Most probable cube changes

Based on playtesting in the sandbox cube I've come up with a list of the most probable changes here. I'll be writing up the playtest soon, but consider this a tentative list in the meantime. For now I'm holding back on some of the changes I made in the sandbox cube, namely - Onslaught block cards intended to buff RW aggro, lifegain cards like Radiant's Dragoons and Death Grasp, cards intended to buff BW pestilence like Evincar's Justice and Lashknife Barrier, and Opalescence. I think these require further testing and consideration before a final decision. In the meantime: ---White--- White has no changes as of yet. Radiant's Dragoons proved extremely powerful in testing, even more so than expected. Five toughness is huge, putting it outside the range of red's sweepers, and five life is a huge swing as well. I don't know how aggro beats this card. And when you get it out with any kind of bounce / recursion engine it becomes even dirtier. I also remain undecided on Lashknife Barrier and Opalescence. Lashknife Barrier was intended as a combo piece for BW pestilence, and while it's amazing in that deck it's also a huge sideboard hoser against it. Opalescence is only really good in one deck, the UW Replenish deck, and it's a two card combo with Parallax Wave that essentially locks your opponents out of playing creatures. White needs more power, but not like this, I hope. ---Blue--- Not too many changes here. I was really surprised by how much I like Drifting Djinn. It specifically plays into UB's reanimator plan but is a perfectly playable finisher for other decks as well. It certainly leads to more interesting play than Avatar of Will. Soothsaying was very durdly and Trickster Mage is very nice with Phyrexian Colossus and Static Orb while also being generally useful for tapping down creatures. Parallax Tide gives UW Replenish more game but is also generally useful for tempo decks. Somnophore just was not seeing the table at all, I'm hoping Iridescent Drake piques people's interest more. It's a combo with Abduction and any sacrifice outlet. Avatar of Will -> Drifting Djinn Soothsaying -> Trickster Mage Somnophore -> Iridescent Drake Ray of Command -> Parallax Tide ---Black--- Black has by far the most numerous and significant changes. Its removal goes down both in numbers and quantity, shifting toward more pro-active hand disruption. I'm trying to shift UB away from hard draw-go control to more of a reanimator-control strategy based on slowing down the game while slowly dumping your hand in preparation for a big Twilight's Call or Living Death. Vile Requiem I haven't tested yet but it's filling in for Evincar's Justice, which I'm still not sure about. Obviously it's a powerful card but every sweeper I add makes aggro even worse than it already is. Dregs of Sorrow -> Twilight's Call Vendetta -> Duress Slaughter -> Befoul Persecute -> Unmask Snuff Out -> Vile Requiem Dark Hatchling -> Devouring Strossus Abyssal Gatekeeper -> Apprentice Necromancer ---Red--- Firebombers became much less useful without Scorched Ruins and Lotus Vale. Ancient Hydra hasn't been tested but seems like it could be good. It's likely that what red really needs are a few of the more powerful goblins from Onslaught block, but I remain undecided on the exact details. Consider this a holding spot for Siege Gang Commander. Keldon Firebombers -> Ancient Hydra ---Green--- I really enjoyed Stampede Driver in the playtests. Very good card. Mirri's Guile is a little durdly and I wanted to complete the seal cycle. Haven't tested Groundskeeper yet but really like the idea and it doesn't seem like it's in danger of breaking anything. Quirion Ranger -> Stampede Driver Wild Dogs -> Groundskeeper Mirri’s Guile -> Seal of Strength ---Multicolor--- Not many changes here. I remain undecided on whether Death Grasp is a good idea. Charging Troll feels a little too similar to Ranger en-Vec, and with the completion of the seal cycle it seems like Femeref Enchantress could really shine. Charging Troll -> Femeref Enchantress ---Colorless--- Some rarely played cards changed to more generally useful ones. Durdly cards replaced with more proactive ones. Noetic Scales rewards large hand / little board state, Umbilicus pressures decks with small board states. It's also an engine card for ETB value decks. With the addition of two more LD cards (Parallax Wave, Befoul) I think that Lotus Vale and Scorched Ruins are firmly in the realm of traps at this point, and so had to go. Triangle of War -> Chromatic Sphere Noetic Scales -> Umbilicus Crawlspace -> Mana Prism Scorched Ruins -> Terrain Generator Lotus Vale -> Winding Canyons Lotus Guardian -> Draco

Testing new cards in sandbox cube ^Dunno if anyone actually follows this cube, but here's the cube I'm using to test possible card replacements. Check it out if you're interested, or don't.

