I've been trying to put together a lower power, more nostalgic list, but I'm having trouble coming up with an initial list of 360 cards to curate. So I am trying a different approach than normal and will be adding packages to the cube based on cards I like and archetypes I want represented.
I'll be documenting the packages here so I can come back on my reasoning and maybe some of you will even have suggestions to flesh out certain archetypes or themes.
Here is the cube that I'll be updating as I add packages: https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/LPRiptide
Cube Info
360 singleton
No Universes Beyond cards
No flip/MDFC cards
Focus on broad synergistic themes bridging across multiple archetypes
Themes
Discard/GY
Artifacts
Enchantments
Lands
Bounce/ETB/Blink
Sacrifice
Counters?
Packages
I would like to include grindy engines in this cube and there are some sweet ones here. Loam + cycling lands is a classic, as is the Gitrog Monster + dredgers. I am excited to try out Embrace the Unknown as it seems perfect for this archetype. Also present is some land destruction which adds a unique control element to the cube.
I am excited for this mana base as it adds both early game smoothing and late game relevance. I don't foresee a particularly fast environment and therefore the Bounce + Surveil land combo looks great. You mitigate the risk of missing land drops early and later, you can either bounce a Surveil land or one of the Cycling lands from the above package. I still want some untapped duals for faster decks, which is why the Fetch + Shock land is present. Bounce + Fetch is also a great way to trigger landfall multiple times.
I am also considering adding a 5th cycle of lands to go from 11.1% to 13.8% fixing. I would go for the Landscape cycle:
These also trigger landfall, cycle later and work well with Bouncelands.
This package needs to be fleshed out some more, but I do know I'd love to have the Riptide classic Demonic Pact. Probably a few more bounce spells and maybe some sacrifice any permanent effect in Black to clear the enchantment.
A small spread of payoffs that are also pretty fine by themselves. Tymaret + Giant would go well in a slower more controlling build and Aphemia + Tymaret is a fine start to a GY/enchantment centric aggressive deck.
This first suite of enchantments is on the aggressive side and opens the door to an aura/heroic theme down the line. Will need some more controlling ones to give decks of all speeds the right tools.
The idea with this package is to provide ramp in conjunction to the 10 Bouncelands. I know the 2 1 mana enchantments fix mana rather than ramp, but they can also be used to smooth draws or fuel Delirium so I'll be adding them sooner or later. I can't resist adding Underworld Connections, it fits with Black enchantments and seems like a cool build around to abuse.
Simic is getting all the untapping love which will lead to some big splashy plays. I am adding some of the "free" untappers in Blue and Rude Awakening with the hope of seeding in a spell velocity/Storm archetype down the line. Snap and Peregrine Drake would be good adds for that, but I am afraid of free mana that impacts the board here.
I am not sure which multicolored card to include as Kiora's Follower and Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner are both solid. I love the simplicity of the Follower, but it's also not super splashy for a guild slot. I worry that Behemoth Beckoner is too easy value for this cube. Because it also goes into GY decks, I'll be trying Master of the Depths, but could see it being a bit too strong for the cube.
Two directions for the enchantment theme. One is a grindy control deck where you try to outlast your opponent and the other is more of an aggro deck focused around auras. Seeker, Pilgrim and Specialist bridge the gap between the two decks as they are valuable and work in both fast and slow builds. The enchantment theme is out of my comfort zone, but I do want to try a cube supporting it. Feedback from those who've done this before is appreciated!
These are plants for the aggressive and controlling builds or enchantment matters. Not a huge fan of how little overlap there is for both speeds of decks. The sagas and Cast Out binning themselves is important for the recursion we are going for.
Now that we have a trinkets that we can sacrifice and a bunch of artifact creatures, I want to try introducing a counters archetype. I don’t know how expansive I want it yet, but these few cards seem safe and fun. I’d like to have some proliferate down the line if I keep the theme.
I'll be documenting the packages here so I can come back on my reasoning and maybe some of you will even have suggestions to flesh out certain archetypes or themes.
Here is the cube that I'll be updating as I add packages: https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/LPRiptide
Cube Info
360 singleton
No Universes Beyond cards
No flip/MDFC cards
Focus on broad synergistic themes bridging across multiple archetypes
Themes
Discard/GY
Artifacts
Enchantments
Lands
Bounce/ETB/Blink
Sacrifice
Counters?
Packages
I would like to include grindy engines in this cube and there are some sweet ones here. Loam + cycling lands is a classic, as is the Gitrog Monster + dredgers. I am excited to try out Embrace the Unknown as it seems perfect for this archetype. Also present is some land destruction which adds a unique control element to the cube.
