a decent removal for one mana in any color. The life loss is real, but even a random black source of mana can help with that. I might be cheating by putting this as a colorless card.

Speaking of colorless, I have 2 flex slots that I am unsure about:



Meteor Golem is a versatile removal spell, but it's super expensive for a 3/3. It plays really nice in RB with Goblin Welder/Dread Return and technically blink too. However, white is already very good at dealing with various permanents. Throne is just another way to get the monarch, but it isn't wanted by very many decks. Seems narrow and somewhat low impact.

Instead, I am thinking of using a combination of these



Any other recommendations?
 
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Another small update:

Out -> In

->

I want to keep the Monarch mechanic for my MP cube, as I think it encourages the right play patterns as well as giving Boros card draw (I decided to limit it to red and white). However, the decks that want the Monarch are usually not the ones that want to sit around with a 7 drop for value. On the opposite side, decks that want a 7 drop usually don't want the Monarch introduced as it tends to give ressources to other players.
Therefore I am cutting the dragon for a removal spell that scales and has synergy with the GY. I have a bunch of red based GY control decks that pop up and this fits right in.

This lead me to analyze my red section and realize that I am not sure I want these two GY cards:




They are good, don't often end up in the main decks either because of a lack of enough targets or too low impact. Also my red spells tend to have flashback which tends to limit their usefulness. Instead, I am thinking of just leaning into the aggro GY theme red has by adding Bomat Courier.
The package looks like





WithSeasoned Pyromancer, Faithless Looting, Firebolt and Devil's Play providing card advantage and GY support. It feels like Chandra should fit in there, but usually the 3 drop slot is already stacked. Maybe I am underestimating her and should keep her in for both aggressive and controlling decks.

Goblin Dark-Dwellers I am thinking of removing in favor Tectonic Giant. The giant plays well in big red decks as a source of card advantage, but also works as a top end for aggro.

I have a tough time evaluating if these two GY spells payoffs should stay and give blue decks some help or just lean into what red is doing already. ><
 
In a multiplayer cube, supporting the aggro deck is probably a little higher priority than having a couple more recursive folk, especially if you have good flashback density. Aggro is naturally a little disadvantaged in a multiplayer game, so any help they can get seems good.
 
I decided to add an artifact aggro package again as I was missing it. Giving all the colors tools to have aggressive decks available is worthwhile IMO and it opens a lot of decks for relatively few slots. Plus the Cranial Plating old border frame...No other choice.


Out -> In

->
->
->
->
->


Essentially cut some midrange stuff for more aggressive cards. Drana, I will miss as she encourages attacks and go wide boards, but the Blood Artist effects are more in line with how Black interacts with tokens. I couldn't find a cut in Red, so I cheated with Huntmaster. I will have to make an actual swap one day, but this works for now.

This has lead to this type of deck












It has synergy, reach, resiliency and some powerful stand alone cards. I like it!

Another deck using the new inclusions:











The curve seems high, but there are some variable CMC cards in the top end and Urza is a beast of a ramp card. The deck is slower but more powerful than the BW one. Evasive threats, draw and interaction is a solid combo.
 
Also I've decided to keep Chandra, Acolyte of Flame around as she is a good bridge between a bunch of red archetypes. She can support tokens, sacrifice, spells and/or GY decks.
Keeping her around has gotten me thinking about spells matter in my cube in general, and I am not sure if I should explicitly support it or not.

The issue is that in multiplayer games, board presence is very important as otherwise you are a prime target for attacks. So having a deck filled with spells and a few payoffs is a risky proposition as if you don't draw said payoffs, you are in for a world of pain. I guess the question becomes, can I support spells matter type decks that actually play minimal spells?

Spells matter payoffs I would play no matter what





These are more GY based and are generically good, so I am happy including them.

