Did a draft today without the crazy fast mana, and the format is a bit healthier, which is neat. Even managed a few kills with purphorus, god of the forge along with empty the warrens and young pyro.
Jonas 360 Cube
- Thread starter Jonas
- Start date
Chris Taylor
Contributor
?
FlowerSunRain
Contributor
I really want to include this big, dumb animal and live the dream of Favored Hoplite > Ordeal of Heliod > 12/12 Voracious Wurm. While I think I do have the density of lifegain effects to make him work, they generally don't come down early, meaning that the appeal of a giant 2 drop is mostly illusion.
When I last had the lifegain package in, I had a boon reflection out, cast feudkillers verdict, followed by voracious wurm, and got me a 22/22, which was fun.
Is there any way this could ever work anywhere?
Searing meditation looks fun, I'll have to try it to see if the cost is too restrictive. It being red bugs me a bit though, since that would probably push that team across the same three colors, which when I think about it might not be too horrible.
Is there any way this could ever work anywhere?
Searing meditation looks fun, I'll have to try it to see if the cost is too restrictive. It being red bugs me a bit though, since that would probably push that team across the same three colors, which when I think about it might not be too horrible.
I'm working on a BW lifegain theme in my cube. I came to the conclusion that there really isn't enough stuff to reward lifegain in a big way, so I ended up adding some life payment cards. They are playable outside of BW, but get better when you can offset the cost. Stuff like any of the pay life to draw cards in B, Vendetta, and so forth. Might be underpowered for your cube though.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
If you really wanna go deep, consider this EDH beast I occasionally run:
Be careful of too many color symbols...especially if you want to combine with W lifegain.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
I'll admit, I don't see contract being better than necropotence.
I also don't see necro being too good. Greed Maybe? Sweet new art in C13
I also don't see necro being too good. Greed Maybe? Sweet new art in C13
Greed is neat. But I love the old Foglio art. 
Necropotence has been good when someone has been deep enough into black to pick it, but it got the axe this week. Along with oh so many cards
Speaking of extort, are any of the extort critters actually good enough? I was thinking about adding either which seems like a horrible bear, or along with , since I feel like there should be possible to do some sort of big mana black deck?
Necropotence has been good when someone has been deep enough into black to pick it, but it got the axe this week. Along with oh so many cards
Speaking of extort, are any of the extort critters actually good enough? I was thinking about adding either
which seems like a horrible bear, or along with , since I feel like there should be possible to do some sort of big mana black deck?
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Honestly, if you're going for a theme, I'd jam all the extort guys you can.
Maybe even
Maybe even
I wouldn't just jam them all, some of those cards suck. I like the sound of Syndic of Tithes and Tithe Drinker, and if they're good you can run multiples. They go in multiple decks too. But I don't actually know if they're that great, especially in a powered cube.
FlowerSunRain
Contributor
Syndic is a legitimate threat. A 2/2 without any combat keywords can still attack more often then not. If he triggers twice, he will have made up for the fact that you didn't attack with him on turn 1. If you have a way to leverage the lifegain, even better.
Basilica Guards are pretty useful, particularly since this deck probably isn't the beatdown.
Tithe Drinker dies to everything, but generates tons of value fast. It is one of my favorite cards.
Basilica Screecher, Thrull Parasite and Blind Obedience don't do much on there own, so extort needs to be providing some major value to play these.
What other cards trigger on lifegain that could be useful here?
Basilica Guards are pretty useful, particularly since this deck probably isn't the beatdown.
Tithe Drinker dies to everything, but generates tons of value fast. It is one of my favorite cards.
Basilica Screecher, Thrull Parasite and Blind Obedience don't do much on there own, so extort needs to be providing some major value to play these.
What other cards trigger on lifegain that could be useful here?
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Blind Obedience does more than you think on it's own, since extort is a more reliable source of reach than it looks.
Imposing Sovrein also has proven the mini-kismit is useful as well
Imposing Sovrein also has proven the mini-kismit is useful as well
FlowerSunRain
Contributor
Is Sanguine Bond at all useful outside of stupid combos? I'm really struggling to come up with cards that work here.
My cube is different from this one, but the lifegain/life payment cards I'm considering for my cube are:
Rhox Faithmender
Felidar Sovereign
Archangel of Thune
Pontiff of Blight
Crypt Ghast
Knight of Obligation
Ajani's Pridemate
Feudkiller's Verdict
Blood Artist
Greed
Tithe Drinker
Vizkopa Guildmage
Syndic of Tithes
Basilica Guards
Aven Riftwatcher
Soul Warden
Syndicate Enforcer
Basilica Screecher
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Vendetta
Rhox Faithmender
Felidar Sovereign
Archangel of Thune
Pontiff of Blight
Crypt Ghast
Knight of Obligation
Ajani's Pridemate
Feudkiller's Verdict
Blood Artist
Greed
Tithe Drinker
Vizkopa Guildmage
Syndic of Tithes
Basilica Guards
Aven Riftwatcher
Soul Warden
Syndicate Enforcer
Basilica Screecher
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Vendetta
Tell me a new thread name and I will change it.
