The California Premiership Cube: 720 Cards of

[MilesOfficial]

I've been talking about this Cube for a while here, and rather than just bumping CBS with every self-indulgent consideration I have, let's spread out the love a little.

The California Premiership Cube on Cube Cobra

From the CC description, this Cube is focused on delivering:

• Interactive gameplay between strong, synergistic decks with beloved cards.
• Accessibility to players across a large swath of skill levels.
• Opportunities for self-expression in drafting and deck-building.
• Celebrating the rich breadth of Magic design.

I make compromises on each of these a little too often, but I'm working on it! My playgroup is gigantic, but I'm too busy to get it together in person too frequently. In a normal year, we draft about once a month, with between 7 and 15 players across wildly different skill levels.

This Cube is currently going through a massive shift. Basically, in the last few years, the average card quality has gone up so much that I finally relented and added in / brought back many of Magic's biggest and splashiest cards. I have always wanted my Cube to be at least a full tier below a Vintage Cube, and I don't think it ever lost that, but in an effort to give tools to very occasional Magic players to have a real chance of beating the better player with straightforward threats, I ended up going too far in this direction. So I'm now de-powering my Cube -- it won't be all at once, but I want to make continuous progress.

I like to test draft my Cube a few times a week online. I take mental notes, but really, I want to document it a little better, so that's what this thread is for, even if I'm mostly shouting into the void.

This morning's draft deck has me satisfied. This is the kind of power-level I'm shooting for. It's a reanimator deck -- historically, one of the best decks in my Cube (besides RW aggro in the last 2 years) -- but it doesn't feel unbeatable. It's got weaknesses, as all good decks should. The haymakers are not overwhelming. The enablers are plentiful. It's the kind of deck that makes me feel validated about some of my more rouge picks like Deathbonnet Sprout. This is the kind of deck that makes me happy to be Cubing with the likes of Tersa Lightshatter over the overpowered Broadside Bombardiers, which was just cut in the latest edition of the Cube. The Final Fantasy cards like Sabin, Master Monk and Snort feel like they're really fitting in what I'm trying to build, even if I was sad (if probably correct) to cut Nibelheim Aflame in this particular build.

Most of the cards currently tagged in the list are likely going to be cut in short order, but please let me know if there's any other power-level outliers I should be considering to build towards my goals above, and thanks for following along!

 

[MilesOfficial]

I keep forgetting I have this thread and feel it would make a pretty good diary.

I made a surprisingly big change to my Cube this morning -- 21 cards! A lot of it was de-Spider-Man-ing my Cube from a slightly overzealous update a few days ago hot on the heels of several competitive events in the format.

IN:


(reminder that my cube is 720 cards, so this is the same as a 10-card change for the typical Cube! also I change cards weekly.)

I think every one of these has been in my Cube previously, many of them quite recently. Most of these are me trying to reign in my most excitable habits somewhat, taking out long shots or marginal cards for more straightforward Magic. I am spending a lot of complexity on a card-by-card level on my pet strategies and novel new cards I've instantly fallen for like all the recent cards from the Final Fantasy Commander set, particularly the new scene box cards.

I like to reevaluate my on-deck binder regularly, as well as compare to other similar lists. I recently found a Cube by Aleeex99 that reminds me a lot of my Cube before my major de-powering event earlier this year referenced in the previous post. It's not really what I'm looking for in Cube these days, but it did a lot to remind me of some important cards I had taken out.

One of the changes that I'm less happy with is the removal of Sunset Strikemaster. It's not really a card that I've aggressively taken in my online practice drafts and it's been exclusively side-boarded in person, but it's a good card, I think. It does 3 things all just slightly below rate, and that combination should be more than enough, as is the case with its peer Charming Scoundrel. But the 3-power 2-drop thing just isn't what it used to be. So many cards I used to Cube in this slot just don't synergize well enough anymore, but I still adore them. Looking through the history of this slot, it's got so many of my favorites:



It's a slot I've really struggled to get my players excited about, and the raw power of a lot of the snowball-y Commander cards really undermines nice meat-and-potatoes aggro 2-drops...as do the plethora of tokens I have running around my Cube. Farewell Sunset Strikemaster, I hope to try you out again one day.

