Welcome to the Return to Ravnica cube update, where I greatly miss Microsoft word's ability to auto-correct my minor misspellings! Return to Ravnica is one of the best sets for cube in a while because it covers one of my cube's weaknesses, 8 cards per gold section. While this is appropriate for some color combinations, others struggle to find enough exciting playables and have to rely on placeholders like Mystic Snake or Nin, the Pain Artist (so excited to have some upgrades). Also the overall quality of some guilds was just higher due to having a higher pool of cards to choose from. Notice that both of the examples were from enemy colored guilds! Since this is my first written cube update I am going to wing this and see how it goes. I am going to cover all of the actual changes that my cube has incurred with Return to Ravnica, this includes several changes that don't actually have anything to do with that set but occurred at the same time. I will do my best to explain reasoning for both additions and cuts to the list. I will then cover the cards that I did not include but are relevant enough to at least warrant discussion.
White
In Out
Celestial Crusader was never quite what I wanted it to be and it always went really late in drafts. The problem with this guy is that he tries to do too much and ends up falling short of his own aspirations. Looking at him he is a creature with flash/split second and evasion that also anthems. It sounds insane. However, in practice he is a Glorious Anthem with flash and that is it...for four mana. He can't ambush anything himself since you never want to block with him or attack into opposing blockers. Only being able to pump white creatures isn't that bad with white's token theme but being as vulnerable as he is kind of takes away the excitement.
Sublime Archangel is a relevant evasive threat that makes all of your other guys incredibly hard to deal with. The nice thing about Angel is that she is a threat on her own but is insane with backup. Exalted is a very aggressive mechanic and is only made better with tokens since it makes every one a threat each combat step.
In Out
I was always super disappointed with Akroma. Not because she didn't win games, but because she was always either countered or stolen and used to kill whoever had her in their deck. Without a dedicated reanimator strategy, which my cube does not utilize to its fullest, you either have to ramp to her or wait until you have 8 mana. Neither option is exciting since there are cheaper finishers nowadays in cube in every color that will probably end the game just as fast. Lastly, she just doesn't do anything interesting or have any unique interactions, she just beats.
Angel of Serenity on the other hand, does a whole lot of insane things. In addition to being a huge flier for one mana cheaper, she is able to act as removal, recursion or a combination of the two depending on your needs at the time. Also, by returning the creatures to their owner's hands upon her death she doesn't cause the same negative tempo swing that other similar cards do. She is a very good finisher that is actually exciting to first pick.
In Out
Soul Tithe is an interesting card that I think could be better than it appears at first glance. Basically this should read "Destroy target nonland permanent". Most of the time in cube any sort of upkeep mana investment is a recipe for disaster since there is so much good stuff to play. Worst case scenario they just pay for the upkeep cost and kill you with whatever is now enchanted. Best case scenario they pay for the upkeep cost of a card they shouldn't be paying for and they set themselves back a turn or two. I think this scales pretty well over the course of a game as long as you play it correctly. Not sure if it's going to work out but i'd rather give it a try than keep last picking the purge.
Didn't Make the Cut
Martial Law just doesn't do enough for four mana to justify its inclusion. Detaining a creature every turn is nice but not all that relevant when it comes to activated abilities since they can use them with the detain trigger on the stack. Really it's just for combat. There really isn't anything I want to cut for it since it doesn't actively support any strategy except I guess control. Even in control I would rather just have a wrath or a removal spell.
Two drops that cost WW have to be abnormally good in order to qualify for cube anymore. This is really a comparison between Precinct Captain and the Soltari creatures. Both provide two power for two mana at an inconvenient cost. The soltari creatures dodge removal with their protection while being unblockable due to shadow. The captain blocking better is pretty irrelevant for white weenie and first strike is worse than shadow. Putting a mostly irrelevant 1/1 soldier in play is not really the exciting upside needed...no matter how many anthems you have out.