Spells matter payoffs I am on the fence about




These hint at a token theme that rewards you for casting spells. It's a small package, but I think it has legs. Red has a bunch of flashback spells and so does White. Both have removal spells and can lean into blue for counters/bounce/draw or into black for removal/draw.
The card I am missing to make this work is Rally the Peasants I think. It rewards going wide, spells and the GY. Plus it fits into a Mardu GY aggro spells deck based on the following





Am I missing some cards for this Mardu GY aggro spells deck? I'm taking any and all suggestions!
 
After posting the above Mardu frame for an aggressive spell GY deck, I realized that maybe I should be adding



It's at a nice place in the curve, it isn't picky about card types to trigger it and the tokens have evasion. A 2 mana card that makes tokens is not common in my cube.

The swap would probably be Spirit of the Labyrinth which is a placeholder until I get something better. The disruption is ok, but it is very fragile and has no synergy (I don't include wheels right now).

With synergy in mind, maybe I should look to replace Sheoldred, Whispering One.
The options I am considering




I don't necessarily need to swap to be equal CMC-wise, but would like a powerful play. I was typing out a big pros and cons list for each, but I realized that Bontu is the most unique and has the most different types of applications. It is also the cheapest one so that helps.

Out -> in

Spirit of the Labyrinth -> Clarion Spirit
Sheoldred, Whispering One -> God-Eternal Bontu

Thoughts on these changes?
 
I've been lucky enough to have my cube be drafted by Dom and Erik (thanks a ton!) and wanted to showcase some cool decks they built.

First up, Gyruda.
Companions are a hot topic (or were when they got released) and I still don't know how they play out in cube. What I do know is that they are powerful, hybrid cards that allow you to do some whacky stuff in a bunch of color combinations. They are really broad cards that don't even have to be played as your companion, don't forget!

Take this first example that Dom drafted: a pretty typical BG deck with recursive creatures, some value engines and a bit of GY synergy. Gyruda acts as more value for free while playing into the decks gameplan.

Dom's BG Gyruda








Next up is a funky one that Erik made me realized existed even though I hadn't caught on: Gyruda combo!

Erik's Gyruda combo







Look at this thing! It's a Thassa's Oracle combo deck where you mill yourself out. You have Phantasmal Image, Sakashima's Student and Charming Prince to copy/blink the Gyruda to keep the chain going. Panharmonicon also doubles the triggers. Greater Good will turbo mill you, especially in conjonction with Luminous Broodmoth to double up on each creature. There is even interaction and ramp to flesh the deck out.

Last Gyruda deck is a base White, with Thassa's Oracle as a combo again. Who knew that to make White a GY color, all we needed was a Dimir hybrid companion!

Dom's UW Gyruda







This is a way more controlling deck, that has plenty of interaction. It can also win out of nowhere by chaining Gyrudas and using Altar of Dementia for extra mill.

Next up is the Monarch mechanic. Especially relevant in multiplayer games to prevent board stalls and help out two colors (Red and White) that have a tough time drawing cards.

Dom's WR Monarch










Scaling one drops, wrath protection and hard hitting 2 and 3 drops, this is an awesome aggro deck for my environment. The MVP is probably Flickerwisp to reset the Monarch, Showdown of the Skalds or even a lowly Legion's Landing.

Lastly a more controlling deck not including blue.

Erik's RG control










Ramp to get to your hard hitting creatures, value engines to keep you going and interaction to let you stay in the game.

Thanks for reading all of this, and once again thanks Erik and Dom for taking the time to draft my cube. It's super helpful to get outside input and seeing these decks got me excited :D
 
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I liked that control deck a lot, seems fun and very versatile. It inspired me to give my cube a second look as far as green/red control goes!
 


I've been debating adding this card to my cube. In a MP setting, giving others a fresh hand is always very risky. That being said, there are ways to take advantage of it and it's a welcome draw source in the color.

Here are some combos/interactions that can happen in my cube:



With Snapcaster Mage, Jace, Vryn's Prodigy and Chandra, Acolyte of Flame that's 3 ways to recur the Wheel and mill big time. Memory Jar and Welder effects already did that, but this adds redundancy to the deck.



