Nanonox's 1vs1 cube

[Nanonox]

Have been bot drafting/iterating a lot with a fork of your 1v1 Cube, maybe some food for thought!

That's really cool as initially it was from Erik's, inscho's, dbs's and your cubes that I drew inspiration, will gladly steal more ideas . First thing I notice is that you were brave enough to go down to 360. I've been meaning to, but keep postponing as cuts are tough.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on some cuts that I hadn't considered:

Gitaxian Probe, Treasure Cruise and Blazing Rootwalla/Basking Rootwalla

And how do you draw the line in regards to interaction? I've noticed you run Swords to Plowshares, but omitted Thoughtseize and Daze. This is something I often struggle with!

A standout package that I should be running as it fixes two problems I've had in White: lack of 1 drops and lack of build arounds.



Love how potent these two one drops are. I mentioned wanting Ocelot in an above post, but hadn't connected it with the Guide because I kind of ignored energy. Seems like an oversight because Selesnya tokens looks like a beating



That is a really tight token package that can branch out easily into artifacts.

What I'd like are a few extra sources of life gain in Abzan to help the cat have more homes. Going to test



This card does so much in decks of all speeds that I will just add it back already. I initially cut it for being too generically good and while still true IMO, the upsides of having Flash, making tokens, gaining life and putting counters on stuff is really perfect.



Since I've seen how pivotal Warren Soultrader making Treasure tokens can be for Black/X decks, I've been thinking that the Provisioner should work similarly for Green decks, with the added bonus of working with the above Selesnya package thanks to Food tokens. Lands is as much an intergral archetype to Green as Sacrifice is to Black. It's another 3 drop for the lands deck though, but at this point it seems it can't be avoided. Better prioritize those mana dorks!



Fun little one drop that easily grows. Being Golgari isn't a huge problem since I see the Pride as an Abzan card and fixing is good. I've had it in before it was perfectly serviceable!

I am also considering these but they seem unlikely for now: Sorin of House Markov, Barrowgoyf and Phyrexian Fleshgorger.

Or maybe I can justify slotting in Umezawa's Jitte for the life gain synergy. Seems legit?!

I also like the minimal Berserkers package. Embercleave and Rancor in particular can fit into most aggressive or midrange decks no questions asked. Regal Bunnicorn is huge and fits the tokens package nicely.

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White control package



In addition to the Wandering Empreror, I am going to be trying these three to bolster slower White decks. Reclamation would complete the grindy/sacrifice aspect of with combined with Pre-War Formalwear, Helping Hand, Serra Paragon and Second Sunrise. That is a lot of staying power for longer games!

Land Tax and Scroll Rack is an old school combo that I think has merit. Scroll Rack is great card selection with fetches, is useful for cheat decks that already have their targets in hand and prevents losing to self-mill. Land Tax is mostly to hit land drops, but also provides fodder for Firestorm or something. WIth the amount of land sacrifice in the cube, it's also an option to go down a land to trigger it. As Erik mentioned, Big Boros would love this and I agree.

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6 months ago, inscho suggested Armageddon and I wasn't quite there yet. I am getting closer and closer to including it though. My biggest gripe was how badly it can close out a lead. That is still 100% valid I think, but I am now actively seeking cards that blow up lands and help tie the lands theme to other colors. Squandered Resources is great, but at smaller size, it's tough to justify because of how narrow it is. Key selling points for Armageddon:

- Aggro, midrange and combo will all be able to use it effectively.

- Goes well with all of White's recursive tools.

- I've been wanting to make the Green 1 drop mana dorks more relevant outside of just accelerating a 3 drop on turn 2 (that is extremely good mind you). Armageddon, Winter Orb and Paradox Engine are the type of cards I mean. Edric, Spymaster of Trest is another way to do so, but not the card I am looking for. Opposition is also a good way to use them, but a little easy and one-sided for my tastes.

- Related to the previous point, Insidious Roots, Earthcraft and Urza, Lord High Artificer are even better (not that the last 2 needed much help). A Bant land destruction deck looks hot.

Do any of you have experience with Armageddon?

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I've been getting some sacrilegious thoughts that involve cutting some classics. It's bad, and I know I am not alone. Check out these cuts I am considering



I've been annoyed at how well things need to go for you to actually play these cards. With the uptick in enchantments and artifacts added to the cube, being limited to instants and sorceries is tough to get working consistently. If I draft a Pyrite Spellbomb, a Seal of Fire and an Unholy Heat, they aren't looking so hot. I really like these cards though and ultimately probably won't touch them, but they are really annoying to make work.

Instead I've been looking at



Making artifact tokens is super relevant and the PW ability can be situationally good too. Obviously 3 > 2 mana, which is a big draw to Young Pyro. But that noncreature text allows all of the cube's different synergies to come together so much cleaner. The Mage on the other hand is just a solid card for aggressive and combo decks. I like the flexibile mana cost, I like the token making aspect and once again the noncreature text.