Blue
In Out
I am excited about Cyclonic Rift as it provides a lot of utility depending on what your deck wants to do. Blue tempo strategies will love the boomerang ability for 1U since it clears blockers and slows down the opponent. The overload here is where the card really shines as it acts as a one sided evacuation with the bonus of hitting other non-land permanents. Not hitting lands is pretty huge when compared to upheaval but I like the one-sided nature of it better since it will end games instead of making them go on forever (see below). Also, it's splashable which is pretty sweet and gives aggressive strategies more incentive to play blue.
Upheaval is widely considered one of, if not the, best blue card in cube. I never had it in my original list because I felt that the mana required to make best use of Upheaval (paying 6 and then floating more to replay things) was only possible with heavy mana artifacts like Basalt Monolith and lands like Ancient Tomb. I don't have any artifacts or lands in my cube that make more than one mana (Signets). Because of this I feel that the most likely scenario is that games involving Upheaval just last forever as it basically acts as an even reset of the board. Without really being able to make it unfair it just isn't worth including. The cut was between Upheaval and Capsize since both are really mana intensive spells similar in vein to Cyclonic Rift. The difference is that you can cast Capsize as a boomerang if need be which really supports the Blue tempo strategy I support. Control doesn't need help, it's going to be good regardless.
In Out
Black
In Out
In Out
.jpg)
Red
In Out
As sweet as Desertion can be, having to hold up five mana for a counterspell that really only counters artifacts/creatures is devastating. You basically aren't going to be playing anything on your turn if you hope to cast this and it's really easy to play around once you know they have it. Also it's really depressing when they don't cast anything you actually want to steal and just beat you with smaller, unexciting guys.
Opposition is interesting. Clearly first pickable and able to be drafted around, especially with tokens being a thing now in white. Unfortunately I previously hadn't had a lot of tokens in cube which is why it sat on the sidelines for so long. I really want to give it a fair shake and see what can be done with it. Token decks have shown up enough times now that giving them support in other colors seems prudent, especially since this is so powerful in the right deck and still very manageable in a normal deck.
Didn't Make the Cut
A casualty of limiting the number of planeswalkers in each color, Jace, Architect of Thought is surely good enough for cube. However, he's not better than Jace, the Mind Scultptor and I really like Tamiyo, the Moon Sage as she has been very impressive in a number of cube decks to this point. Her ability to shut down any single threat after it has hit the board, including a land, is huge and I don't want to take that away from Blue just yet. I also don't want to cut Jace Beleren since he is such a cheap source of repeatable card advantage. Architect's ultimate aside, his first ability is good but doesn't do anything interesting. His second ability is crazy good for value but he is most likely going to use that once and then die or just act as a damage sink. I think it is close between the Architect and Beleren but costing one less I really think pushes Beleren over the top. Turn four is when the control decks are able to start applying pressure and Architect would need to be cast after the pressure has already been applied. I have a feeling I will come back to this gentleman at a later date and look at him again...maybe in the Gatecrash update...still not sure this is right.
Black
In Out
Doomed Necromancer was okay but black can do reanimation faster and more efficiently than this, especially considering that it doesn't go into an aggressive or control deck really well since you are just playing it and praying it lives so you can sacrifice it. I would just rather play a spell that does the same thing immediately.
Knight of Infamy is a pretty good take on Black Knight which got cut for being a protection whore and being double black. It was really a combination of the two so while this one has protection it is easier to cast and trades with more creatures that Black Knight couldn't swing into. Either way it's a huge upgrade over the Necromancer and something black needed badly. Black is so mana intensive that any card like this is greatly appreciated anywhere on the curve.
Desecration Demon has one of the more unique and devastating drawbacks in recent memory. It is either a hyper efficient, evasive beater or it acts as a repeatable cruel edict. I am honestly fine with either. While there are cases when this is going to hit the table and they are going to sacrifice a guy and then kill you, a larger percentage of the time it will be insane. They can sac a guy to stop you from blocking the turn you play it but then they have to sac another to render it helpless each turn thereafter. You are playing black and probably have access to removal which should further the pressure on them.