I am excited for this mana base as it adds both early game smoothing and late game relevance. I don't foresee a particularly fast environment and therefore the Bounce + Surveil land combo looks great. You mitigate the risk of missing land drops early and later, you can either bounce a Surveil land or one of the Cycling lands from the above package. I still want some untapped duals for faster decks, which is why the Fetch + Shock land is present. Bounce + Fetch is also a great way to trigger landfall multiple times.
I am also considering adding a 5th cycle of lands to go from 11.1% to 13.8% fixing. I would go for the Landscape cycle:
These also trigger landfall, cycle later and work well with Bouncelands.
This package needs to be fleshed out some more, but I do know I'd love to have the Riptide classic Demonic Pact. Probably a few more bounce spells and maybe some sacrifice any permanent effect in Black to clear the enchantment.
A small spread of payoffs that are also pretty fine by themselves. Tymaret + Giant would go well in a slower more controlling build and Aphemia + Tymaret is a fine start to a GY/enchantment centric aggressive deck.
This first suite of enchantments is on the aggressive side and opens the door to an aura/heroic theme down the line. Will need some more controlling ones to give decks of all speeds the right tools.
The idea with this package is to provide ramp in conjunction to the 10 Bouncelands. I know the 2 1 mana enchantments fix mana rather than ramp, but they can also be used to smooth draws or fuel Delirium so I'll be adding them sooner or later. I can't resist adding Underworld Connections, it fits with Black enchantments and seems like a cool build around to abuse.
Simic is getting all the untapping love which will lead to some big splashy plays. I am adding some of the "free" untappers in Blue and Rude Awakening with the hope of seeding in a spell velocity/Storm archetype down the line. Snap and Peregrine Drake would be good adds for that, but I am afraid of free mana that impacts the board here.
I am not sure which multicolored card to include as Kiora's Follower and Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner are both solid. I love the simplicity of the Follower, but it's also not super splashy for a guild slot. I worry that Behemoth Beckoner is too easy value for this cube. Because it also goes into GY decks, I'll be trying Master of the Depths, but could see it being a bit too strong for the cube.
Two directions for the enchantment theme. One is a grindy control deck where you try to outlast your opponent and the other is more of an aggro deck focused around auras. Seeker, Pilgrim and Specialist bridge the gap between the two decks as they are valuable and work in both fast and slow builds. The enchantment theme is out of my comfort zone, but I do want to try a cube supporting it. Feedback from those who've done this before is appreciated!
These are plants for the aggressive and controlling builds or enchantment matters. Not a huge fan of how little overlap there is for both speeds of decks. The sagas and Cast Out binning themselves is important for the recursion we are going for.
The goal here isn't to go for a quick and dirty Storm kill, but more of a late game finish. The idea is to chain 3 or 4 spells together and get rewarded. It wouldn't be a classic Riptide cube without a bunch of do nothing trinkets to set up the kill and I am here for it.
Payoffs
I'd like the payoffs to go for the kill if possible. Setting up a big turn only to spin more wheels isn't the gameplay I have in mind for this cube. Murmuration gives me an enchantment and is Prowess adjacent which I like (since I am eschewing the too powerful Monastery Mentor).
Elemental Eruption's base rate won't be too horrible here which is a good sign for the deck.
Thousand-Year Storm is the great unknown. Who knows what you'll get out of it, but that is also part of the fun, no two kills will be the same.
Aeve, Progenitor Ooze is one I have 0 experience with. With three spells cast you get a 2/2, a 3/3 and a 4/4. That's 9 power spread on 3 bodies. Not bad, not great (see Precursor Golem). What it does open up though is the option for non-Red Storm decks. For example, a GW deck might use Aeve, Progenitor Ooze, Murmuration and Mirari's Wake as the core cards to a combo deck.
Grapeshot and Chatterstorm are kind of odd ducks here. They need a lot more spells to kill, but I figure they are a nice bridge between the mid and late game for these spell velocity decks since they affect the board.
Maybe
Mind's Desire is another one I am unsure about. You can cast 3 spells and hit all lands and look like an idiot. Or you can run hot and cast 20 mana's worth of cards. This uncertainty has me off it for now, but could see myself changing my mind for much the same reason as Aeve: it opens up different color combinations of Storm decks.
Engines
Here are some engines I think would work nicely at setting up a big turn. I would love to have a few more though.
Mana
In addition to the Simic untap package from above, Red and Green have great options for generating mana.