Sure, I'll make 14-21 Treasure tokens, thanks. I'm fine having Boros do some broken things. I even considered adding the Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker combo with only Zealous Conscripts and Restoration Angel as targets.



That is going to be a lot of triggers with the discard portion of the Wheel.




To the surprise of no one, dumping cards into the GY helps GY payoffs. Thanks Nanonox!

One card that isn't in my cube, but could make Wheel pretty bonkers is Rielle, the Everwise. In which case, maybe a copy of Nexus of Fate as an additional Thassa's Oracle could really help give the deck some legs. But Nexus is pretty unfun...

------------------------

That was less than I expected to be honest. Which makes Wheel of Fortune a risky, very efficient self-mill enabler as well as an aggro draw engine.

Right now, I am playing two copies of Seasoned Pyromancer and Wheel would replace one. What would you do?
 
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So I got to talk about cube a bit with my playgroup and we should be doing an online draft soonish. We had a talk about some of the cards in my cube and there has been some requests.



was unanimous as a replacement for Finale of Glory. This is a scary change for me as 6 mana Elspeth is a beast of a card. I've had it in my cube before and played it in other cubes and it tends to dominate the board. This version of my cube is much faster than previously so hopefully it should help.

Should I be changing something to account for the spike in power level or will it sort itself out since this is multiplayer?

Some options:
- Removie one of my walkers in white (Elspeth, Knight-Errant or Gideon Blackblade).
- Add planeswalker removal
- Add evasive threats
 
So we started drafting again online which was awesome. We had a group call, drafted on a website and imported the decks to Tabletop Simulator. It was surprisingly easy, intuitive and close to a real game of MTG. Highly recommend!

Only bummer is that we didn't draft my cube. We drafted my friend's powered cube with some GRBS. Last week the winner had Black Lotus, Sol Ring, Ancestral Recall and Time Walk in the same deck...
However, I was able to gain some decent information throughout the night. I tried playing an aggro deck (ambitious in a 5 player free for all game) and actually did decently. I lost a close match at the end of the night because I attacked into a Settle the Wreckage that I was playing around all night and forgot about.

Cards that impressed me the most:




Jitte is just dumb. It singlehandedly kept me in the game. Some highlights include:
- Blocking a Greater Gargaroth with Thalia, Heretic Cathar and pumping it so that first strike kills it. Then using the new counters to kill a 2 toughness attacker.
- Equipping a Needle Spire with both Jitte and Shadowspear. Jitte had 3 counters so I was able to do 22 damage from one attack even negating a lifelink blocker to kill one opponent.

I was on the fence about including it again as a way to boost aggro, but the reality is that it is as likely to destroy anyone as long as you have some creatures.

Thalia isn't a surprise, but disrupting blockers is big. I have more effects in white (Blind Obedience and Imposing Sovereign) and they are staying!

Shadowspear's lifelink allowed me to attack and absorb some hits on the swing back. I will have to think about some more cards like this (Vigilance is obviously a strong contender!).

Windfall was a huge game for me. I had an empty hand and my opponents each had 5-6 cards. They essentially cycled their hand and I drew a bunch of cards. The fact that this favors aggressive decks that can dump their hands makes me want to include it in my cube. This can even set up your GY which is a nice bonus.

Robber of the Rich was amazing. The card advantage it provided was very welcome, and it wasn't difficult to find an open opponent. I had turn 1 Robber (with Mox Diamond) and stole an Eternal Witness. Then I stole a Stunt Double copying Boros Reckoner and then a Volcanic Offerering. Granted, that is the perfect curve, but still, the potential is there for a 2 drop. The reason I didn't include it was the wordiness of the card, but after seeing it in action, I am now going to find room.