Plague Sliver is a good card. It's an efficient creature for its cost at the small drawback of losing a life each turn. That said, it doesn't do anything particularly interesting and more often than not it tables again and again. There are more exciting and interesting creatures in cube and I am excited to have this one on the way out. Also worth mentioning, black has a number of cards that uses its life as a resource and while this is fine, too many can be debilitating.
In Out
Pack Rat is absolutely bonkers in limited. While it won't be quite that absurd in cube, it will still be a very good option. Being able to go all in on one card like this is a little risky but, short of a wrath, this card can do some serious work. Note that each token made also has the ability to make more tokens. That means that spot removal isn't going to be that good against Pack Rat. Acting as a discard outlet for reanimator isn't irrelevant in black, especially one that is pretty cheap and has an upside to it. One thing of note. In Return to Ravnica limited you can go all in on Pack Rat and probably just win the game since there are so few answers. There are a lot more answers in cube to this so your decision making about what to discard, when to discard and how much to discard are going to be crucial. You don't want to shoot yourself in your foot and waste resources.
Phyrexian Ghoul was a pretty decent option for aggressive decks since it was difficult to block with any real number of other creatures to back it up. It's just a little too slow to really be that impressive in cube though. It's nice to have a sacrifice outlet for some things but in general it just isnt' that exciting.
In Out
.jpg)
Ultimate Price is probably worse than both Go For the Throat and Doom Blade since it hits less targets than either. However, it is certainly better than Death Rattle.
Death Rattle is really expensive unless you delve and for black, removing cards from your graveyard is a detriment. You aren't accelerating something out by casting Death Rattle so having a cheaper option just seems a lot better.
Didn't Make the Cut
Underworld Connections is obviously most closely compared to Phyrexian Arena. Both allow you to draw cards at the expense of life once per turn barring other shenanigans. That part is important because you probably don't have any. The main difference between the two is that while the Arena trigger is mandatory and can potentially kill you, the Underworld only triggers when you want it to. That said, the only time you wouldn't want Arena to trigger is if it will literally kill you then and there which means you will want to activate this every turn. Setting yourself back one mana every turn is a significant drawback, one that doesn't make up for the fact that you don't have to use the ability if you don't want to. If you haven't won with the card advantage from Arena before it kills you either you are doing something wrong or you weren't going to win anyway. This is not to say I have to take out Arena to fit this in, it's just the best comparison and I don't feel that a reduced Arena is worthwhile.
Red
In Out
Rorix Bladewing is about as unexciting as they come as well as being very mana intensive.
Thundermaw Hellkite is both more interesting less mana intensive and has the upside of clearing the skies of blockers in time for its arrival. Not only does that allow it to go unblocked but potentially allows your other attackers to as well. All in all it's just a better finisher than poor old Rorix.
In Out
Some of the red two drops in cube are kind of quirky at the moment. They really want to be hyper aggressive since that fits the strategy that red employs. Mogg War Marshal is aggressive...kind of...in that it makes a couple of 1/1 goblins that might be able to deal a damage or two when you don't pay echo. It's actually a much better blocker than anything else.
Ash Zealot is exactly what aggressive decks want most, a pseudo-evasive creature that gets into the red zone on turn two. While the graveyard ability will most likely not come in handy, it's not really important since that's not what the card is being played for here.
In Out
Gore-House Chainwalker is another hyper aggressive creature that if you aren't unleashing, you are doing it wrong. It may not be the most exciting card but it gets in the red zone and threatens to trade with anything your opponent has played so far unless they want to take damage. Also, you are playing red, can't you just burn their blockers out of the way?
Ember Hauler is another two drop that doesn't really attack so well on its own. Rather it idly sits by and waits for something, or someone, to hit for 2 when it dies...as long as you have mana available. It's not bad, but the Chainwalker is a much better fit for what red wants to do.