The takeaway here is that I'll be keeping both of these because they are fun, unique, iconic and 2 mana.

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If I want to draft an UB or RB spells deck, then Saheeli will fit into both just like the Witch. But it's more open ended and therefore gets the pick.

 

[Erik Twice]

Armaggedon works, the problem is that it's just too esay. It's not even that good, just easy. The single mana makes it easy to splash and some decks have no recourse against it.

Regarding the "classics", you are not wrong. In practice, all spell-matters cards are anti-synergetic with themselves. They require you to run as many instant and sorceries as possible, but they are not themselves instant or sorceries. They also have the "Oath problem", in that Magic is increasingly creature-based so, by avoiding those, your drafting options are massively reduced.

Ideally, you will draft about 10 creatures and 15 instant/sorceries. At a glance, I run like 90 instant/sorceries so you are looking to get a fourth of them! That's a lot.

That said, it's a fun archetype, Dreadhorde Arcanist is one of my favourite cards to build around, even. I've found the 3 mana replacements to be kind of bad, though.

 

[Dom Harvey]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on some cuts that I hadn't considered:

Gitaxian Probe, Treasure Cruise and Blazing Rootwalla/Basking Rootwalla

And how do you draw the line in regards to interaction? I've noticed you run Swords to Plowshares, but omitted Thoughtseize and Daze. This is something I often struggle with!

Probe: I'm a bit leery of the free info and the fact it doesn't 'do anything' other than be a very strong free spell; good enough on power level but without specific tie-ins to spell payoffs/drawing extra cards etc it doesn't win me over

Cruise: In a weird spot where the decks that could make it cheap enough often enough have other GY rewards it competes with, and in those decks I like Dig as a way to find specific combo pieces etc

Rootwallas: Just not impressive cards, I only want them in Survival decks but even there they are often only good if you have active Survival (already a winning position)

The interaction was just filling in gaps to get back to 360; Swords filled a specific gap in white's interaction but I simply forgot about Thoughtseize and would add it back too, I really dislike Daze though.

 

[Nanonox]

Armaggedon works, the problem is that it's just too esay. It's not even that good, just easy. The single mana makes it easy to splash and some decks have no recourse against it.

You are right that it is easy, even if symmetrical. If I am to stay consistent and exclude Opposition because of how easy it is to use, then Armageddon should stay out as well.

As I usually do when exploring an archetype, I push hard then scale back. I am now leaning towards not actually needing more land sacrifice options, I've been happy with the decks I've been drafting.

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Drafting Dom's version of the cube, I've realized that I've been missing the X mana creatures as mana sinks and as incidental counter support. I'd like at least one in Green and one in White as those are the main +1/+1 counter colors and Green can make a lot of mana. There is another in Red that I enjoy and will be trying

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The Rabbit is a fantastic token producer anywhere on the curve if it gets to attack. I like that it not only puts counters on itself but also receives them very well. The late game card you can get is a nice bonus.
The Dragon is like a Fireball that sticks around and makes great use of large quantities of mana. It's not as good as the Rabbit at lower mana values, but can close out a game out of nowhere. I don't have a lot of Haste in the cube, but it is an ability I enjoy. It forces the opponent to respect the possibility of not being safe, kind of like a free spell.

I'll be trying to experiment without Oswald and Ethersworn Canonist in this iteration. They are narrow cards that don't often make the main and sometimes don't even fit into the type of artifact deck that is drafted. I haven't found a cut I really like for the Devastator so for now I am cutting Valakut Exploration which hasn't found many homes. I appreciate having another Lands matter card in Red, but it isn't strictly necessary.

For Green there are three choices I am considering



Voracious Hydra and the Spellunker have both been in the cube, but I cut them for being too slow or grindy. There is merit to impacting the board or filling the GY though. However, just like with the Devastator, I am really liking the Haste on Goldvein Hydra. If you have a sacrifice outlet it becomes a delayed ritual kind of? It's also pretty good with the artifact fatties as if it dies, it can help cast them. Will cut Channel though as the Haste from the Dragon + Hydra really isn't very cool on turn 3.

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Berserkers 2.0 (inspiration to revisit it from Dom)

I want to use a few slots to revisit Berserkers. With the scaling X threats being added and the fact it brings an aggro-combo element I think a subtheme is reasonable. I am talking really minimal support that consists of big bodies and effects that give Trample and increase power. The big departure from my previous attempt is moving away from Double Strikers and adding more naturally big bodies that aren't pigeonholing you into the archetype.

Boosts

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No knock against the Rallier, but I've found that my Selesnya decks don't need extra grind. GW has Regrowth, Eternal Witness, Six and Samwise Gamgee in addition to White's suite of recursive effects and Green's land recursion. Being a replaceable multicolored 3 drop isn't a great spot to be in. Plus, the cards I am adding will be very playable in Selesnya even if not explicitly gold.