Cards that made me doubt their inclusion in my cube



I didn't like the play pattern with Settle. It was revealed early via a Valki and it was really tough to pressure the player holding it enough without throwing away your board. They could just sit back and threaten the activation. Instead of something punishing like Settle the Wreckage, maybe I should go with something protective like Teferi's Protection. This allows you to go ham with your attack and have a safety for the swing back.

That's it for now, looking forward to actually testing my cube again!
 
Robber of the Rich is probably better in your cube since you have more players to attack. My issue with the card is that it's often blank on the draw and even then has a 40% chance of not doing anything.

Big Thalia is great and very versatile, I recommend giving her a try.
 
So I've been liking some of the spells matters cards in Strixhaven and it makes me question how to get them to work best.
In line with my cube goals, I want the cheap payoffs and the cheap enablers. Those cards play well in all decks, fast or slow.

Here are the issues I keep running into:

1) Supporting a critical mass of cheap spells is difficult in all colors. Some are better suited than others.
2) The supporting spells must play into the spells deck's game plan. An Entomb usually isn't what an Orzhov spells deck wants to be doing.
3) Chaining spells really allow the decks to "go off", so cards that replace themselves are at a premium. Blue has most of these cards, the other colors are mediocre at best. This means most of these spells matters deck are blue based. I'd like more variety.

I want to try a new approach of injecting some colorless cantrips so that all the decks can have smooth draws and not rely on Blue to chain spells together. I settled on



It's cheap/free and fits into any deck. I am thinking of going 3x or 4x on that spell to give a solid base to all colors. I have already done essentially the same with artifacts (Mishra's Bauble, Urza's Bauble, Chromatic Star x2)

This would allow me to run cards like Dreadhorde Arcanist and have them be less of a trap. My non-Blue spells matter package would end up looking like this



(Sedgemoor Witch)

With some supporting cards like Blind Obedience, Yawgmoth's Will and Chandra, Acolyte of Flame that play well everywhere.

Blue still brings great things to the table, like better cantrips (Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm), Counterspells and solid card draw (Fact or Fiction) as well as the classic spells matter payoffs:





I omitted token makers like Murmuring Mystic, because Blue I decided to have the tokens be artifacts in this color. This might be a mistake and having a spells matter token maker could allow for more synergy with the Mardu colors.

Not sure why this went this long.

In: 3x Gitaxian Probe Out:??

Time to delve into my colorless section.
 
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was unanimous as a replacement for Finale of Glory. This is a scary change for me as 6 mana Elspeth is a beast of a card. I've had it in my cube before and played it in other cubes and it tends to dominate the board. This version of my cube is much faster than previously so hopefully it should help.

Should I be changing something to account for the spike in power level or will it sort itself out since this is multiplayer?
Elspeth is significantly worse in multiplayer than in two-player, as it is significantly harder for her to completely hose the opposing board presence without other stabilizers. I don't think she will be a problem here, but I would recommend...
Some options:
- Add planeswalker removal
...Doing this. Add Planeswalker removal will help to ensure players can defeat potentially game-breaking walkers in the unlikely scenario that their controller has managed to build a proper pillow fort to protect them from combat.

Cards that impressed me the most:


Jitte is just dumb. It singlehandedly kept me in the game. Some highlights include:
- Blocking a Greater Gargaroth with Thalia, Heretic Cathar and pumping it so that first strike kills it. Then using the new counters to kill a 2 toughness attacker.
- Equipping a Needle Spire with both Jitte and Shadowspear. Jitte had 3 counters so I was able to do 22 damage from one attack even negating a lifelink blocker to kill one opponent.

Robber of the Rich was amazing. The card advantage it provided was very welcome, and it wasn't difficult to find an open opponent. I had turn 1 Robber (with Mox Diamond) and stole an Eternal Witness. Then I stole a Stunt Double copying Boros Reckoner and then a Volcanic Offerering. Granted, that is the perfect curve, but still, the potential is there for a 2 drop. The reason I didn't include it was the wordiness of the card, but after seeing it in action, I am now going to find room.
Robber of the Rich is probably better in your cube since you have more players to attack. My issue with the card is that it's often blank on the draw and even then has a 40% chance of not doing anything.