In Out
Guttersnipe is a pretty saucy card. While it might not be much on its own, in a deck with a lot of instants and sorceries, the damage adds up very quickly. You really only need to trigger it once or twice to make it worthwhile, especially since you can burn their creatures, still deal damage to their face and then attack with it. While it can only deal damage to opponents, that is okay in a dedicated burn deck where you want to deplete their life total as fast as possible. If they want to use a removal spell on it then so be it, it doesn't take much to get your mana's worth.
Taurean Mauler was a card that I was always happy to see played against me. Not because it was bad, but because it was so easy to deal with and play around. By the time the Mauler is big enough to get out of hand it has either traded in combat or i drew a removal spell after taking a little bit of damage and then chumping for a turn or two. I mostly ignored it to be honest. It's really not that aggressive and doesn't further the plan of any red deck that would be playing it, at least not in my cube.
Green
In Out
Everything i said earlier about Plague Sliver applies to Deadbridge Goliath. Sure its' huge and that is part of green's deal but that's all it is and does. The scavenge ability however is a nice bonus that boosts this just above the shroud ability of Blastoderm, especially since sometimes you just can't get in with a Blastoderm if you draw it late. Scavenge is a nice, synergistic ability that golgari decks will adore since it supplies more resources and utilizes the graveyard. I think the amount of time the shroud is critical roughly equals the amount of time that the fading is relevant and the scavenge is relevant combined.
Green
In Out
Deranged Hermit allows green to dip into the token and blink environment a little farther than it currently is. The Hermit is an army in a can that is also good with Genesis, Recurring Nightmare or any sort of reanimation. Basically it has a lot of synergy and can do interesting things.
Silvos...well it's a big beater that costs about a million and a half green mane to operate. It doesn't do anything interesting and there are better finishers that do more than just attack and deal damage.
In Out
Didn't Make the Cut
Worldspine Wurm, despite having a totally rad name, just isn't right for my cube. I don't support eldrazi ramp strategies and at 11 mana that is essentially what this is. The only way for my cube to get it into play beyond actually spending 11 mana is with Natural Order, Tooth and Nail or reanimation. Since it is nearly impossible to cast without these methods it just isn't worth including over any of the other green finishers.
Azorius
In Out
As much as I love me a Gwafa...Detention Sphere is just what the doctor ordered. Azorius desperately wants another Oblivion Ring effects and being able to target tokens is not irrelevant...although in cube it mostly is otherwise. One of the problems with Oblivion Ring is that it is so splashable and any deck playing white will absolutely draft and play it. Detention Sphere is likely to be taken much more lightly which is a huge boon to the Azorius drafter who wants as many ways to deal with non-creature permanents as possible without adding card slots.
Gwafa, gwafa, gwafa....hazid comma profiteer. You are a good dude, but I feel that your true talent is in solo-mid'ing and that fond memory is why you stuck around so long. Having your opponents draw cards in cube is a huge liability, especially since every deck should have a way to kill it and it doesn't attack or block at all. Pretty clear upgrade here.
In Out
Plumeveil was always a pet card of mine ever since Shadowmoor. It was the first card that I looked at and perfectly identified as being insane. While it is still very good, being able to ambush and kill many attacking creatures and hold the fort thereafter, control decks don't really need more do nothing blockers as much as they need broad answers.
Supreme Verdict is saucy. Another four mana wrath is great for the Azorius control decks and being able to avoid being countered is pretty handy since there are always more than one blue drafter at a table with counter magic, most of it inexpensive. It's not interesting but it serves a purpose and is one of the better wrath variants in cube. If I feel there are becoming too many wrath options in cube I will look into it but right now I don't feel that is the case.