Questionable Cards and possible replacements

Will fill in with replacements and rationales later... ------- White ------- It feels like white is the weakest color in the cube at this point. Its power mostly resides in gotcha cards like color hosers, Worship, or Blinding Angel; and in un-interactive shadow aggro. The exclusion of core sets probably hurts white the most out of all the colors- it loses Armageddon, Wrath of God, Serra Angel With a few exceptions, it lacks the ETB value creatures of other colors and late game mana dumps to close out games. There's nothing to put Serra's Sanctum mana into other than Sacred Mesa. Unfortunately, the best cards to solve these problems create another problem - lifegain. For ETB value creatures you get Radiant's Dragoons and Staunch Defenders, while for mana dumps you get mostly X spells like Atalya that gain you life. I'm very cautious about adding more lifegain to the cube because aggro is already quite weak. What is an non-black aggro deck going to do about Radiant's Dragoons? - Degavolver - I'm just not sure about this entire cycle in general. Rakavolver and Anavolver are great, Necravolver and this one are OK, and Cetavolver is pretty lackluster. - False Prophet - Coalition Honor Guard? Academy Rector? - Radiant, Archangel - Warrior Angel? Jeweled Spirit? Avatar of Hope? Karmic Guide (I hate to put reanimation back into white but this is ETB value...)? Staunch Defenders? - Planar Collapse - Gossamer Chains? Lashknife Barrier? - Opal Titan - Opalescence? -------- Blue -------- - Cetavolver - See above - Ertai, Wizard Adept - I want something more proactive in this slot. Maybe Thalakos Scout? I like it as it's evasive, hard to kill, and a discard outlet. - Somnophore - Again, I'm looking for something more proactive. As is this dies too easily and gets picked very rarely. I still want a flier in this spot though. Iridescent Drake is a nice addition to the aura theme but also forms an infinite combo with Abduction and any sacrifice outlet. I like Harmattan Efreet here as well, although it is expensive. - Avatar of Will - Drifting Djinn? Silver Wyvern? - Brainstorm - Without Onslaught Fetches this just isn't as reliably powerful. - Ray of Command - Parallax Tide? - Soothsaying - Sigil of Sleep? Curiosity? - Zephid's Embrace - Parallax Tide? ------- Black ------- - Abyssal Gatekeeper - Apprentice Necromancer? Ravenous Rats? Cackling Witch? - Necravolver - See Above - Nightscape Battlemage - Almost definitely the worst of the cycle. - Commander Greven il-Vec - Devouring Strossus? - Dark Hatchling - Phyrexian Gargantua? - Vendetta - Duress? - Slaughter - This card is entirely too oppressive. Maybe Befoul? Sorcery speed and plays into the land destruction sub-theme? - Snuff Out - Evincar's Justice? This would give another piece to the BW pestilence archetype but it also kills aggro decks dead. Or Vile Requiem for a (much) worse Seal of Doom. - Do or Die - Cannibalize? - Persecute - Unmask? - Dregs of Sorrow - This is usually a six mana sorcery speed Annihilate. It's just too resource intensive and often just serves to help deck you. Twilight's Call? - Attrition - Mind Slash? - Bottomless Pit - I understand what the role of this card is; it's a tool for reanimator and aggro against control. But as is it's just not very highly picked... - Yawgmoth's Agenda ------ Red ------ OK, so Goblins in general need help. There are three possibilities as I see it. A) Break the singleton rule. B) Allow a few onslaught block cards in just for them. C) Cut the theme. I'll have to consider this more. - Rakavolver - See above, tho this is one of the best of the cycle. A 5 mana 4/4 lifelinker is perfectly reasonable for this era, and a 6 mana 5/5 flying lifelinker is AMAZING for this era. Compare with Exalted Angel :P - - Covetous Dragon - While he supports Wildfire very well, the problem is that's the only deck that really wants him. - Keldon Firebombers - I'm pretty iffy on my red 5CMC creatures in general. - Tahngarth - He really doesn't fit into any archetype and so doesn't get played a lot, but he is a surprisingly powerful midrange card when he does. He's like a super fighty Serra Angel that just dominates the board. - Repercussion - Another card without a home. Like Bottomless Pit I understand what this is supposed to do, it just doesn't do it very well. Maybe Fervor? Or Torch Song? I mean, Shrine of Burning Rage is a popular cube card. Citadel of Pain? I would have to errata mana burn onto the card... ------ Green ------ - Quirion Ranger, Wild Dogs - Stampede Driver? Taunting Elf? Hidden Gibbons? Skyshroud Elite? Skyshroud Ranger? - Mirri, Cat Warrior - Spike Feeder, Penumbra Bobcat, Yavimaya Granger? - Anavolver - The best of the cycle - big, evasive, and hard to kill. Also Sultai is probably the strongest wedge color combination in the cube, along with Temur. - Thicket Elemental - Kavu Chameleon, Silverglade Elemental, Scragnoth, Thorn Elemental, Multani, Child of Gaea, Verdeloth? - Mirri's Guile - Thinking of replacing this with something more proactive, like Hidden Gibbons or Seal of Strength. - Oath of Druids - ----- Multi ----- - Ranger en Vec; Charging Troll - These are a little too similar and I'm considering replacing ONE of them. Sterling Grove? Femeref Enchantress? Sabertooth Nishoba? Llanowar Knight? Scalebane's Elite? - Desolation Angel - Death Grasp? Gerrard's Verdict? Soul Link? ----- Colorless ----- - Lotus Guardian - Flowstone Thopter - Triangle of War - Chromatic Sphere? Voltaic Key? Thran Turbine? Thran Foundry? - Crawlspace, Noetic Scales, Portcullis - these are kind of durdle-y and there are a lot of powerful 4 drop artifacts in this era to consider, ie Smokestack and Phyrexian Processor. - Lotus Vale, Scorched Ruins - I feel like these cards are just massive traps in this cube. It seems like more often than not they just immediately eat Avalanche Riders, Temporal Spring, Capsize, etc, leading to a massive blowout. There are a few cards that allow you to abuse them, ie Static Orb and Keldon Firebombers, but the downsides heavily outweigh the up it would seem. - Quicksand - Just not seeing much play. Winding Canyons, Terrain Generator, Stalking Stones, and Henge of Ramos are all under consideration.