After a big change, I like to run a few online test drafts to kick the tires a bit. This most recent stretch really did a lot to excite me about where my Cube's been going lately:

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Potentially the best UR discard deck I've ever drafted without a wheel? I just added Windfall back in with Orcish Bowmasters to see if I can't push this deck even more, but I worry I might have just caused more competition for a suite of cards that may otherwise benefit from being wheel payoffs. I like Orcish Bowmasters and don't mind it as one of the best cards in my Cube. It was never oppressive like Gut or Ragavan. Being in black does help, as the RW aggro decks were the biggest problem at the beginning of the year. Still, its continued inclusion is tenuous as we play things out.



It was really gratifying to have all these cards together in one deck -- it almost feels like constructed! I wish I could have played it in an actual draft.

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I talked about Spider-UK in the Spooderman thread, and I feel pretty good about it. A great example is this WGb +1/+1 counters deck, where it joins the new and somewhat-tenuous Cleopatra, Exiled Pharaoh and the over-performing Summon: Good King Mog XII as the deck's top-end. It's probably one of the weaker Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness decks I've drafted, but the dude is near the top of my Cube's ELO list for good reason all the same -- even when he's just OK, he's worth splashing for -- all without ever feeling oppressive.

Ozolith, the Shattered Spire has been on the chopping block recently, but this kind of deck makes me feel a little better about it. Not sure if I'm keeping the original Ozolith around much longer, though. Spider-Ham, Peter Porker was very close to making this deck, and did boost up 1/3 of the creatures in the list plus the token from Ranger Class. Not 100% sold on it, with green 2s being so good, but it hits a lot of archetypes I'm happy to support. Lord Jyscal Guado does a lot to help Spider-UK in making sure this list doesn't run out of gas too easily.



Overall, pretty sweet deck that showcases some of the more interesting cross-synergies my Cube is building towards.

 

[MilesOfficial]

A few unrelated notes:

1. Pyrogoyf​

This was my favorite card of 2024, and for good reason: it's the best.

No, actually the best. It singlehandedly makes red the best color. It generates its own archetype (tribal goyfs). It makes you re-evaluate other goyfs, who are all fun. But yeah, it's actually the best. It's too good.

To which I say:
View attachment 10887

Isn't there always going to be a "best card" in your Cube, no matter how flat you try to make the power-level??

So I put it back in, even though I've generally been very very happy with my decision to remove cards at that power-level like the MH2 elementals (the bastards don't have reminder text anyways), all the dumb snowbally red 3-drops (Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Gut, True Soul Zealot, Broadside Bombardiers, and Laelia, the Blade Reforged), Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, etc.

I think I can probably let Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd and Orcish Bowmasters back in, but there are quite a few cards I took out for power-level that I think made the Cube better.

But I drew the line at Barrowgoyf, even though it certainly was unfair, just because at the end of the day, how much better is it really than Qarsi Revenant or Nighthawk Scavenger? (the answer is: very)

I love goyfs, ok?

So why not put Pyrogoyf back in? After all, he was my favorite. I took out Flametongue Kavu for him!! So I made a change on my CubeCobra and the wise @Nanonox immediately verified my foolishness.

Clones plus Pyrogoyf is like...yeah. That's what I want to be doing in Magic. And it's seriously not fair to anyone else.

Why can't Pyrogoyf just trigger on itself??????

2. Metalworker​

Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student is a top pick in my Cube, but that's OK. The design is sweet, even if I wish she didn't have a backside. Part of this is how the player with her usually goes too hard into artifacts and usually falters as a result. But man, this draft deck was sweet. And it made me feel like Metalworker, who just got added back in after a 6-7 year absence, is a Cool Magic Card. The risk/reward on that card is crazy, but if you can pull it off, I think you deserve it, and I think this deck proves it.

3. Balance​

Is Balance OK now?



This is one of my favorite Cube cards, but as I move back-and-forth over where I think the line is for my Cube's power level, I think maybe, after almost a decade, Balance is OK again? Maybe? I'd even give up Pyrogoyf for this.