Didn't Make the Cut
Azorius charm was a pretty easy exclusion. I really like the first and last options, but they work in two different decks. An azorius tempo deck loves the lifelink and the control deck loves setting the aggro player behind a turn while saving some life but neither actually desires the other. The middle ability is usable for anyone, but cycling your charm is almost always because you aren't getting what you want out of it and while it's nice to have the fallback I would rather have had another, more powerful option in cube.
Lyev Skyknight was very close to being included and I am still not sure if I made the correct decision by leaving it out. I like the idea of giving support to the tempo deck as well as throwing the information in the drafter's face that it is a possibility but the only reasonable cut for it would have been Wall of Denial. I really like Wall of Denial since it blocks literally everything and is almost impossible to get rid of. Pushing through damage is really important for the azorius tempo deck since the white creatures probably don't have flying but I am not sure if taking out Wall of Denial (especially having already removed Plumeveil) is the best idea. I just don't think it's heads and shoulders above the wall like Supreme Verdict was above Plumeveil.
Golgari
In Out
Dreg Mangler works both angles of Golgari that I think need working. A midrange strategy with the scavenge and the aggro strategy with the actual hastey body. This guy is just pure value.
Nath is a good guy to have around but he is a little expensive for what he does. The 1/1 token is pretty irrelevant and while the discard ability is awesome against some decks it is downright useless against others. Even when it's making people discard it's just a 4/4 for five which...honestly isn't all that exciting. I like supporting the aggressive strategy a little better than this clod hopper.
In Out
Abrupt Decay is a pretty big deal and it deals with any number of problems as long as you don't mind the problem costing less than 4. Now, while this may not kill finishers it does kill most relevant artifacts and more than half of the cards in each color pair. It is also extremely versatile You will always have a target for it no matter what your opponent is playing and because it can't be countered you will always hit its mark.
I feel a little sad about cutting Necrogenesis only because it is a way to disrupt graveyard strategies. Unfortunately, graveyard strategies have not been a prominent strategy in this cube, something that I have been working to change. Since I am making graveyards relevant it made sense to cut the Necrogenesis. It should be stated that it did a fine job of creating stalled game states but it never turned offensive and resulted in seriously grindy games.
In Out
Glissa, the Traitor was an absolute nightmare in combat but her ability is almost entirely useless. Combine that with a casting cost that makes her not only difficult to play but difficult to draft, she is one of the easier cuts...despite my love for her card in general.
I am pretty sure that Deathrite Shaman is secretly awesome...although at this point the secret is out in constructed. In cube, he won't be making mana too often but he only needs to do so once to make himself worth while. What I like about him is that he scales so awesomely as the game goes on. You can either save yourself if you are in danger of dying or you can whittle away at your opponent while removing their resources at the same time. It won't win a game all by itself but it does so much for one mana that it seems insane to leave it on the sidelines. That said, this begs to be in a deck that is actually both black and green to make use of its abilities to the fullest.
Creakwood Liege was pretty good if you let him get out of control but as soon as you kill him (which was super easy to do) his worm tokens go back to pathetic 1/1 creatures again...and with something with such a specific mana cost that just isn't going to cut it, especially since the thing basically never participates in combat itself.
Lotleth Troll is an interesting one. You are getting a whole lot for the mana cost...as long as you don't mind paying the cost. Discarding creatures is a serious thing but in golgari this can be a positive by setting up your reanimation and recursion. You only really need to discard one or two creatures to make this guy annoying because of the regeneration. Having trample means it's tough to even block profitably. I don't think he is going to light the world on fire but he is an important cog in improving the golgari identity and strategy.
Didn't Make the Cut
It took a lot of thought to exclude Vraska the Unseen from the cube. Her middle ability is just so damned powerful. When it comes down to it though, she doesn't really do anything that Golgari can't already do. Her ultimate will, god willing, never actually be played. Her +1 ability is pretty irrelevant since they just will not attack her if you use it and since it doesn't do anything if they attack you it just...well...it's kind of like not using her at all. So really all you are doing is strategically trying to use as many -3 uses as possible. For five mana you need at least two to be worthwhile and the hoops you need to jump through in order to do that just isn't worth it with as strong as the gold cards in this guild are. Sorry Vraska...I will have to look at your awesome art somewhere else...Alas.
