General The Draft Exchange

inscho

inscho

Drafted Trainmaster's...

p1p1: Tasigur, the Golden Fang
p1p2: Garruk Wildspeaker
p1p3: Damnation

Tried to draft a version of "The Rock"....ended up with BUG goodstuff when cards like Mulldrifter, Thragtusk, Fact or Fiction started coming my way.

BUG Good Stuff from CubeTutor.com












I didn't feel much incentive to break away from the good stuff route tbh. I took Sidisi fairly early on, but it wasn't really relevant to the pool I was drafting, and I didn't see anything that made me want to pivot more towards the dredge angle.
 
Peter LaCara

Peter LaCara

TrainmasterGT said:
Responding to some of Peter's specific points and Onderzeeboot:




Yeah, some of my cards are too powerful in comparison to the rest of the cube.
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Here's the thing, dude. You have just as much of a bad card problem as you do a good card problem. Let's say we put power level on a spectrum, and say that stuff like actual power is a 10, stuff like Wurmcoil Engine and swords are a 9, and something like Chimney Imp is a 1. Most powermaxers won't look at anything below an 8, and most of their cubes are 9's. In my own cube, I shoot for somewhere around a 7, with a couple spikes up into 8 and a few 5's that can make up the difference through synergy. You've got guys here like Grillo who deliberately shoot even lower because they're trying to craft a specific environment.

In your cube, your power level ranges from like a 3 (Shipbreaker Kraken, Grim Guardian, Tiana, Ship's Caretaker) to a 9 (most of the stuff you have listed above, except for Killing Glare, which I have no idea why you'd consider that egregious). You can make a good cube at almost any power level, ranging from the Vintage cube to the Desert cube. It's not the power level of some of these cards. It's the range.

I would suggest starting from square one and thinking from the ground up about what kind of cube you want to create. Pick themes and mechanics that work together in roughly the same power band and go from there. As it stands right now, what's going to happen is people are going to pick the ultra-powerful pieces, build generic goodstuff decks, and ignore the lower end completely. Even if you shave off the top end, that is still going to be true unless you bring up the bottom end to compensate as well.
 
Rowan_CB

Rowan_CB

Drafted Inscho's cube:

p1p1: Death Cloud
p1p2: Lab Maniac (YOLO)
p1p3: Extractor Demon

Tried to build a pseudo-Baron deck with Lab Maniac as a conceivable wincon. Not sure if I got enough pieces to get the Baron train running, but would be excited to try! And I think this deck could conceivably win via Lab man if it doesn't get run over by aggro!

Sultai Lab Baron from CubeTutor.com










 
Peter LaCara

Peter LaCara

Drafted the Graveyard Combo Cube. P1p1 Mirari's Wake. I snagged a late Land Tax in pack 2 and started kicking myself for not going into Naya earlier after I'd passed a Borborygmos, Enraged and a Clan Defiance. This deck is sweet, but it could have been sweeter, and that's my fault that it wasn't.

Mirari's Wake from CubeTutor.com










 
Rowan_CB

Rowan_CB

inscho said:
Nice! This deck is rad...I’d maybe run Moment’s Peace in place of Death Cloud? I can see the lockout potential of cloud, but I’m not sure it’s more valuable. I also think Apprentice Necromancer might be worth running. Interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks for drafting!
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Yeah, I was actually down to those three cards for my final spot. I nixed the necromancer because I wamted another instant or sorcery for Rise from the Tides and then went with Death Cloud on pure power level and the fact that Moment’s Peace, once flashbacked, no longer fuels Rise from the Tides. My guess is were I to actually play this deck I would end up siding in Moment’s Peace pretty frequently, so this was probably a misbuild!
 