Rancor is the most tame version of the effect, but also wildly playable. Jamming this on a Jacked Rabbit or a Regal Bunnicorn will lead to some serious animal smackdown. Rancor's downside is that it isn't great with threats that already have Trample since the power boost is minimal. But that is where the others come in.

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Embercleave and Berserk are classics and not only do they grant Trample, they also effectively double the power of your threat. That's it for now, as I said a subtheme more than a fully supported archetype.

I tried Tameshi and it's ok in the bot drafts, but it sparks no joy. Even if it is the right tool for Azorius decks, I don't enjoy it so cutting it for now alongside the Lotus Bloom.

To add to the cards you want to be putting the boosting effects on, I'll be trying a few swaps.

Big

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The Bunnicorn can and will get huge. It's a dumb beater, but one that only costs 2, Tarmogoyf style.

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Once again, no knock on Malcolm, it's a great card that plays well. But the Duelist has the explosive potential to deal a ton of damage and the Berserker package will enhance it further.
Adding a single Crime card isn't ideal, but then again, Malcolm has a lot of text with the counter shenanigans. I'd call it a wash in that department.

As another option to push the subtheme and the +1/+1 counter theme into Blue (with the goal of giving the color more aggressive options)



I could see a UG counter/berserker hybrid where this would fit as well as a UB draw 7 deck with Psychic Frog and Orcish Bowmasters. The Bowmasters are too strong, but they also do everything this cube wants so they are probably going to come back, balance be damned.

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The Offspring mechanic reminded me of this card I have overlooked that is pretty appealing all things considered. On non-legendary creatures it can act as a protection spell or as a value card. It's nuts with the evoke elementals, really good with generic ETB effects and also great with utility creatures. Has anyone tried it?

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Decided to actually write a small text for the overview over on CubeCobra as well as a few example decks for most broad archetypes I support.

 

[BoBguyjoe]

White control package



In addition to the Wandering Empreror, I am going to be trying these three to bolster slower White decks. Reclamation would complete the grindy/sacrifice aspect of with combined with Pre-War Formalwear, Helping Hand, Serra Paragon and Second Sunrise. That is a lot of staying power for longer games!

Recursion cards that can be used from the grave (like Sevinne's Reclamation and Crawl from the Cellar) provide a huge boost to the consistency of combo decks that rely on throwing stuff into the grave. I hope Sevinne's Rec works out for you as well!

I've been getting some sacrilegious thoughts that involve cutting some classics. It's bad, and I know I am not alone. Check out these cuts I am considering



I've been annoyed at how well things need to go for you to actually play these cards. With the uptick in enchantments and artifacts added to the cube, being limited to instants and sorceries is tough to get working consistently. If I draft a Pyrite Spellbomb, a Seal of Fire and an Unholy Heat, they aren't looking so hot. I really like these cards though and ultimately probably won't touch them, but they are really annoying to make work.

Instead I've been looking at

I've actually gone in the opposite direction as you, starting with "noncreature spells" cards to "instant and sorcery spells" to try and make artifact, enchantment, and spellslinger decks more unique from each other and not melt together into same-every-draft mush. Is this a phenomenon you've found in your cube?

Huge +1 to Saheeli! She's a player favorite. You'll find players use her -2 to pull off some really fun stunts. Some other open-ended noncreature spells cards I'd recommend are Manaform Hellkite and Dream Halls. The Hellkite is like a super aggressive version of Saheeli that can quickly close games if you can keep it fueled, some of your players may enjoy it. Dream Halls turns cards into mana super efficiently and is responsible for some of the most explosive turns I've ever seen in Magic. And it works as a Show and Tell-esc cheat card to boot!

 

[Nanonox]

I've actually gone in the opposite direction as you, starting with "noncreature spells" cards to "instant and sorcery spells" to try and make artifact, enchantment, and spellslinger decks more unique from each other and not melt together into same-every-draft mush. Is this a phenomenon you've found in your cube?

Thanks for sharing! Your question had me thinking of why I went in the noncreature payoff direction and this is what I've got. I see two "obvious" approaches:

1. Have a majority of noncreature payoffs with a few specific ones to pull you into a specific archetype (spells, artifacts, enchantments).

2. Have a majority of specific payoffs (spells, artifacts, enchantments) and a few noncreature ones to tie the room together.

I am currently choosing option 1 for two reasons:

1. I am afraid of decks being too on rails if there is little/no overlap between the various noncreature types.

2. I don't think there are enough specific payoffs for each archetype that can hang at my power level. An example is spells matters vs artifacts.



These are the top tier spells payoffs. There are a few more, but it kind of drops off after that.