Jitte is a lot less stupid in multiplayer. It is a great option to help make aggro decks better in that sort of format. Jitte also feels less oppressive when it's abilities are being used against several players as opposed to singling in on the only opponent.

As Erik said, Robber of the Rich is more interesting in multiplayer. Especially since aggro decks tend to run out their entire hands early, I'd consider it for inclusion in your list.

Cards that made me doubt their inclusion in my cube



I didn't like the play pattern with Settle. It was revealed early via a Valki and it was really tough to pressure the player holding it enough without throwing away your board. They could just sit back and threaten the activation. Instead of something punishing like Settle the Wreckage, maybe I should go with something protective like Teferi's Protection. This allows you to go ham with your attack and have a safety for the swing back.

That's it for now, looking forward to actually testing my cube again!

I've never been a big Settle the Wreckage-- Instant speed board wipes are really dumb. Settle only blowing up one player's attacking creatures means that it just has worse play patterns than a traditional board wipe. I like Shatter the Sky instead. It feels more fun to play against and it adds an interesting card draw dynamic in multiplayer.

So I've been liking some of the spells matters cards in Strixhaven and it makes me question how to get them to work best.
In line with my cube goals, I want the cheap payoffs and the cheap enablers. Those cards play well in all decks, fast or slow.

Here are the issues I keep running into:

1) Supporting a critical mass of cheap spells is difficult in all colors. Some are better suited than others.
2) The supporting spells must play into the spells deck's game plan. An Entomb usually isn't what an Orzhov spells deck wants to be doing.
3) Chaining spells really allow the decks to "go off", so cards that replace themselves are at a premium. Blue has most of these cards, the other colors are mediocre at best. This means most of these spells matters deck are blue based. I'd like more variety.

I want to try a new approach of injecting some colorless cantrips so that all the decks can have smooth draws and not rely on Blue to chain spells together. I settled on



It's cheap/free and fits into any deck. I am thinking of going 3x or 4x on that spell to give a solid base to all colors. I have already done essentially the same with artifacts (Mishra's Bauble, Urza's Bauble, Chromatic Star x2)

This would allow me to run cards like Dreadhorde Arcanist and have them be less of a trap. My non-Blue spells matter package would end up looking like this



(Sedgemoor Witch)

With some supporting cards like Blind Obedience, Yawgmoth's Will and Chandra, Acolyte of Flame that play well everywhere.

Blue still brings great things to the table, like better cantrips (Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm), Counterspells and solid card draw (Fact or Fiction) as well as the classic spells matter payoffs:





I omitted token makers like Murmuring Mystic, because Blue I decided to have the tokens be artifacts in this color. This might be a mistake and having a spells matter token maker could allow for more synergy with the Mardu colors.

Not sure why this went this long.

In: 3x Gitaxian Probe Out:??

Time to delve into my colorless section.

I like these changes! Altar of Dementia might be a worthwhile cut to consider, as it is hard to mill out more than one opponent with it over the course of a normal game. If games are slow enough where people are regularly losing to empty libraries, then I could see it's continued inclusion. If they're not, I would cut it.

I would recommend generally adding more cantrips//one-mana cyclers to the cube, as they help decks get to their best cards quicker and help to fuel delve spells. Delve is generally a good rock on which Sultai decks can be built.

Also, since you are going out of your way to support Magecraft across more colors, I would highly recommend including Quandrix Apprentice.
quandrixapprentice1.jpg

As I state in my article about Strixhaven, Quandrix Apprentice is a really great way to help green decks bridge between the various other colors that care about spells. Especially in a world with several copies of Gitaxian Probe, I think this card is a must include. It is really hard to find interesting engine cards that are this cheap, powerful, synergistic, and fun.

