Changes - Blue

Though I agree with most of the additions, I find a major fault in the new blue. Blue is now only 44% creatures, which is far too low. I think Blue needs to get back up to 50% creatures, meaning that 5 spells need to turn into creatures. I also noted that blue has exactly three creatures that one would realistically play for less than 3 mana (Willbender never gets played face up).
Spells to come out, IMO:
Remand
Tolarian Winds (it's card disadvantage, blue has better ways to discard unused land)
Perilous Research
two of: Deep Analysis, Careful Consideration, Sift, Foresee (too much redundancy)

Creatures to consider, with my preferences in BOLD:
Aquamaeba (not stellar, but only costs 2 and is a discard outlet for recursion decks)
Sejiri Merfolk
Aven Fisher
Aven Fogbringer
Phantom Monster
Belltower Sphinx
Briarberry Cohort
Cheatyface (I snuck it onto this list without you noticing, now it's in the cube)
Cloud Spirit
Crookclaw Transmuter
Djinn of Wishes
Errant Ephemeron
Fathom Seer
Infiltrator il-Kor
Linessa, Zephyr Mage
Magus of the Future
Parasitic Strix
Phantom Monster
Phantom Warrior
Plaxmanta
Possessed Aven
Riptide Survivor
Soratami Rainshaper
Tradewind Rider
Voyager Drake
Wall of Frost
Welkin Tern

Thoughts

Alright, so after taking the cards that Max liked down to GoB, I now have a list of the new cards. I am going to expand the Current List to reflect this. Adding these new cards is going to drastically change how the cube plays, so more changes are likely to happen.

Let me know what you think of these new additions. For the main part, the idea was to give many of the colors a faster curve. We also made sure to add more removal because we are going to be diluting the removal that is already in. I think these changes are solid, and I will keep posting what I think of the new cards.

Also, things are getting real!

Thoughts

Alright, so Max gave me a bunch of cards to consider and I found some that I like as well. I will bring all these with me on Friday. Hopefully we should be able to have all new card ideas together soon I can start getting all the cards!

Response

This post is going to address the discussion from the comments from the previous Thoughts section.

Alright, so after talking to Max we agreed on this distribution for the expanded cube:

25 for each color - 125

20 for lands - 20

3 per multi color combination - 30

15 for artifacts - 15

Total = 190

If we can't find a good breakdown using these numbers than we will try using the ones that Max suggested. I will bring the current list and these numbers with me on Friday so we can try to fill this up.

To make filling all these slots possible, Max and I agreed that we are going to changed one of the basic rules: OFF COLOR ACTIVATIONS CAN GO IN. Take this into consideration when coming up with cards to add. I will bring this up on Friday when we are going over cards.

I will post the new cards when we have them.

Changes - Blue

So everyone I have been drafting with seams to think Thieving Magpie is terrible, so lets try something else:

Voidmage Prodigy in - Thieving Magpie out

Neither of these are that exciting, but the Prodigy had so far had a much higher approval rate.

Thoughts

It sounds like everyone thinks adding more cards is a good idea, and I fully agree. Freddy is a genius, making the total 720 should be perfect. Not having to shuffle after an 8 man would be a huge help. I should have the numbers for the new slots and the new cards to add hopefully by Friday. In the mean time, people should start thinking about cards that you would like in!

Response

I guess in regards to Thea's comment, and to avoid her vengeance again, we will try something different.

First I want it to be known that I don't necessarily agree with all the changes I have posted. Some of these have come from the people I have been drafting with.

The other option, that both Max and I like, is the following:

To make the cards that people have problems with, and to add the cards that they want, and to make our cube support being drafted by more people, we are considering adding more cards to the following slots: each color, mulit color, artifacts, and lands. I think this might be the best way to keep everyone happy. ( I dont like Thea thinking that I have gone insane) Also keep in mind that this will only happen if cube worthy cards can be found for each section. (Should not be that hard with what we have seen from Worldwake.)

Any major change will only take place post Worldwake prerelease.