Compare to artifacts, where not only is the ceiling of these cards higher, I could list another ten that would fit on power level. So rather than include lower power level spells payoffs that would either be traps or be extremely niche, I include the powerful noncreature payoffs to reach the required density. This isn't perfect either, because now it means that my artifact decks can pick up instant and sorceries and be rewarded with a Third Path Iconoclast lowering the chances that the spells matter decks come together. I'm fine with that though, but it's part of the reason why I was considering alternatives to Young Pyromancer and friends in a previous post. That's what I signed up for when designing a higher powered cube, I have less options at my power level than if it were lower.

I'd love to hear about your enchantment package/payoffs though!

Some other open-ended noncreature spells cards I'd recommend are Manaform Hellkite and Dream Halls.

The Hellkite I tried in my MP cube and it's been a house there. A bit confusing with free spells, but other than that it hits hard! 4 mana is not exactly where I want my noncreature payoffs though as I like the curve to be a little leaner.

Dream Halls though is an interesting one! Busted with Wheels and a great cheat enabler. The thing is, my creature cheat targets are colorless, so I would have to rework the cube to make it more hospitable to Dream Halls. Not impossible, but definitely a challenge. A Natural Order package would probably be added alongside the enchantment. I would be excited forProtean Hulk, Old One Eye and Gruff Triplets as targets (first three to come to mind).

Thanks for the feedback and ideas, always appreciated!

 

[Nanonox]

Even though Duskmourn is coming out soon, I've been thinking about some changes.

I saw that Schafkurai updated their cube and I drafted it a few times and (re)discovered some cool cards. I would post in their thread, but I can't seem to find it. Now that I've called them out on it, we can continue

The cards that stuck out to me were some great glue cards (the Harvester isn't in the cube, but works the same)

Voldaren Bloodcaster
Voldaren Epicure
Thrill-Kill Disciple
Veronica, Dissident Scribe
Bloodtithe Harvester

The vampires and Disciple are especially nice since they tie sacrifice, artifacts, tokens and discard into one card. Introducing both Junk and Blood tokens seems like a bit too many trinkety artifacts, so maybe I just focus on Blood tokens

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Another reason that pushes me towards including these Blood tokens is the draw smoothing aspect. Having a 3/2 beater that is relevant early and late is a big game. Asmo is good in exactly one deck, the aggressive discard deck. I am ok replacing him for a more versatile card that still plays well in the same deck.

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It's a shame this is a flip card as I would 100% play it with just the front side. Being unbounded means you can amass a huge amount of artifacts in the right deck with the bonus of triggering off itself. Poxwalkers has been a bit harder to trigger than I would have liked and the base body isn't exciting for 3 mana.

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Not exciting, but definitely a solid role player. Listening to the latest LPR podcast episode made me realize that Gamble is a potential cut as I have a hard time appreciating the card due to the random outcome. The Epicure's ceiling is way lower, but at least you know what you are getting into. I understand that minimizing how bad the random outcome of Gamble is part of the fun, but the whole cube is already about trying to assemble various engine pieces and having explicit coin flips determine games isn't my jam.

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I want to make some room for a few more Green staple level cards that I somehow haven't fit into the cube yet.

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I am cutting Berserk, because I have a hard time slotting it into decks. I still like Rancor as giving Trample is clutch on some chunkers.

I haven't included OUaT in the past because of the "restrictive" nature of the card. Only lands and creatures. In Green. Seems silly to write it down, yet here we are It's fantastic draw smoothing and lets you find your impactful cards easier. Sure some combo decks won't be playing it, but most other decks will.



I'm not quite sure on the cuts for these two. Rumble is just a solid enabler that fits into a bunch of themes. Hard not to get value from it as the Spawn can ramp or serve as fodder and the card selection + GY fill is great at smoothing draws. GSZ is a fine tutor early and late. The amount of targets is limited, but finding your Titania or Rishkar can be clutch.

I am considering Regrowth as a cut. While very versatile, there aren't a ton of decks that actually want to play it. I've even noticed that Eternal Witness isn't an auto-include like it has been in the past. Still happy to recur an Ephemerate or Urza's Saga, but I need a reason to play it rather than just slamming it. The reason I haven't pulled the trigger is because some UG self-mill or Oath decks really like the recursion and make great use of it. The Rumble would also go well in those decks acting as an enabler to boot, but isn't as cracked as Regrowth which can be close to a Demonic Tutor in those decks.

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I am not a fan of playtest cards as one ofs. Either I lean into the theme with a few more + uncards or I skip them altogether. For now, I don't want to deal with the hassle of finding the right fits, but I do know there are some sweet ones (How to Keep an Izzet Mage Busy, Blast from the Past, ...). I also really like the lifelink on the Bat to trigger Ocelot Pride.

