Thanks for the comments! I agree that my cube could use some streamlining, although I dearly love my splashy 4-drops. I also don't mind having a lot of variance in my drafts--I'd go crazy if I ran one of those 360 cubes in which every card is drafted every time. Thus, I don't mind having a 500 card list even if I only draft with 8 people twice a year.
Also, our 2-man drafts can actually wind up using a fair amount of the cube. Here are the ways we draft: Winston with 105, auction draft, Fact or Fiction draft, grid draft, quilt draft. Grid drafting is great, but we dislike knowing everything the other person has in their deck, so here is our odd default draft. Ready?
- Winston 35 cards. This gives you a basic direction, and you have a sense what the other person might be trying to do, but nothing is set in stone yet. This makes the grids more interesting.
- Grid draft six grids. (We sometimes do eight). After each grid, each person draws three cards and keeps one, not revealing it.
So, you end up with about 18 cards from the Winston, 15 from the grid, and 6 from the one-of-three picks. You end up having a LOT of cards to choose from, and it has made it more possible to build strong archetypes rather than just goodstuff decks. (I've finally gotten Wildfire, Stax, and artifact decks to work much more than they did when simply Winstoning.)
On Capsize: even though my cube is slower than normal, it's not so slow that a 6-mana repeatable bounce is much of a problem. There are definitely board states in which can be obnoxious, but they are few and far between.
On Grave Titan and Wurmcoil Engine: my most frequent opponent is still lobbying to keep them in. I'll win the argument eventually, since it is my cube, after all.
On Black Vise: The definition of a non-skilltesting card. Either it is a colorless one-mana 4-7 point fireball, or it's a blank. (Okay, it's pretty fun with Upheaval...) But it's one of those cards that only helps aggro decks v control (and to a lesser extent midrange), and that's the matchup I want to bolster right now. Oh, and since I've been trying to push the artifact deck a bit, I try to keep lots in the cube for the Tezzerets (and Tinker) to feast on. It'll leave soon, I think.
I honestly think my cube will get much better once I decide to take out the Tezzerets and some of the fast artifact mana. It's just such a fun, odd deck to get to build every once in a while.
Perilous Myr: Surprisingly strong little card, the free death-shock can do a lot of work. If you want to weaken classic red aggro rush decks, this is the card to do it. I've been tempted to take it out for that reason, actually--it's too good against aggro.
Precursor Golem: Play it! Everyone! Nine power for 5 colorless is no joke. Can be very swingy, of course, and not for those who enjoy accruing tiny incremental advantages. I've lost to a Smash to Smithereens on it, and won with a turn 6 Reckless Charge for 18 damage out of nowhere.
Austere Command: It can be skilltesting, but usually it's just an overcosted wrath. That's fine by me. However, I support tokens quite heavily, and the asymmetry of the card does come up sometimes.
Hokori, Dust-Drinker. Since it's so damned easy to remove, it's not the Winter-Orb-on-a-stick I was looking for. Still, it can give W/x aggro decks a couple of extra turns of free attacks before the opponent can stabilize, which is sometimes worthwhile. I love building Stax/Opposition/Winter Orb lockdown griefer decks once in a while, too. Doesn't make it on power level alone, clearly.
Kor Skyfisher. Without Moxen, not great. I keep him in for abusing ETB triggers, but it doesn't happen much. On his way out.
Lone Missionary. I think I have too much lifegain in my cube, and am on the verge of cutting Loxodon Warhammer and either this or his buddy Nearheath Pilgrim, to give aggro a bit more of a chance. Right now, this sees play as a 23rd card in just about every white deck that needs a meh card. It can be fun with blink, and can win you an aggro mirror.
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius. Just put him in, since I love UR control/counterburn and he's an ideal finisher for that deck. Sadly, he hasn't seen play yet, so I have nothing to report.
Sen Triplets. A pet card that has been in my cube forever. I actually used to define my cube power level as "a cube that can still run Sen Triplets." I love the unique effect, although usually your opponent can empty his hand before you can abuse it too much. I like having some cards that you open and say, "well, I guess I'm going for Esper control today." (Duskmantle Seer, Wildfire, and Nicol Bolas are similar.) I also like game-warping game states in which your opponent is burning off useful spells just so you can't have them.
Ob Nixilis. Bit of a big dumb beater (especially since I don't have fetchlands in my cube), but a good one. He makes it into most black decks, providing reach for aggro and a finisher for control. I enjoy the sense of mounting pressure he creates as he grows, even when easily chumped.
Sewer Nemesis. Best Juzam Djinn ever. Much more interesting of a growing-threat card than Ob Nix, and a favorite. I appreciate black reanimation support, and usually choose myself as a target.
Beast Within. Skill testing and useful. A 3/3 token is not bad for a green instant speed Vindicate, especially for green, which isn't too concerned with opposing creatures. Helps shore up all sorts of blind spots in green. Targeting your own extra land for an EOT/hasty green dude to hold a sword also comes up occasionally. I am sometimes tempted to cut this, and then it saves my bacon by zapping an otherwise game-winning Gideon Jura or Sword of X and Y.
Bribery. Pretty recent addition, and not as broken as I feared. In a control v ramp slugfest, it can just win, and can feel unfair. It is only moderately useful against a surprising number of decks, though. I'll still firstpick this unless I know my opponent is trying for a very fast deck. Can have interesting toolboxy applications sometimes, where you search their deck for the Vandals that will save you, or something.
Topsy Turvy. Just added, never seen play yet. I hope it will be a 3-mana slightly worse timewalk, with corner case bonuses involving vigilance, blink, and sac effects. Don't really know, though.