Green

Look at Rosewater's preview today:
Wolfbriar Elemental in for Ravenous Baloth

Thoughs

Alright, so we did another draft tonight and he are the results of our discussion:

People want karoos in - trilands out

People want Power out - similar effects in

People want Thieving Magpie out - I want Worldwake tapper in, trying Voidmage Prodigy for the time being.

People want Darksteel Pendant out - additional accelerator in

I think taking out the shard trilands would be good for the karoos. It will make everyone happy and it continues our attempts at making the cube less prone to three colors unless its a real commitment.

Power is an interesting issue. When it is just a 4 man and you don't reuse the cards from each draft it does not make that big an impact, Power does not come up that often. Tonight we ran an 8 man and a large majority of the Power did show up and it had a huge unfun impact. I think the solution to this is to offer substitutions for Power based on the number of people and personal preference. (Time Walk - Time Warp, Ancestral - Sift, just because its easier to play than concentrate)

Thieving Magpie is on the shot list, and I think replacing it with Voidmage Prodigy for now. Lets see how that dude does.

Darksteel Pendant I still personally like, but drafting the cube is very different with 8 people. I think this will most likely become an accelerator of some sort, alone with the substitutions for the Power artifacts.

I was amazed at how different drafting the cube would be with 8 vs 4. I think these changes will make drafting with more people better. Let me know what everything thinks about these and Ill post when something final is decided.

Response

This post is responding to Jasper's post on the Thoughts post right below this one.

The Swaps

For the most part all those cards were in at one point and were taken out. Blightning is just not super strong as a one of, and the Specter can be a pain in the ass and something that needs to be answered quickly (it owned me in the draft we did on Friday). As for adding the counters, you are right, I dont think more counters are needed. Undermine vs Soul Manipulation, while Soul Manipulation can only hit a creature, the two for one I think is better than the 3 life drain. Withered Wretch was once in and was not that amazing. Oona's Prowler is really good in an aggressive deck and can hit really hard. Armadillo Cloak Suffered from being an enchantment, not to mention that Behemoth Sledge is better in almost every case.

Other Cards

Out of this list of cards, the ones that standout to me are:

Samurai of the Pale Curtain

Knight of the White Orchid

Seedborn Muse

Aura of Silence

Cards to cut

1. Brigid is amazing. While most creatures have more than two toughness, Brigid still makes combat a nightmare. You cant really attack into or block when Brigid is on the other side.

2. I would be open to taking out Return to Dust, but keep in mind that we do need artifact and enchantment removal. Return to Dust does remove things from the game which is relevant as well as being able to hit multiple things. Maybe bring Aura of Silence in over this?

3. Impulse and Telling Time, I am not that thrilled by either of these cards. The draw that would go in over these would need to be low costed, maybe Desperate Research (which I want to try anyway) or Frantic Search. Let me know what you think of these two. I could see adding a more powerful sorcery draw spell (Tidings maybe?), but I don't want to put in that much slow draw effects. Maybe a cheaper one and an expensive one?

4. Rite of Replication can win games out of nowhere and is a really interesting effect. It is a great late game card that if kicked (which happens all the time) is nuts.

5. Attrition is really underrated, another one that can just win games unless answered. Give this one a try, then let me know what you think.

6. Caller of the Claw, I could see this dude going out. He is also not that thrilling but does have a unique effect in green that provides a good out to wrath effects.

7. Darksteel Pendant is solid, it gives colors other than blue the ability to dig. I could see it going out, but I would be sad to see it go.

Pit Fighters

The only one of these dudes that I could maybe see going in is Jereth. He seams more or less unkillable which is a good thing. I just don't think the other do enough; granted if they live they are all great, but for the most part they just die to most removal, which is not a good quality in something triple costed. On that note, we don't want to add that many triple costed cards and white already has Akroma, so I don't know about even Jereth.

Man Lands

I like these, I am a huge fan of man lands to begin with. I do think that these would need to go into their respective colors and not the land section. Give me some ideas for swaps of these and ill let you know what I think. Maybe Tree Top Village goes in for Caller of the Claw? Nothing for the other two off the top of my head.