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I would like some red Artifact build arounds that are different than just the Welders and Daretti. Even though they can lean in different directions like cheat or grindy decks, I want more. In Izzet there is Third Path Iconoclast and Saheeli, Sublime Artificer which makes me think I could probably lean into that spell velocity and token direction with a new release that would also fit the spells deck nicely

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I cut this dude before because I thought that the sacrifice deck had enough support. Except I did not do it justice. It's not just a sacrifice card. It's also an artifact, token, ramp and lands matter card. It bridges a ton of themes and for that reason I want it back. It's not the most efficient or powerful, but it's amongst the most versatile options and opens up the artifact theme for me.

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I have a few other slots that aren't locked in, so I will likely reserve them for some Duskmourn cards that appeal to me. Some easy cuts

 

[Schafkurai]

Even though Duskmourn is coming out soon, I've been thinking about some changes.

I saw that Schafkurai updated their cube and I drafted it a few times and (re)discovered some cool cards. I would post in their thread, but I can't seem to find it. Now that I've called them out on it, we can continue

Thanks for the shout-out and for drafting my cube . I consider it from time to time but the cube never feels in the right place to start that big endeavour and time is always in short supply.

I'm happy you rediscovered some glue cards for your cube. One thing I noticed last time we played my cube is, that red does not need the Thrill of Possibilitys of the world anymore. There are so many incidental ways to rummage with creatures, like Veronica and the disciples that only Faithless Looting remains. I really like Bloodtithe Harvester as well for that reason but only run very few gold cards.

Maybe

does enough that I should give it a shot. I considered it but thought the spawns are not relevant enough for my environment.

Also, I saw in the testing/includes thread, that you are looking into Rooms. I like them very much as a concept but they do bring some baggage:
- opening a door (on the battlefield) of a room is a sorcery speed special action (so no responding to it)
- if a room is in the grave, both characteristics count separately (for casting), you could bring back a 1 MV door of a room with a Lurrus, for instance
- If a Room enters from any zone other than the stack, it will enter with both halves locked
- this means no flickering..

Soo... I don't think my players will know these things and I'm not inclined to roll back board states. For now they stay out .

Here's the comprehensive release notes: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/duskmourn-house-of-horror-release-notes

 

[Nanonox]

Thanks for the shout-out and for drafting my cube . I consider it from time to time but the cube never feels in the right place to start that big endeavour and time is always in short supply.

It was a lot of fun and I'm just messing with you

Also, I saw in the testing/includes thread, that you are looking into Rooms. I like them very much as a concept but they do bring some baggage:
- opening a door (on the battlefield) of a room is a sorcery speed special action (so no responding to it)
- if a room is in the grave, both characteristics count separately (for casting), you could bring back a 1 MV door of a room with a Lurrus, for instance
- If a Room enters from any zone other than the stack, it will enter with both halves locked
- this means no flickering..

I had no idea they were this complicated! I was considering the Crucible of Worlds/Yawgmoth's Will one in Green, but that is probably enough to get me off of them for this cube.

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Enduring Renewal

I posted about Enduring Renewal in the single spotlight thread as a potential White build around that could fit the cube's goals.

First I want to recap how to get Enduring Renewal to combo, there are more pieces already in the cube than I thought. After that I'll try seeing if we can expand the creature combo idea to other engines.

Spoiler: Enduring combos

Infinite ETBs, death triggers, Storm and Clues. You can swap the Inpsector with any other one drop and get various effects. Stitcher's Supplier for example will mill your deck.

Phyrexian Altar can replace the Soultrader. I am not a huge fan of it though because it doesn't impact the board at 3 mana, however the next card shows that it can still be a worthwhile include.



KCI allows you to use a 2 mana or less artifact creature to go off. Same as an Ashnod's Altar.



With a free sacrifice outlet and a creature that can be cast for "free", you get to combo off. Burning-Tree Emissary also works here which is nice.



This is a more convoluted one, where you discard the Rootwalla to hand size, cast it and sacrifice it to have it return to hand. Clean up step #2 happens and repeat.



If you have enough artifacts in play, Emry costs 1 and you can mill your whole deck. Maybe Thassa's Oracle is your win condition?



If you want to cheat on mana, Sneak Attack has you covered. This let’s you put any creature in play, opening up more lines.



If the creature you are sacrificing makes as many bodies as its mana value, you can combo. Mogg War Marshal is even better since you end up with infinite tokens. Orcish Bowmaster also works for what it's worth.



If you add Genesis Chamber, you can get infinite tokens with a one drop or loop ETB and death triggers with a 2 drop. Same is true with Birgi, God of Storytelling, you can convert a one drop into infinite mana or loop a 2 drop.



You could also get creative and add a piece to the combo to open up possibilities. Here, the Precursor allows you to go off with a 2 drop. Earthcraft works too and if the 2 drop is an artifact, so does Urza, Lord High Artificer.