Combos and Strong Synergies

There are only two infinite combos I'm aware of in the cube, and they are both three cards and involve Earthcraft / Fertile Ground: - Earthcraft / Fertile Ground / Pegasus Mesa - infinite Pegasus tokens - Earthcraft / Fertile Ground / Morphling - infinite mana Strong synergies: - Monk Idealist / Parallax Wave - Put the Monk under the Wave, when it dies he comes back into play and returns it to your hand. - Pariah on Cho Manno, Voice of All, Fog Bank, etc. - Forbid forms a soft-lock with any card that allows you to draw an extra card per turn - Phyrexian Arena, Thieving Magpie, etc. - Phyrexian Reclamation - Worth noting the power of this card when combined with Echo creatures. I've seen it and Avalanche Riders lock an opponent out of the game. Also Orcish Settlers. - Squee, Goblin Nabob - Powerful with literally anything that you can discard a card to, but especially Tortured Existence and Survival of the Fittest. - Earthcraft - as noted above, part of two infinite combos. Also can be used with Squirrel Wrangler to turn all of your lands into squirrels in a single turn. - Extruder / Thopter Squadron - Can turn your thopters back into counters at instant speed after they block or become blocked, or can turn all of your artifacts into thopters. - Ring of Gix / Static Orb - Static Orb turns off when tapped. Using Ring of Gix to tap it down on your opponent's end-step makes the effect one-sided.