Professor Onyx (link) might also be a nice option for an environment with an increasing spell slot. Your black section is already over 1/3rd instants and sorceries as-is (it actually has more spells than red), so Onyx could be a uniquely good in this cube.

Otherwise, I think you've got some cool ideas going on here, I can't wait to see what you come up with next!
 
Thanks for the replies. You know I've read your article, saw the card and then totally forgot about it. I will definitely be trying Quandrix Apprentice out as it ties Green into the mix as you say and it is a 2 drop.
I am thinking of adding



As a further tie into green, but that would probably mean changing my green section up some. Cards like Wall of Blossoms, Elvish Visionary, Llanowar Visionary, Yavimaya's Elder would really help it, but I am not sure I have the room. Plus reading Erik's experience with the card isn't exactly encouraging. So the Apprentice will be flying solo for now.

I would recommend generally adding more cantrips//one-mana cyclers to the cube, as they help decks get to their best cards quicker and help to fuel delve spells. Delve is generally a good rock on which Sultai decks can be built.

I really should. I am 99% sure that adding Boon of the Wish-Giver and Hieroglyphic Illumination would make my cube better. I even know what I should cut (Fact or Fiction and Thirst for Knowledge) to include them. But for some reason, I have a hard time pulling the trigger.

I am less a fan of Curator of Mysteries and Waker of Waves in my particular cube as I really want to be supporting GY, artifacts and spells matters to the max. This is maybe too shortsighted though.

Altar of Dementia might be a worthwhile cut to consider, as it is hard to mill out more than one opponent with it over the course of a normal game. If games are slow enough where people are regularly losing to empty libraries, then I could see it's continued inclusion. If they're not, I would cut it.

Altar of Dementia is actually more of a self-mill engine than a finisher. Sometimes it does work on the opponent, but often times not. That might be reason enough to cut it.

Professor Onyx (link) might also be a nice option for an environment with an increasing spell slot. Your black section is already over 1/3rd instants and sorceries as-is (it actually has more spells than red), so Onyx could be a uniquely good in this cube.


I had Onyx in my initial update, but then cut her again. What makes me hesitate is that all the spells matters cards are cheap and go into both fast and slow versions of the deck. Onyx however, is purely a slower card. However, maybe that is still ok and something I should be doing.
 
Here are the cards in my colorless section that I am considering cutting for the 3x Gitaxian Probe:




Greaves: I rarely find myself playing with this card. It's best use scenario is probably playing it on turn 2 and following it up with a Goblin Rabblemaster type. While there are impactful attack triggers to give haste to, they aren't very common. There is also the fact that Shroud is a pain to play against.

Explosives: I really like this card, but I am not 100% sure it is needed. Having a cheap way to clear tokens is powerful and this can hit other problematic permanents. I would probably cut this card last.

Elixir: Cheap way to save yourself from milling. This card is narrow but having an effect like it opens the door for some extreme decks.

Mishra's Factory: I don't want to cut this card, as creature lands are always great. Bonus points for being an artifact. The only reason I am considering this is that with the addition of 3 extra cantrips, I am afraid of having "do nothing" packs, full of fixing, cantrips and utility lands.

Scuttling Doom Engine: This guy has played well in my cube, but it would be cut if it weren't an artifact. If this one goes, I might need to revisit Combustible Gearhulk as an additional Welder target.

The least painful cuts would be:
-2 Mishra's Factory
-1 Lightning Greaves

Might not be the best from a gameplay perspective though.
 
Thanks for the replies. You know I've read your article, saw the card and then totally forgot about it. I will definitely be trying Quandrix Apprentice out as it ties Green into the mix as you say and it is a 2 drop.
I am thinking of adding

As a further tie into green, but that would probably mean changing my green section up some. Cards like Wall of Blossoms, Elvish Visionary, Llanowar Visionary, Yavimaya's Elder would really help it, but I am not sure I have the room. Plus reading Erik's experience with the card isn't exactly encouraging. So the Apprentice will be flying solo for now.

Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse is a great cube card, she just needs to be in an environment with lots of cantrips and ways for one to re-fill their hand. With Erik's cube being more on the durdly end of mid-to-high power environments, it's no wonder she would be less than ideal there.

Since you're going to be trying to run several copies of Gitaxian Probe as well as more cycling cards, I think running Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse is entirely justified. It should be relatively easy for most decks to trigger her. If you feel you need to add more support, don't add too many bad green cards in order to get the draw triggers. Instead, play cards like Thrill of Possibility, Cathartic Reunion, and Cling to Dust to help naturally get her there. Jolrael is not a mono-green card, so don't support her as such.

I really should. I am 99% sure that adding Boon of the Wish-Giver and Hieroglyphic Illumination would make my cube better. I even know what I should cut (Fact or Fiction and Thirst for Knowledge) to include them. But for some reason, I have a hard time pulling the trigger.

I am less a fan of Curator of Mysteries and Waker of Waves in my particular cube as I really want to be supporting GY, artifacts and spells matters to the max. This is maybe too shortsighted though.
Lots of people have a hard time pulling the trigger on cutting "iconic" cards, even if their Cube would be improved by newer options. It doesn't feel good to remove something that was once considered so powerful that it had to be banned in vintage for a draft common barely anyone plays outside of (good) Cubes. The thing is, better smoothing leads to fewer non-games and an increased level of interaction. It also improves synergy decks as they can get their pieces together easier with good cantrips.

As for cards like Curator of Mysteries and Waker of Waves, they actually support graveyard decks by acting as non-parasitic enablers for reanimation style effects. While they don't count as "noncreature spells cast" or anything like that, they still help to find further spells. Also, the more cantrips a deck plays, the fewer lands it needs to run, meaning that decks with more cantrips can have a higher density of interaction as still cast all of their spells. It's a win-win!


Altar of Dementia is actually more of a self-mill engine than a finisher. Sometimes it does work on the opponent, but often times not. That might be reason enough to cut it.
I would definitely consider cutting it then.

I had Onyx in my initial update, but then cut her again. What makes me hesitate is that all the spells matters cards are cheap and go into both fast and slow versions of the deck. Onyx however, is purely a slower card. However, maybe that is still ok and something I should be doing.
With splashy finishers like Onyx, I tend to worry about how effective the card is in it's role as opposed to how many decks it can go into. After all, if you're trying to support a deck, a great way to draw people in that direction is to give them a big finisher to latch on to. Professor Onyx is a great way to push people into the controlling spells-matter variants without feeling heavy handed, because she is a decent midrange finisher in her own right.

Also, I think that a 6-drop is a reasonable card to cast in multiplayer. Even if your games are lightning fast, it's still going to be hard to kill a controlling player before they get to 6 mana by virtue of how much damage needs to be dealt. Professor Onyx is a potent finisher when she comes down.

Here are the cards in my colorless section that I am considering cutting for the 3x Gitaxian Probe:




Greaves: I rarely find myself playing with this card. It's best use scenario is probably playing it on turn 2 and following it up with a Goblin Rabblemaster type. While there are impactful attack triggers to give haste to, they aren't very common. There is also the fact that Shroud is a pain to play against.

Explosives: I really like this card, but I am not 100% sure it is needed. Having a cheap way to clear tokens is powerful and this can hit other problematic permanents. I would probably cut this card last.

Elixir: Cheap way to save yourself from milling. This card is narrow but having an effect like it opens the door for some extreme decks.

Mishra's Factory: I don't want to cut this card, as creature lands are always great. Bonus points for being an artifact. The only reason I am considering this is that with the addition of 3 extra cantrips, I am afraid of having "do nothing" packs, full of fixing, cantrips and utility lands.

Scuttling Doom Engine: This guy has played well in my cube, but it would be cut if it weren't an artifact. If this one goes, I might need to revisit Combustible Gearhulk as an additional Welder target.