Missing is Pyromancer's Goggles which might make an appearance down the line. Right now, I find it a little too restrictive because the spell has to be Red. Harrow and Crop Rotation also look good in the context of the GY lands package.
Do nothings
These might seem like a lot of support for the Storm deck, but the artifact deck or the delirium deck will also be using them. These cards cantrip and are cheap, so they also smooth draws which is a plus.
Payoffs
I'd like the payoffs to go for the kill if possible. Setting up a big turn only to spin more wheels isn't the gameplay I have in mind for this cube. Murmuration gives me an enchantment and is Prowess adjacent which I like (since I am eschewing the too powerful Monastery Mentor).
Elemental Eruption's base rate won't be too horrible here which is a good sign for the deck.
Thousand-Year Storm is the great unknown. Who knows what you'll get out of it, but that is also part of the fun, no two kills will be the same.
Aeve, Progenitor Ooze is one I have 0 experience with. With three spells cast you get a 2/2, a 3/3 and a 4/4. That's 9 power spread on 3 bodies. Not bad, not great (see Precursor Golem). What it does open up though is the option for non-Red Storm decks. For example, a GW deck might use Aeve, Progenitor Ooze, Murmuration and Mirari's Wake as the core cards to a combo deck.
Grapeshot and Chatterstorm are kind of odd ducks here. They need a lot more spells to kill, but I figure they are a nice bridge between the mid and late game for these spell velocity decks since they affect the board.
Maybe
Mind's Desire is another one I am unsure about. You can cast 3 spells and hit all lands and look like an idiot. Or you can run hot and cast 20 mana's worth of cards. This uncertainty has me off it for now, but could see myself changing my mind for much the same reason as Aeve: it opens up different color combinations of Storm decks.
Engines
Here are some engines I think would work nicely at setting up a big turn. I would love to have a few more though.
Mana
In addition to the Simic untap package from above, Red and Green have great options for generating mana.
Missing is Pyromancer's Goggles which might make an appearance down the line. Right now, I find it a little too restrictive because the spell has to be Red. Harrow and Crop Rotation also look good in the context of the GY lands package.
Do nothings
These might seem like a lot of support for the Storm deck, but the artifact deck or the delirium deck will also be using them. These cards cantrip and are cheap, so they also smooth draws which is a plus.
Payoffs
Synergistic aggro decks are among my favorite archetypes and I definitely want them represented in this cube. This first pass is going to set up the GY aggro decks for Gruul. I plan on having some counters and artifact synergies too, but this is a good start. Your threats are resilient since they can come back from the GY and can be discarded for value making mill and discard neutral or even card advantage. There are two creatures from recent sets that would also work nicely here Marauding Mako and Ivora, Insatiable Heir. Not sure that I dig the vibe though.
Enablers
I like a lot of Red's GY fillers and I probably need to work on balancing that a little more in Green's favor. Wild Mongrel might need to come in! Blood tokens make sense, but there aren't a ton of cards that I like with them, so they may end up cut. RG artifacts seems like a natural next step for RG to go.
Synergistic aggro decks are among my favorite archetypes and I definitely want them represented in this cube. This first pass is going to set up the GY aggro decks for Gruul. I plan on having some counters and artifact synergies too, but this is a good start. Your threats are resilient since they can come back from the GY and can be discarded for value making mill and discard neutral or even card advantage. There are two creatures from recent sets that would also work nicely here Marauding Mako and Ivora, Insatiable Heir. Not sure that I dig the vibe though.
Enablers
I like a lot of Red's GY fillers and I probably need to work on balancing that a little more in Green's favor. Wild Mongrel might need to come in! Blood tokens make sense, but there aren't a ton of cards that I like with them, so they may end up cut. RG artifacts seems like a natural next step for RG to go.
I am thinking there are two directions the Rakdos artifact deck can go. One is an aggressive deck and the other a grindy late game deck.
Payoffs
I have other artifact matter cards in mind, but I know that I want these for sure. Goblin Welder and Pia Nalaar might eventually be added, but let's go with this barebones support for now. I really like the Condor since it can be used offensively or defensively and works with counters + sacrifice. I am excluding colorless payoffs even though they will obviously play a part in the archetype.
Red's spread is pretty aggressive, I will need to find a few late game cards for the grindy deck. I like Black's offerings though they seem balanced.
Payoffs
I have other artifact matter cards in mind, but I know that I want these for sure. Goblin Welder and Pia Nalaar might eventually be added, but let's go with this barebones support for now. I really like the Condor since it can be used offensively or defensively and works with counters + sacrifice. I am excluding colorless payoffs even though they will obviously play a part in the archetype.