So with Ballista, Hangarback Walker and Stonecoil Serpent, you can cast them for X = 0 and they immediately die, which means you cannot use a sacrifice outlet. That's fine though we can still combo. Apprentice, The Meathook Masacre and Mayhem Devil are the cleanest since you kill the opponent. Impact Tremor style cards would also do the trick and it just so happens there is a cool one from Bloomburrow in Agate Instigator or Molten Gatekeeper from MH3. Shoutout to Imotekh the Stormlord to create infinite 2/2s.

There are other effects if you are looping creatures to take advantage of. Guide of Souls gives you infinite life and Samwise Gamgee is infinite food and you can recur stuff from your GY. If you have Anger in the GY, it opens up activated abilities on cheap creatures which assuredly opens up many more combo options.

tl;dr: Almost all of the pieces seem in place for Enduring Renewal to shine. There are a few additions that would make the combo more consistent or diverse and that might be worth looking into (in order of importance IMO)



There are a few fair uses for the enchantment. Evoke Elementals can be great to recur. Same with Kroxa, Phlage and Uro. Insidious Roots will be easy to trigger with Renewal too.

Other engines

Genesis Chamber is a fascinating card that is tough to figure out. Breaking the symmetry (outside of tapping it down) isn’t easy, but we can try!



With the Skyfisher, you can pay 2 mana to repetitively bounce itself for a build your own Retrofitter Foundry.

The Rite means you are drawing 2 cards per creature that ETBs since it doesn’t care about casting or nontokens.

Recursive creatures and Trawler/Myr Retriever are bound to flood the board in no time.

Also, the tokens being artifacts is definitely not nothing. Huge constructs, Steel Overseer, Arcbound Ravager, ... the list goes on!

Another ETB engine that could do work is



This is a value engine that might be able to go off? It enables Landfall very well and if you have Fastbond you have tons of mana. You can pick up one of the Channel lands that you played earlier too.

However, the most potent sequences probably involve creatures. Here again, Genesis Chamber looks great and so do cards that generate tokens like Mogg War Marshal since you get to bounce it as many time as you want. Not working with artifacts is a huge downside, but might be good for diversity's sake forcing you to focus on other card types. I think I would need more ETB payoffs for this one to really pop, so that's a pass for now.



Another 4 drop in White with combo potential. It works wonders with the Scrap Trawler, Myr Retriever, KCI pieces and has a much more reasonable floor since it works outside of combo. It's more of an artifact card than a creature matters card I feel like though and artifacts are already in a good place, so I'll start with Renewal first and see if I want this one too.

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Swaps

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I need help with cuts in White, as I'd like to add Rite of Harmony, but I am too close to this and everything seems essential!

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I have 4 fatties right now, 3 is a good number with other build around artifacts.

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Might want to look into adding both, but for now it's an easy swap.

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I've found the Walkers harder to make work than I would have liked. The Shambler I have always liked as a little build around that goes well with the combo.

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I want the Provisioner, but I have too many 3s in Green and a lot of them care about lands. That screams too much!

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Bonus deck

I drafted a fun Selesnya artifact deck which doesn't happen very often. The base KCI/Trawler engine is here, but the colored cards give it some flare. Second Sunrise and Samwise make the KCI loops even more potent, while giving your Ravager a combo finish potential alongside The Ozolith and Goldvein Hydra. Six has a ton of options to recur and with Reclamation and friends gives the deck a lot of staying power.

 

[Nanonox]

My first Enduring Renewal deck is a sweet one IMO!



You've got artifacts, cheat, discard, sacrifice and blink all tied into one deck. This deck goes off with Renewal with Soultrader and 1 drop or Soultrader, Sneak Attack and any creature. Phlage, Fury and Solitude are fantastic alongside the enchantment and Parallax Wave + Confluence clear the board to give you time to set up. Genesis Chamber + Guide of Souls is also a lot of life and chump blockers to slow the game down. Or give fodder for Welder or Goblin Bombardment.

If I am being honest, this deck would function just fine without the Renewal. It would lose a combo finish, but still have a lot of synergies. I just feel it's such a fun and low cost inclusion that it's worth it since the existing architecture needed for it to shine already exists. Plus it's a White combo build around and those are rare in this environment.

I like it so much that I am considering a more broadly playable version of the card with a higher floor and lower ceiling.

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With Broodmoth, you still get to use the evoke elementals, Phlage and Sneak while giving your team evasion in the face of removal or a doubling your sacrifice outlets. It's also a blink engine if you squint hard (relevant with a cut further down). All that in addition to the board presence of a 3/4 flyer. I don't have any persist creatures for that combo and I don't think it's needed.

Helping Hand is coming out as I don't want to oversaturate on the recursion effects. The creature entering tapped is a pretty big deciding factor here.

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Teshar is mostly an artifact payoff in this cube, allowing you to set up some fun loops with a sacrifice outlet. There are a few legendary creatures and sagas to trigger it, but that isn't very reliable outside of artifacts. Being more fragile than Broodmoth and also more limited in what works with it, I think I am off it for now (or at least until I test the Broodmoth).