The least painful cuts would be:
-2 Mishra's Factory
-1 Lightning Greaves

Might not be the best from a gameplay perspective though.
I think cutting Greaves, Elixir, and either 1 Factory or the Explosives is the way to go. I like cards like Mishra's Factory which can go into deck slots that otherwise might be taken up by a useless basic land. Mishra's Factory is a great way to help maximize cube space, while cards like Greaves and Explosives tend to detract from total space.


One more thing, I would recommend making the following swap:
--->
combatcalligrapher.jpg

Combat Calligrapher is better than Hero of Bladehold because it doesn't need to attack to make tokens, creates multiple evasive bodies at once, and encourages opponents to attack each other in multiplayer. I think this is a good upgrade that will let you play with an interesting card that otherwise might not shine in most environments.
 
First off, thanks for the help Train!
Next, I wanted to update how the spells matter archetype is doing with the addition of Stryxhaven. I got to draft a few sweet decks:

Edit: the cubedeck thingy doesn't seem to be working for whatever reason. Is there an alternative?

Sultai control

https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/6077a18742d060108bdf79e3











This looks like a regular control deck with cheap interaction, wraths and card advantage. The difference compared to normal is the spells package. Sedgemoor Witch gains life and creates roadblocks. Onyx gives the deck a reason to be casting all the cheap spells and combined with Yawgmoth's Will looks insane.

RB burn
https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/607a57d469b8261055f592be










This is the MP equivalent of a burn deck. You have a ton of reach with Onyx and the red sorceries as well as ways to stay alive with all the tokens blocking the ground. Your cheap creatures (Robber, Confidant and Arcanist) make sure you don't run out of gas, as does the Yawgmoth cards.


Golgari spell lands
https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/607db686f8ed7a10515f0dac











A hybrid lands and spells deck! I am once again showcasing Onyx and Sedgemoor Witch because they allow these decks to exist. Ramping while creating blockers is really strong as is a card like Life from the Loam that guarantees you some triggers late game when you can cast it multiple times. Bontu is really nice as a way to cash in the tokens and get lands in the GY to recur.

Mardu spells
https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/608781e2ee26067fbc5d755b









An aggressive deck! Lots of cheap spells, some with flashback to get those Magecraft triggers. Leonin Lightscribe looks like gas in this deck boosting all the tokens as well as Krenko or Arcanist for some crazy turns. Showdown of the Skalds also looks right at home pumping the team and providing cards for extra triggers.

Some comments:
- I like the different flavors of decks that pop up (both from a macro and micro archetype point of view).
- The extra spells I added fit into nearly every deck. The payoffs are the more narrow parts.
- There is a critical mass of spells payoffs across enough colors that there is variety to be had.
- I've felt there was a bit of a divide in the draft now between spells, creatures and artifacts pulling in different directions. There is some overlap to be sure, but maybe not as much as I would want.

This last point is a big one and I would appreciate an outside look or draft to see if it feels that way to others too. It's tough to tweak all the knobs at once!

Thanks for reading!
 
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Not sure why it took me so long to realize this, but there are two cards that would tie the spells matter cards into green very nicely for my format



These would complement both Quandrix Apprentice and Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse. I'm not a huge fan of the Ancient as it's a 4 mana do nothing the turn it ETBs. Hydra isn't much better but at least it's a 3 drop and has trample. It's usually a must answer threat as it scales quickly, but I'm ok with that if it adds a touch of synergy.

Another note, after seeing SirFunchalot's cube update, I realized that I too need more Faithless Lootings. I already play 2 but for some reason it didn't occur to me that I could replace Thrill of Possibility for a third! I think cheap looting really make red decks pop and I am just not excited for Thrill and Cathartic Reunion. 2 mana, rummaging and discarding as part of the cost is just too much downside. Plus Looting is 2 spells for the decks that care.
 
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