Izzet
In Out
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius is much better than Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind in a cube setting since you can't go infinite with the Firemind. Being able to draw multiple cards on a single turn, dealing that much damage and then attack is so much better than having to tap to draw a card. Firemind was incremental card advantage and the threat of an inevitable death....Dracogenius kills people. Dead.
In Out
Nin, the Pain Artist was a placeholder in the Izzet section ever since her inclusion when I expanded it to 8 cards per guild. I honestly don't think she ever got played with in a draft because I don't think she ever got put into a draft pod...forgettable much?
Izzet Charm is super unforgettable and exciting! Every mode is relevant to any Izzet deck and they are all good at different times of the game depending on when you draw your charm. It is so versatile that it is able to restock your hand, kill a creature or player and act as counter magic early game. One of the best Izzet cards without question.
In Out
I really like Call the Skybreaker. I won a draft where I drafted a five color do nothing deck where it was the only win condition! Now that I got that out of my system...it costs seven to make a big flier each turn at the cost of actually having a land in hand that you don't want to play. We can do better.
Mercurial Chemister is better! While its body might be super unexciting, if you let it use it's ability it gets out of hand really quickly. Drawing two cards is so ridiculous that I am willing to see if this makes an impact. I originally thought his second ability was able to hit players which would have been a whole different story. Only hitting creatures is significant and I feel that drawing cards will be mostly what this guy does. This was a transient spot for the Izzet guild in the cube anyway as it just doesn't have as many good gold cards to pick from. I imagine this will change if there is a good option from Dragon's Maze to replace it with. For now, I can see what it can do.
Didn't Make the Cut
Hypersonic Dragon is cool, it's a big hasty flier with a super irrelevant ability for the most part. Unfortunately its not really a card that Izzet wants or would fight over since both colors have better finishers that potentially do more than just attack. For comparisons sake, this might as well be a Volcanic Dragon for all it does. Just falls a little shy on the excitement and interesting factor.
Rakdos
In Out
Dreadbore makes it in solely on the back of being able to destroy planeswalkers, something that Rakdos desperately needed assistance with. There really isn't a way for either color to deal with a planeswalker outside of attacking with creatures or burning them. Either way you are losing out on card advantage and potential damage, something that Rakdos desperately needs since its plan is usually to overwhelm the opponent as quickly as possible.
Bituminous Blast was an all-star in the Rakdos control deck but even then is really pretty slow. Potentially destroying a creature for 5 mana wasn't very exciting, you were usually all in on the cascade being relevant and if that missed you felt pretty terrible overall. If it could hit players it would be different, but the cascade isn't enough to warrant inclusion when it is otherwise an extremely expensive form of creature removal. Rakdos has enough of that.
In Out
This is a pretty easy home run. Rakdos Cackler is another two powered one drop that not only goes in a Rakdos deck but also is able to go into a mono red aggro deck or a deck playing either black or red but not both. Just what the doctor ordered for both cases.
Igneous Pouncer is a fine guy but was really just treading water until something better came along and ate it up. Pouncer..meet Cackler.
In Out
Rakdos Shred-Freak is another in the long line of installments in improving the aggressive two drop for the guild and red in general. Mono black decks probably won't run this guy but every other incarnation of Rakdos will eat it up.
Spiteful Visions was a decent finisher if you couldn't get your paws on a Sulfuric Vortex, but it can't stand up to what the guild really needed and that was a real injection of speed and power. The biggest problem with Rakdos decks is that they weren't fast enough when you added black. They always became more mid-rangey...Shred-Freak helps with that a little bit while helping red aggro in the process.