Artifact Accelerators

The two of these that I like the most are Coalition Relic and Worn Powerstone. If enough people want Black Lotus out then we could put one of these in over that for sure. I have yet to try Mana Vault (I would want to see it played first) which might just not be that good because of the upkeep untap, so I could see that going out for of these also. If someone has a good swap idea for these let me know.

Thoughts

This post is going to list all the cards from Worldwake that I think should go in. I will post the changes for each of them as well. If a change is not all that straight forward, I will just post the card and think about what should go out and post it later. Not all of these will make the cut, but they are all at least worth considering. If some of these cards end up not making it, they will be removed. As always, any input should be given and will be considered, if you think you know a good swap please post!

R

Comet Storm in - Forked Lightning out

Searing Blaze - This should really get in.

Kazuul, Tyrant of The Cliffs - Seams like a huge problem if not taken care of.

Slavering Nulls

G

Bestial Menace - A high ender would come out, not sure if its better then any of them

Wolfbriar Elemental - Power creep!

U

Tideforce Elemental - After thinking about it, Thieving Magpie is what will most likely come out for this.

Jace, The Mind Sculptor in - Jace Beleren out

Sejiri Merfolk

Wind Zendikon

W

Marshal's Anthem - This should get in somehow, it just seams busted.

Loam Lion

B

Corrupted Zendikon

Changes - Blue

So at one point this came out, and things have gone full circle and a worse card has some how taken its place:

Thirst for Knowledge in - Dream Cache out

This is more or less a no brainer.

Changes - Artifacts

So Grim Monolith has been a great addition to the Cube, and it got me thinking about getting this card in:

Mana Vault in - Bonesplitter out

So not only does Mana Vault seam like a better Grim Monolith, but Bonesplitter is both by far the weakest equipment and is almost never played. I am looking forward to giving Mana Vault a try!

Changes - Multi Color

So we were talking and decided that Black does not need more things that kills itself. This change is also moving away from something that this combination does not really want to do.

Wydwen, The Biting Gale in - Moroii out

While Wydwen did get worse with the new rules changes, she is still more versatile than Moroii. For the most part Moroii was also not played all that often. U/B is also not a super aggressive color pair and Moroii is sorta awkward in that sense as well. Black has a ton of cards that do damage to itself, and Moroii was by far was the weakest of them. These two cards are very similar but Wydwen just does more and is more resilient.

Thoughts

So here are some cards that Max and I are on the edge about. Some of them we want to give a try and don't know what to take out. For others, we know what they would replace but aren't sure if they are better. And lastly, some just seam good but we have no idea if they should even be in.

Thirst for Knowledge

Perilous Research

Voidmage Prodigy

Viashino Cutthroat

Viashino Sandstalker

Rain of Salt

Glare of Subdual

I could see any of these cards being in (well maybe not Rain of Salt, but if others think its good I would be down to try it), but we don't really know what should go out to make room. Post people! Let us know your opinion about these cards and your thoughts if you think you have a good swap.

One more thing, we do feel that we have enough counters in the current cube, so if the Voidmage were to come in one of the first things to consider going out would be another counter, but other suggestions are welcome as well.

Something that is more of a discussion is this:

Arc Lightning vs Forked Lightning

Is 3 for 3 divided better than 4 for 4 divided?

Let us know what you think because we are not really sure!

For each of these, Max and I will make changes that we think are correct. If we get any feedback we will also take that into consideration when making our decisions.

Changes - Green

So Max and I were looking over the Green slot and noticed that we only have two things that cost 6, a good solution that we came up with is this:

Rampaging Baloths in - Spectral Force out

The Spectral Force has never been played that much, and often ended up being a sideboard card. The Baloths on the other hand is really cost efficient with a highly relevant ability. I also have a little issue with the Force having that black restriction as well. In addition, I have been wanting to get the Baloths in and this seams like a good replacement.

Changes - Black

This change comes from a reminder by Findlay that better removal spells have been printed:

Eyeblight's Ending in - Dark Banishing out

This is a good replacement and one that should have been made sooner. While Dark Banishing does not allow for regeneration, I think the only creature that actually has regenerate is Troll Ascetic which can't be targeted anyway. That said, we for sure have more black creatures then both creatures with regenerate and creatures that count as elves.