I'm pretty sure I want a combination of Renewal, Broodmoth and Teshar, going to see which 2 are more appropriate for the cube. All these changes cement White as a premier sacrifice combo color with the Second Sunrise also lending a hand.

With these swaps, there is an influx of White 4 drops. With the goal of balancing the cube and mana curves a bit more, I am testing the following swap:

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The Angel is a great card, but it's capped in what it can do. Blink a creature for value, save one in the face of removal and/or surprise block. It's a bread and butter card, that plays well. It's also an iconic cube card at this point, but I've cut my fair share of those already.

The Kitten on the other hand can lead to really novel and exciting situations. Outside of the Teferi combo, you can convert spells into mana thanks to Cloud of Faeries. Cast a cantrip in response to Fury. Get an infinite combo with Kitten, Anger, Emry and a Bauble. It's unlikely, but it is possible and that is what has me excited to try it.

For now, I don't want to add the fast mana to further push what the kitten can do. Basalt Monolith and Grim Monolith being the candidates. Basalt sends the wrong signal as it is usually included in cubes that have other combos with it (Gadgeteer, Kinan and Zirda for example).

As I often do, I am probably overshooting the amount of support needed, but that's how I get a feel for things.

Unrelated swap

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I had the Mage as a secret artifact payoff to diversify what Red can do in that department. Not being an artifact, not having a strong board presence and having a payoff that not all decks want makes it mediocre. I'm still on the lookout for a novel Red artifact build around, but in the meantime, I am happy to have FoMO. Rummaging at 2 mana is great and not sure about others, but I want to trigger that Delirium ability! Extra combats is very cool especially on a 2 drop.

 

[Nanonox]

I am on the fence with Enduring Renewal. It is purely a combo piece whereas my other combo cards tend to have other utilities. There are sweet decks you can draft with the card, but they kind of look the same.



In addition to Gravecrawler loops with Phyrexian Altar, you have a bunch of Renewal combos that get the job done. The downside here is mitigated with Living Death and Dread Return.

Another BW one



This deck has similar vibes to the other, and showcases that Luminous Broodmoth is actually a decent complement/replacement to the Renewal while being generally more playable in different shells. You lose out on the Tendrils kill with Broodmoth since you aren't casting the cards like with Renewal, but you do get a good amount of value still.

At 384, I am thinking that space is too tight for such a narrow card and therefore I'll be cutting Enduring Renewal but keeping the Broodmoth as a good enough replacement. Thoughts?

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Looking at my list, Wrath effects are among the least synergistic cards in the cube. They help control deck ticks, but see little play outside of that context. Balance and Living Death are exceptions as they require some set up and abuse different aspects than just the creature removal.

A few recent changes in Luminous Broodmoth and Overlord of the Balemurk have me considering unconventional support for wrath effects. If you get to make your wraths one sided via the Broodmoth then even in a creature heavy deck, it could make sense to run them. The Overlord provides early value and just sits there, waiting to smash face post wrath.



I enjoy giving cards more shells and I think another Overlord would do wonders to boost wraths further. It's also pretty solid on it's own with 4 evasive power and Flickerwisp + Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd as extra synergy points.

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I have a few free slots and want to try to give control a cheap and compact win condition that plays well with what the cube is doing

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The dragon is in the wrong colors to be truly useful and the Sprinter isn't very exciting for a multicolored card.

The gradual board presence and life gain from Thopter/Sword is great for stabilizing and closing out the game. Both can be played in a Lurrus shell which is neat and are in the colors with the best tutors. The downside is that these cards are heavier combo focused than I generally include, but I am willing to give them a shot. My hope is that it is possible to draft a deck where you would play Foundry even without the Sword. To be continued...

 

[Nanonox]

Red "artifact" power outliers

I'm considering some cards that are clearly power outliers in the cube, but have synergy potential. It is tough to balance powerful synergy with generically powerful since if the cube has enough of the good stuff cards, you get to ignore the synergy the cube is trying to promote.

Right now, my first picks in Red are likely



None of them scream artifacts, which is a bummer since the Welders/Daretti are great cards, but not ones you first pick. I'd like an inroad to caring about artifacts and this has me considering and dismissing these



I know that these are incredibly strong, and I think they would overshadow the rest of the cube (which has other busted stuff going on let's be honest). The danger here is snowballing out of control or closing the game out of nowhere. They affect the board turn after turn and two of them can even go face!

I'd love an artifact matters card in Red to pull you in. Any ideas?

Complex cards



I've been eyeing some complex cards that fit nicely with what the cube is doing. This cube is already very difficult to draft, so I try to reduce that complexity whenever possible. That said, some pretty unique cards are calling me and go against that philosophy.