Peter LaCara

Peter LaCara

Onderzeeboot said:
Drafted Peter's. Kept switching between multiple routes, ended up black sacrifice with a light white splash, but I'm not sure leaving the reanimation package out is the right call. Hard choices during deckbuilding! Archfiend is a bit expensive for the deck, but there's so many sweet interactions! Also, CMC 3's the place to be!
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That is a super interesting pool. You could take that deck in a bunch of different directions. You could even sideboard into a completely different archetype depending on the matchup. I do feel like there should be room in here somewhere for the Abyssal Persecutor. He fits the gameplan of this deck perfectly and you have a ton of ways to sacrifice or kill him. Cool deck!
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
Yeah, I went back and forth on the Persecutor. I was worried I couldn't stick an answer before my opponent would kill me, but maybe that's not a realistic fear. 6/6 double evasion might be too much upside to worry about the downside.
 
inscho

inscho

Drafted Rowan's because he got skipped...

p1p1: Hanna, Ship's Navigator
p1p2: Scrap Trawler
p1p3: Aether Spellbomb

Esper Artifacts:

Esper Artifacts from CubeTutor.com












All aboard, durdletown. I was looking to run both enchantments and artifacts with the versatility of hanna and restoration specialist, but only got artifacts. Slots 21-23 in the deck were a little suspect. Scrap Trawler is pretty neat in Azorius colors.


*someone skip me and draft Onder's cube*
 
inscho

inscho

Psyche...drafted Onder's..

p1p1: Primeval Titan
p1p2: Nissa, Vastwood Seer
p1p3: Dragonlord Atarka



...well, I guess that settles that!


Gruul Big Thangz from CubeTutor.com












Step 1: Get lands
Step 2: Play things
Step 3: Profit

I'll build an immediately intimidating board presence, waste a few turns pinging Ripjaw Raptor with Flame Jab + Life from the Loam. Then play Dragonlord and win.

As I was drafting mostly broken huge things I saw a lot of energy, Ghitu Chronicler and Quicksmith Spy stuff, alongside stuff like Vendilion Clique and Liliana of the Veil. I feel like there's a foot in the door of lower-powered synergies and incremental value, but 50% of the cube's structure is still oriented in a more power-focused manner. I didn't really feel enticed to take any of the mana-intensive, slower stuff. I was 2-3 cards shy of a straight up power cube style ramp deck. I'd like to see that disparity bridged some more.
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
inscho said:
As I was drafting mostly broken huge things I saw a lot of energy, Ghitu Chronicler and Quicksmith Spy stuff, alongside stuff like Vendilion Clique and Liliana of the Veil. I feel like there's a foot in the door of lower-powered synergies and incremental value, but 50% of the cube's structure is still oriented in a more power-focused manner. I didn't really feel enticed to take any of the mana-intensive, slower stuff. I was 2-3 cards shy of a straight up power cube style ramp deck. I'd like to see that disparity bridged some more.
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I've already put Borborygmos, Enraged on my buy list to replace Dragonlord Atarka, which feels a bit too much at times. I don't think all of the cards you mentioned are out of place in a lower-powered cube though. Clique plays great in any environment really. Liliana is one of the best cards in the cube, though, that's true. I put her in to increase the number of playable discard outlets, and she's great at that too. I don't mind a few cards that pop out though, and she has never been overbearing, except when she showed up with a bunch of other planeswalkers in tow. I would love for some more feedback, can you give some more example of cards that look out of place from your point of view?
 
genericco

genericco

Sweet list! I drafted UW cheons: http://www.cubetutor.com/cubedeck/962140

It was UW from pretty early on; I think p1p1 Deep Analysis and third pick Elspeth, Sun's Champion. UW was super open so I kept seeing the enchantment theme cards as well. I didn't go in that direction however, and somehow ended up with a lot of enchantment removal for the sideboard instead.

One note I have is 15 cyclers is probably not enough for abandoned sarcophagus. The drake haven deck looks sweet and fully supported. But I don't think even that deck wants sarcophagus at that density.
 
TrainmasterGT

TrainmasterGT

genericco said:
Sweet list! I drafted UW cheons: http://www.cubetutor.com/cubedeck/962140

It was UW from pretty early on; I think p1p1 Deep Analysis and third pick Elspeth, Sun's Champion. UW was super open so I kept seeing the enchantment theme cards as well. I didn't go in that direction however, and somehow ended up with a lot of enchantment removal for the sideboard instead.