Grand Creature Type Update errata full list

Grand creature type update full list (mostly for Coat of Arms purposes). Because I play with the original printings of the cards for aesthetic reasons, I printed this out on a little cheat sheet for my players - but thought I would post it here as well. If it’s not on this list, it’s the same as written, with two exceptions - plurals (i.e. “Summon Apes”), which should be assumed to be the same as singular types, and legends. Note that legend is no longer a valid creature subtype so legendary creatures don’t interact with Coat of Arms. The most important ones come first, either because there are other tribal cards associated with them (Goblins, Zombies), or the change is big (Beast-->Horror), or it's not immediately apparent from their art what they are (Dragon??). Battle Squadron - Goblin Coffin Queen - Zombie Wizard Goblin Marshall - Goblin Warrior Dauthi Horror - Dauthi Horror Goblin Marshall - Goblin Warrior Goblin Soothsayer - Goblin Shaman Keldon Vandals - Human Rogue Lotus Guardian - Dragon Nightscape Battlemage - Zombie Wizard Order of Yawgmoth - Zombie Knight Stronghold Assassin - Zombie Assassin -------- Arc Mage - Human Spellshaper Argothian Enchantress - Human Druid Arms Dealer - Goblin Rogue Avalanche Riders - Human Nomad Benalish Knight - Human Knight Benalish Trapper - Human Soldier Bottle Gnomes - Gnome Cho Manno, Revolutionary - Human Rebel Commander Greven il-Vec - Human Warrior Copper Gnomes - Gnome Crater Hellion - Hellion Beast Dauthi Mercenary - Dauthi Knight Mercenary Ertai, Wizard Adept - Human Wizard Extruder - Juggernaut False Prophet - Human Cleric Fireslinger - Human Wizard Flowstone Sculpture - Shapeshifter Ghitu Slinger - Human Nomad Hanna, Ship’s Navigator - Human Artificer Heart Warden - Elf Druid Hidden Horror - Horror Jackal Pup - Jackal Karn, Silver Golem - Golem Keldon Champion - Human Barbarian Keldon Firebombers - Human Soldier Knight of Dawn - Human Knight Longbow Archer - Human Soldier Archer Manakin - Construct Master Decoy - Human Soldier Masticore - Masticore Merfolk Looter - Merfolk Rogue Metalworker - Construct Mindless Automaton - Construct Mirri, Cat Warrior - Cat Warrior Mother of Runes - Human Cleric Nekrataal - Human Assassin Paladin en-Vec - Human Knight Phyrexian Colossus - Golem Quirion Elves - Elf Druid Radiant, Archangel - Angel Ranger en-Vec - Human Soldier Archer Rhox - Rhino Beast Sanguine Guard - Zombie Knight Serrated Biskelion - Construct Shaman en-Kor - Kor Cleric Shaman Soltari Champion - Soltari Soldier Soltari Emissary - Soltari Soldier Soltari Monk - Soltari Monk Cleric Soltari Priest - Soltari Cleric Soltari Trooper - Soltari Soldier Soul Warden - Human Cleric Spectral Lynx - Cat Spirit Squirrel Wrangler - Human Druid Stormscape Battlemage - Metathran Wizard Sunscape Battlemage - Human Wizard Tahngarth, Talruum Hero - Minotaur Warrior Teeka’s Dragon - Dragon Thopter Squadron - Thopter Thornscape Battlemage - Elf Wizard Thunderscape Battlemage - Human Wizard Wall of Blossoms - Plant Wall Wall of Roots - Plant Wall Warrior en-Kor - Kor Warrior Knight Waterfront Bouncer - Merfolk Spellshaper Wood Elves - Elf Scout Yavimaya Elder - Human Druid Youthful Knight - Human Knight

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