In Out
The problem with Loam Lion is that I rarely have both a source of white mana and a forest in play on turn two when I want to be attacking with Loam Lion. The drawback is pretty critical as a vanilla 1/1 is completely unplayable. In a smaller cube that has access to shock lands, original dual lands and all of the fetch lands you have a much higher chance to get the lands you need in time and therefore Loam Lion is insane. In a larger cube, you don't have the same reliable access because you don't know which cards are in your pool at a given time.
Dryad Militant on the other hand will always be a 2/1 as long as you have access to either green OR white. Quite a downgrade from a 2/3 but being able to cast it in a white or green deck makes up for that quite a bit. The ability on the Militant won't be relevant too much but the times that it is relevant are pretty serious. Taking away a flashback spell is just a nice enough bonus to count for something.
In Out
This is a pretty strict upgrade in terms of raw power. Dauntless Escort is pretty efficient but its ability is a little frustrating. I always want to trade with something in combat AND use its ability. This would only work if damage still went on the stack. Since it doesn't, and the indestructible trick is in plain sight, the best it can do is protect your team from your own wrath...something you probably aren't playing anyway in your aggressive Selesnya deck. All in all it's just a little awkward.
Loxodon Smiter is hyper efficient in addition to being uncounterable. The discard ability is actually pretty relevant when playing against a black deck as they have access to a lot of discard spells. Not having a sacrifice ability means it will be able to tangle in combat all it wants...and that's what we all want!
In Out
Oversoul of Dusk is insanely powerful against anything Grixis...assuming you can actually cast the damned thing. The problem with this is that if you ARE playing against a Grixis deck (or some combination therein) your opponent feels utterly helpless as you simply walk through their entire deck due to its protection. It is for this reason that I have been cutting back on protection a little bit in the cube and I think this is a step in the right direction.
Armada Wurm is a very relevant threat as it makes two 5/5 trampling creatures for a slightly easier casting cost..or harder...hybrid mana is weird. Okay, so you have to be playing Selesnya in order for this guy to work but I think that's okay. This is a good reason to play those colors and hopefully it can send some people that way. I like that it works proactively with the blink mechanic that is a subtheme.
Didn't Make the Cut
Sundering Growth just doesn't do enough. Destroying an artifact or enchantment is nice but it is in the two colors that already do that efficiently. Unfortunately, populating in cube is probably going to just make either a Spirit, Soldier or Bird token...either way it's a 1/1 that doesn't have much effect on the game state.
Selesnya Charm is in the same vein as Azorius Charm. Nobody is going to be excited about the giant growth effect or putting a 2/2 in play. While both of these are actually better than people will give them credit for they aren't going to make anyone clamor to play it. The only real exciting effect is the middle ability which, granted, is awesome in cube. This is a card that is amazing in its own limited format but just doesn't translate all that well to the environment of cube where you need to do a whole lot to justify a spot in a deck.
In Out
Chromatic Lantern is so good that the only question is what gets taken out for it. In addition to being the best mana fixer in cube it actually ramps you. This is easily first pick quality and begs to be drafted around. Five color control is not overdrafted in my cube at all and I think this will help it to be an actual archetype right next to Armillary Sphere.
Mind Stone was really the victim of "well there wasn't a better option". It accelerates, fits into any deck and can cycle itself late if need be but it doesn't really do anything exciting and I had no particular attachment to it. No deck needs a Mind Stone to function and no deck will really notice its absence. It was a good role player while it lasted though, so thank you Mind Stone!
Conclusion
Holy carp that took forever! Luckily it's over and I feel my cube is a lot better because of it. I can't wait for Gatecrash to improve the rest of my gold section and then for Dragon's Maze to have me pulling out my hair fine tuning them. Let me know what you think. Did I make an erroneous addition or subtraction? Did I totally ignore a card that should have been addressed? Let me know! I will address any card you feel is appropriate and gauge it's worth for inclusion.
Enjoy!