I would love more one drops for Blue and Tamiyo is a fantastic one. Even outside of an artifact deck, creating card advantage and flipping into a Walker is great for controlling decks, while not being overbearing. I already have Fable as a DFC and I don't foresee cutting it anytime soon, so another one wouldn't be breaking any self-imposed rules.

Emperor is a tougher sell IMO because neither Adapt nor Finality counters are explained on the card. It's just so perfect though! GY hate, +1/+1 counter payoff. Self-contained engine. Another wildly different reanimation spell.

Closet adds a third Storm recursion spell (alongside Breach and Will), stapled onto a Crucible effect. It's fantastic at getting a somewhat narrow effect into the cube. I don't necessarily want another Crucible effect, so it would have to be a swap. Two candidates: Crucible of Worlds or Ramunap Excavator. The Excavator being on a creature means it's easier to tutor and recur which has me hesitant to cut it. It is more vulnerable, but also adds board presence. I wonder how badly I need Crucible to be colorless. Most lands decks are in Green with the exception being some Boros Balance/Devastating Dreams decks. The card is easy enough to splash though.

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Altar is out for now, but it could very easily come back. It is still potent in the right deck and goes off with Gravecrawler.

White

One thing I've noticed when drafting the cube is how self-contained White is as a color. It has blink enablers and blink targets. It has Ocelot Pride and life gain. Wraths and sticky threats. So I am going to try and diversify that a bit by removing cards that make it too easy. To replace them, I am testing going back to the aggressive cheat package suggested by Erik of Collector's Cage and Windbrisk Heights.

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It seems weird to cut a cheat target while adding a cheat enabler, but I don't want to cheat in a Grave Titanesque card and the fair 4 mana mode of the Overlord is too much for the gameplay I envision.

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I already run a lot of utility lands and don't necessarily want to run a 4th in White. Cave seems like the least painful cut between it and Flagstones of Trokair and Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire (especially with Celestial Colonnade in Azorius).

These cheat cards are definitely more on the aggressive side and I can't help but think that there might be nice glue cards in



The best argument in favor of these is the slot efficiency the provide. They would allow me to remove an artifact fatty and keep the right density. They add sweet blink targets and they gain life for Pride. I have trouble getting excited playing them though as 3 mana 3/3s with low synergies isn't a great endorsement. They would probably just fit into midrange piles that I don't think I need to support to exist. Leaning towards just playing the Fleshgorger which at least has a bit of protection. Does anyone have experience with these?

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Guide was added as an Ocelot Pride package, and it works wonders. Too well honestly as it is repeatable, you don't have to commit anything in combat and the life buffer really adds up making racing very tough. Also, although it's a stand alone Energy card, I don't like having just the one. I could be convinced to play some with MH3 and Fallout additions, but I don't have time to work that in right now.

Spoiler: Cool energy cards

Adding Charming Prince as a life gain trigger for the Pride, but also a blink enabler since I cut Restoration Angel and want one more.

Bread and Butter

There are a few effects I feel are missing in this list. One of them is a bit more GY hate, more 2 drops in White and more instants/sorceries and sac fodder in Red. I have the perfect cards for this

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I've had Glimpse in before and I really liked it. Having the modality of "drawing" cards when you need them or creating tokens makes it fit into a lot of decks. It can set up for an explosive turn and act as a delayed ritual as well. It's a more versatile Hordeling Outburst in my mind.

Commando plays really well in any deck and the play patterns are top notch. Surprise attacker/blocker. Instant speed interaction. Bins itself for recursion. Should have kept it in, but I tend to get lured by splashy synergy cards. Likewise the Claws is necessary GY hate that isn't overbearing and can be played as a cantrip. It's good enough to play main deck and definitely a pick up for the SB.

Decided to cut more insular cards this time around. I may go back to the Thopter/Sword combo as it is the right power level, the right colors and the right mana value. It's a little too prescriptive for my tastes right now, but that is likely to change! The Chamber was added to go with Enduring Renewal and it is still a fantastic token maker, but one which doesn't have a clear purpose so it's getting the axe.

 

[inscho]

I'd love an artifact matters card in Red to pull you in. Any ideas?

Sneak Attack is practically an artifact card in my cube as I’m not running things like griselbrand or emrakul. I think goblin engineer is a fringe first pick when a pack is lacking proper bombs…but you’re right there aren’t any other p1p1 at our power level other than what you mentioned…and gut and bombardier feel a little too singularly powerful for my taste. I’ve never tested them so it’s more theoretical so take that for whatever it’s worth

I rely on the density of support for the artifact deck more than singular card quality. It’s more of a subtheme of the entire cube. It’s easy to grasp, and as a result has come pretty naturally in drafts in my experience. It may be lacking in p1p1’s but it compliments a lot of strategies like aggro, sacrifice, reanimator/cheat, and blink so its presence is pretty inevitable