One note I have is 15 cyclers is probably not enough for abandoned sarcophagus. The drake haven deck looks sweet and fully supported. But I don't think even that deck wants sarcophagus at that density.
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Sweet list bruh!

I drafted yours!

U/G Aggro Dorks from CubeTutor.com










P1/P1 Crocodile of the Crossing
P1/P2 Squirrel Nest
P1/P3 Epic Confrontation

Pretty easy draft, I like how you added shocks and fetches to your peasant list to smooth out mana.
 
Peter LaCara

Peter LaCara

Took a crack at the updated list. I like it a lot better! You still have a ways to go, but you're moving in the right direction.

Still. My first few picks were dictated by raw power (Sun Titan and Elspeth, Sun's Champion), and then I mostly drafted tools to ensure I could cast my bombs.

Jeskai Control from CubeTutor.com









 
Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor

Contributor
Honestly I don't find Sun titan that bad,and (other than that iron myr) I think I've run every other card in that deck, so my environment might be close.

Sun's champ I am afraid of though. You think it's more warping than Knight errant?
 
Peter LaCara

Peter LaCara

Chris Taylor said:
Honestly I don't find Sun titan that bad,and (other than that iron myr) I think I've run every other card in that deck, so my environment might be close.

Sun's champ I am afraid of though. You think it's more warping than Knight errant?
Click to expand...

I mean, I fucking love Sun's Champion. She's one of my favorite walkers, and I won't cut her even if I probably should. I'm the last person who should lecture someone on including her in their cube. I do think trying to run her in the same cube that's trying to get cute with Righteous Authority is a mistake, though.
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
Ok, took another stab at Pete's cube! Didn't pick up any mana fixing, which is why I left some double blue cards in the sideboard, but the deck looks pretty sweet to play nonetheless. Basically it's draw, discard for value until you find your Living Death. Hopefully by then, you've got a stocked graveyard, while your opponent is set back to the stone age. Fingers crossed! I had fun drafting the archetype as soon as I saw it!

Onderzeeboot's UB draft of Pete's Good Games Cube on 07/08/2018 from CubeTutor.com










 
Peter LaCara

Peter LaCara

Onderzeeboot said:
Ok, took another stab at Pete's cube! Didn't pick up any mana fixing, which is why I left some double blue cards in the sideboard, but the deck looks pretty sweet to play nonetheless. Basically it's draw, discard for value until you find your Living Death. Hopefully by then, you've got a stocked graveyard, while your opponent is set back to the stone age. Fingers crossed! I had fun drafting the archetype as soon as I saw it!
Click to expand...

I dig it. I like how it's basically a blue/black tempo deck that can win just fine without Living Death, but it's also got this ultra powerful plan as well. The lack of fixing is a bummer. I always pick it very highly so the bots are trained to snap it up too.
 
Miasmir

Miasmir

Jonas's possibly budget cube:

Esper Flicker // Miasmir's draft of Budget? on 08/08/2018 from CubeTutor.com












Picked up Galepowder Mage p1p1 and tried to draft around it. Floundered for a bit but got rewarded with some really sweet stuff to flicker and also Chittering Rats which...

Have you ever been locked out by Chittering Rats? I have. At least I don't have an Archaeomancer to loop this Memory Lapse I guess?

The sheer amount of value going on here is pretty filthy and we even have what looks like good mana. Ideally we get to activate Skeletal Vampire with Teysa, Orzhov Scion in play. Failing that, I guess we beat them to death with a Flickerwisp.

I absolutely love Diabolic Vision and Cadaver Imp. Thanks for reminding me that they exist.

I got The Mirari Conjecture as a pretty late pick so I considered going in that direction, as 5/5 is large, but I don't think the artifacts I saw from there were strong enough in non-Saga games and I already had a strong plan. (edit: hilariously, I had this confused with The Antiquities War! oh well!)
 
Jonas

Jonas

That right there is a filthy deck, nice. Skeletal Vampire is on the way out I think, it can just take over and lock out something fierce, but otoh, to do it takes a couple of cards, so it might still be ok.
 
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