I don't have much fast mana, and Planeswalkers are no longer a major part of my Cube's ecosystem. Is it time for the Return of the King?

4. Just Jund Jams​

One reason I decided to depower my Cube was that basically every draft I was doing online for a while put me in Jund, and the decks looked unbeatable. See the above red 3 drops, but this combination of colors allowed acceleration, greed, and all the Cube's best cards. I still like to see how the 'ol Jund deck is doing, and this is one of the best ones I've done recently.



Getting a t2 Surrak, Elusive Hunter is good in most Cube environments, but that's essentially the most basic case for this deck. Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Vaultborn Tyrant are the two best bombs in my Cube, and I don't think it's particularly close. Why do I still have these two cards when I've taken out Archon of Cruelty for power-level reasons? Because I like that these cards force the reanimator deck to compete with the Gx ramp decks. Grix can be the "treat" for those reanimator decks. Still, they're always getting the side-eye from me, because no matter how fast my Cube / Magic has gotten lately, they're still unbelievably powerful....as is reanimator.

Polukranos Reborn delights my Timmy sensibilities to this day. I'm so happy this card exists.

5. Let's swap out another 30 cards​

I'm looking at so many cards right now as I'm physically auditing my Cube in anticipation of an upcoming event in two weeks. Since my number of paper drafts has been so low this year due to starting my own company, I've been worse than ever at keeping the CubeCobra list and the physical brick 1:1. So why not make it even harder on myself? Some highlights I'm currently looking at include:



Would love to know thoughts/opinions/concerns/recommendations about these, cards to take out, or any other miscellaneous advice you may have!

 

[Nanonox]

Would love to know thoughts/opinions/concerns/recommendations about these, cards to take out, or any other miscellaneous advice you may have!

Safe choices

Glyph Elemental
Splitskin Doll
Oust
Simin Simulacrum
Karvanista, Loyal Lupari
The Reality Chip
Cosmic Rebirth
Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler
Raise the Past

Spicy choices

Neerdiv + Zellix: Love cards that mill or self-mill and these look like fun build arounds.

Rosie Cotton: Careful with infinite combos here, but it's a nice payoff for making various tokens.

Teshar: Great here with your legendary + artifact themes. Fragile but fun to build around

The Peregrine Dynamo: No clue, but effect + body seem to be in line with what your cube is doing.

Tiller Engine: Probably more Green than colorless, but opens up fun lines and disruption.

Phelia: Definitely a power outlier, but you have The One Ring, Urza, Skullclamp, ...Careful if you don't want snowbally games I guess?

Not getting there

Elvish Archivist: 2/3 for 2 you have to work for + capped ability + enchantment signaling which isn't really there doesn't do it for me.

Clockwork Druid: A bit anemic. Would rather see something like Patchwork Automaton, Vault Skirge, Hope of Ghirapur something a bit more unique and exciting.

Confession Dial: I'm getting the feeling that your legendary decks are more on the aggressive side and this is a rough one for 3 mana. Maybe What Must Be Done or something could be more versatile if you want a slower legendary card?

Not necessary

Platoon Dispenser: You are adding Teshar and Wanderglyph which are better artifact support in my mind and another 5 drop is rough. Digsite Engineer could be a cheaper alternative that makes tokens and cares about artifacts. Or Thousand Moons Smithy/Regal Bunnicorn for a big dude.

Obsedian Obelisk: If you are going for an artifact theme, I think that the colorless cantrips are more important than more mana rocks especially at 720. Chromatic Star, Wizard's Rockets, Urza's Bauble would be priorities for me. If you want to keep artifact mana, maybe Paradise Mantle, Springleaf Drum and Moonsnare Prototype could be cool plants for Neerdiv.

Case of the Uneaten Feast: Feel like there might be more straightforward ways to recur creatures especially in White.

The Falcon: Reanimator is already a lot of work, I feel like this you are adding an extra step by needing to crew the equipment.

Nick Valentine: There are so many artifact centric 3 drops, that I don't know if this will ever make it into the main deck over other choices.

tl;dr: I would add the cheap colorless cantrips to your cube to better support your artifact deck than anything else.