Red's spread is pretty aggressive, I will need to find a few late game cards for the grindy deck. I like Black's offerings though they seem balanced.
I think the tools are available to go both fast and slow for this archetype. Green already has a bunch of aggressive GY oriented cards from the Gruul package, Blue could help with great enablers that should work well in all speeds.
Slam dunk cards that play well and will be useful for a lot of decks.
There aren't a ton of payoffs for filling the GY in Blue that I am happy with (Labman and Champion of Wits are in from a previous package), except for some spells matter ones that I'll be adding later on.
I am quite excited by the GY enablers in Green. The Hedge Shredder in particular looks like a spicy one! Fills the GY, pays you off for it and is an artifact. Flotsam // Jetsam is pretty unique in it's ability to provide 2 card types in the GY and an artifact in play. There are other cards that are being considered like Slogurk, the Overslime, Spitting Image, Six, Smuggler's Surprise, World Shaper, Sudden Reclamation, Gaea's Blessing and Grapple with the Past. Listing them here for future reference.
Slam dunk cards that play well and will be useful for a lot of decks.
There aren't a ton of payoffs for filling the GY in Blue that I am happy with (Labman and Champion of Wits are in from a previous package), except for some spells matter ones that I'll be adding later on.
I am quite excited by the GY enablers in Green. The Hedge Shredder in particular looks like a spicy one! Fills the GY, pays you off for it and is an artifact. Flotsam // Jetsam is pretty unique in it's ability to provide 2 card types in the GY and an artifact in play. There are other cards that are being considered like Slogurk, the Overslime, Spitting Image, Six, Smuggler's Surprise, World Shaper, Sudden Reclamation, Gaea's Blessing and Grapple with the Past. Listing them here for future reference.
Already present in the Storm package are two great spells matter engines, Mizzix's Mastery and The Mirari Conjecture. These are pushing me in a control/GY direction which has me looking at these
In this context, Rielle is just a big beater, but a discard and Berserkers archetype should make him feel more versatile. Tide is a sweet control finisher, while the Reveler is just an under costed beater hopefully. With Bouncelands, I couldn't resist adding Mystic Sanctuary, I don't think it will be too overbearing.
There are two more cards that jump out at me Backdraft Hellkite and Goblin Dark-Dwellers. If the curve allows it, I'll want one of these as having recursion is valuable when you are discarding and milling yourself, but I don't know which one. The mini combo of the Goblin + Seething Song is tempting, but I find myself lured by all that the dragon promises!
As for the spells themselves, I know I want some cheap bread and butter effects like bounce, draw and burn. I have quite a few cantrips from the UG GY package, but could use a few more
I love split cards and this cube is just an excuse to play more of them!
In this context, Rielle is just a big beater, but a discard and Berserkers archetype should make him feel more versatile. Tide is a sweet control finisher, while the Reveler is just an under costed beater hopefully. With Bouncelands, I couldn't resist adding Mystic Sanctuary, I don't think it will be too overbearing.
There are two more cards that jump out at me Backdraft Hellkite and Goblin Dark-Dwellers. If the curve allows it, I'll want one of these as having recursion is valuable when you are discarding and milling yourself, but I don't know which one. The mini combo of the Goblin + Seething Song is tempting, but I find myself lured by all that the dragon promises!
As for the spells themselves, I know I want some cheap bread and butter effects like bounce, draw and burn. I have quite a few cantrips from the UG GY package, but could use a few more
I love split cards and this cube is just an excuse to play more of them!
One thing I am realizing is that with the plan to support both enchantments and artifacts, having payoffs that ask for a critical mass of either is going to be rough. With that in mind, Daretti and Engineer are already in and those tend to play the grindy game without needing a ton of artifacts. We have a few cards to enable this further and tie it into an Izzet theme with
I think that it's enough! You get a lot of value over time, but not in an oppressive way which is just what I want here. We do need some fodder though
Going to keep this limited to these + Stars, Spheres and Baubles from the Storm package. Prized Statue and Noble's Prize seem like they could make an impact, but will depend on available space. Same with Myr Retreiver.
I think that it's enough! You get a lot of value over time, but not in an oppressive way which is just what I want here. We do need some fodder though
Going to keep this limited to these + Stars, Spheres and Baubles from the Storm package. Prized Statue and Noble's Prize seem like they could make an impact, but will depend on available space. Same with Myr Retreiver.
Now that we have a trinkets that we can sacrifice and a bunch of artifact creatures, I want to try introducing a counters archetype. I don’t know how expansive I want it yet, but these few cards seem safe and fun. I’d like to have some proliferate down the line if I keep the theme.
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