Multiple Pridemates possible?
CML
Contributor
the extort theme is the perfect example of something that imo isn't worth it, bad cards do not a good theme make. tithe drinker is a strong card but the rest of the extorters are just too low on power level (impossible to scale such a mana-intensive mechanic correctly at both limited and constructed), though Thrull Parasite and Crypt Ghast might be worth trying -- but it's still not enough for a 'theme.'
this may sound demented from the self-proclaimed King of Martyr but a self-conscious lifegain theme isn't worth throwing into your Cube when there are already in fact enough lifegain cards that make their way in anyway, in mine e.g.
both ajanis
azorius charm
baneslayer
basilisk collar
blood artist
deathrite x2
disciple of bolas
drogskol reaver
faith's fetters
gerrard's verdict
gray merchant
huntmaster
kitchen finks
lightning helix
obzedat
primal command
scooze x2
soldier of the pantheon
sorin
sphinx's revelation
suture priest
sylvok lifestaff
thragtusk
whip of erebos
the main problem is that the cards dependent on lifegain are otherwise useless to the rest of the draft. martyr of sands is an extreme poison-principle example but it's not like anyone wants a 2/2 for 1G or 1W, even with a minimal upside. faithmender and felidar fall into the same category, lifegain is such a linear strategy in constructed that the enablers have always been very slow (lifegain aggro is a newfangled phenomenon -- think more searing meditation plus firemane angel) and very build-around-me (no, firemane angel is not close to playable in any normal cube).
on the other hand, archangel of thune fits right in
this may sound demented from the self-proclaimed King of Martyr but a self-conscious lifegain theme isn't worth throwing into your Cube when there are already in fact enough lifegain cards that make their way in anyway, in mine e.g.
both ajanis
azorius charm
baneslayer
basilisk collar
blood artist
deathrite x2
disciple of bolas
drogskol reaver
faith's fetters
gerrard's verdict
gray merchant
huntmaster
kitchen finks
lightning helix
obzedat
primal command
scooze x2
soldier of the pantheon
sorin
sphinx's revelation
suture priest
sylvok lifestaff
thragtusk
whip of erebos
the main problem is that the cards dependent on lifegain are otherwise useless to the rest of the draft. martyr of sands is an extreme poison-principle example but it's not like anyone wants a 2/2 for 1G or 1W, even with a minimal upside. faithmender and felidar fall into the same category, lifegain is such a linear strategy in constructed that the enablers have always been very slow (lifegain aggro is a newfangled phenomenon -- think more searing meditation plus firemane angel) and very build-around-me (no, firemane angel is not close to playable in any normal cube).
on the other hand, archangel of thune fits right in
Rename it to "Jonas 360 Cube"
@Flowersunrain Syndic works, but I'd rather stick two Pridemates in the cube, I think.
@ChrisTaylor I've been thinking of adding Blob as a backup to imposing sovereign, since they both do the same effect, but one beats and one reaches.
I'd say that Sanguine bond is mostly combo.
I will look a little at your list bigjim, but some of the cards there are a bit too low on powerlevel for what I hope to achieve.
Jason, multiple pridemates are definitely worth trying.
CML, it's not going to be a theme centered on extort, but rather that crypt ghast and tithe drinker have that incidental life gain mechanic that makes it good in a drafted deck that cares about gaining life, both as a means of survival against aggro, and to trigger things like Archangel of Thune, to make your army bonkers big and slap that other player good across the face.
The lifegain/care about lifegain cards that I run at the moment are:
Soldier of the Pantheon (Yeah, that's not gonna net a lot of life.)
Knight of Meadowgrain
Nearheath Pilgrim
Archangel of Thune
Ajani Goldmane
Faiths Fetters
Whip of Erebos
Scavenging Ooze
Kitchen Finks
Ajani Vengeant
Lightning Helix
Jitte
Sword of Light and Shadow
Sword of War and Peace
Adding a Lone missionary, tithe drinkers, a pair of pridemates, Thragtusk, maybe putting Primal Command in, would be enough for people to try to get the incidental triggers off of Pridemate and Archangel to happen. And with added lifegain density, it might be worth trying Drogskol reaver again. I'll put the cards in, and proxy what I don't have til the next draft, and see if anyone drafts it.
Primal Command is awesome with or without lifegain. The more I see it in action, the more I'm impressed.