Zendikar Rising Cube Discussion

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Ulka
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Post by Ulka » 3 years ago

So with the Zendikar Rising releasing soon I figured I'd bring up a section for what people are considering as additions as I know some are really interested in the Double faced Land Cards. So What are y'all adding to your cube?

For me: I'm considering adding 2 Double faced lands to each color section so that I'm not just playing all of them but allowing for some possibilities. However I do think Larger cubes 540+ could be playing 3 in each color section without being overly warping.

Considering I have a Peasant cube and Tiny Leaders Cube most of my addtions are Uncommon and ZCommons or are Under 3 CMC.

For Tiny Leaders:

Im really loving Kargan Intimidator, Akoum Hellhound, and Wayward Guide-Beast as Possibilites for increasing Red Aggro. While Wayward may be not worth the effort I do think being able to replay lands like Gemstone Mine.

Magmatic Channeler seems solid for an aggro.

And that is Just for Red.
Modern: Goryo's Gifts | Heartless Architect | Soul Sisters | MonoGreen Devotion
Pauper: Blackened Eggs | Zombies | Domain Zoo | Sultai Teachings | Jund Gardens

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Ulka
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Post by Ulka » 3 years ago

So I decided to finally sit down after my class tonight and start working on what cards Im considering for my peasant cube and Tiny Leaders cube from Zendikar.

Lets start off small with Tiny Leader.
White
Archon of Emeria: I love hatebears in Tiny Leaders Cube so this will Probably slot in over Vryn Wingmare.

Archpriest of Iona: good bye Skymarcher Aspirant. I like this more in the aggro deck than skymarcher given that this can grow much larger and can provide full team flying.

Kabira Takedown // Kabira Plateau: Double Faced Land 1 for the cube. provides more Removal in White which is always solid.

Skyclave Apparition: universal removal in White on a solid bear. Will probably replace Banisher Priest.

Blue
Glasspool Mimic // Glasspool Shore: A cool clone and land combo. Will replace Mist-Syndicate Naga.

Sea Gate Stormcaller: bye bye Glint-Nest Crane. its only becasue you are one of my favorite cards you made it this far but it is time to rest now for this new snapcaster.

Jace, Mirror Mage: Im replacing Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer as she has been under-performing and Jace just feels very unique.

Thieving Skydiver: Will be replacing Cloud of Faeries as I can't find my copy of Cloud anywhere and I love this card in for the lower cmc cube.

Black
Agadeem's Awakening // Agadeem, the Undercrypt: I love this as the black Double Faced land to add. Not sure what to cut for it yet but its solid here.

Nighthawk Scavenger: I will replace Xathrid Necromancer with this as Necromancer has been meh in cube.

Nullpriest of Oblivion: Apprentice Necromancer is a much needed cut and I like this Child of Night with bonus recursion over the apprentice.

Skyclave Shade: this seems more solid over Glint-Sleeve Siphoner as I like the recursion over the draw.

Taborax, Hope's Demise: The first legend to get added for me. It will replace Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose for me as I'm not liking it.

Red
Akoum Hellhound: I love this for Red aggro and will replace Fire Imp to help up my red one drops.

Kargan Intimidator: I love this for top end aggro. I will be replacing Simian Spirit Guide as it feels meh even as fast mana in the cube.

Magmatic Channeler: This will replace Ire Shaman.

Shatterskull Smashing // Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass: this will be the DF land card for Red.

Wayward Guide-Beast: I'm still debating on this one as a possible card but haven't fully decided on it.

Green
Kazandu Mammoth // Kazandu Valley: Here is my lovely DF Land for Green. I love the threat it provides but also enables land triggers as needed. Green however is very hard to make cuts from so i will be needing to lap back on that.


Multicolor
Verazol, the Split Current: So i really dont like Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy but needed a 4th simic commander so I will gladly replace them with Verazol as a fun commander to play with the add colors to a commander custom cards I run.
Modern: Goryo's Gifts | Heartless Architect | Soul Sisters | MonoGreen Devotion
Pauper: Blackened Eggs | Zombies | Domain Zoo | Sultai Teachings | Jund Gardens

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Cythare
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Post by Cythare » 3 years ago

Chiming in! My list is a fairly straightforward 630, and this set is pretty insane. I've added 28 cards and am considering adding a couple more.

White:
Luminarch Aspirant: Card seems great both in and out of aggro. It has a virtual point of haste by putting a counter elsewhere the turn it comes down, and scales really well over time. Cut Leonin Relic-Warder for it, since Relic-Warder was a lower-tier combo piece.
Skyclave Apparition: Being a hybrid between Oblivion Ring and Baffling End on a 2/2 feels like a solid 3-drop. I'm not sure how long this will stick around, but it's got nice flexibility. Cut Thalia, Heretic Cathar, who I love, but was the most eminently cuttable 3-drop in white.
Emeria's Call // Emeria, Shattered Skyclave: I'm adding a lot of MDFCs from this set. This, along with the rest of the mythic cycle, are being classified as lands, since that's what they'll often be, but the flexibility is amazing. Cut Winds of Abandon for this. Winds is a fine removal spell, but I preferred cutting it to Serra the Benevolent, which was the other consideration.

Blue:
Sea Gate Stormcaller: This isn't winning any prizes in the 2-drop department for blue, but I like the idea of how it plays, and it's one a few creatures in this set that's helping increase creature density in blue for me (I've cut lower-performing spells instead of other creatures). Cut for this one is Spell Pierce.
Thieving Skydiver: This will probably not perform as well in an unpowered setting as a powered one, but it still seems like a solid addition that'll stick around for a while. Cut Ghostly Pilferer, which was sadly only in for one set and didn't even get physically drafted thanks to the pandemic.
Glasspool Mimic // Glasspool Shore: This card was sort of an on-the-fence one, but I was convinced to take it for a spin. Only cloning your own creatures is a bit rough, but the flexibility with the land side is still great. I cut Gifts Ungiven to make room for this one.
Jace, Mirror Mage: Seems like a pretty straightforward swap for Jace Beleren for me, sadly enough. This means that only one OG Lorwyn walker is left in the cube (unsurprisingly, it's Garruk Wildspeaker).
Jwari Disruption // Jwari Ruins: I like MDFCs a lot more than the same card with cycling, so I'm trying this even though I only briefly tried Censor. I cut Ancestral Vision for this, which is a good removal spell that's a bit slow without good access to cascade or similar effects.
Sea Gate Restoration // Sea Gate, Reborn: Easily the least compelling of the mythic MDFCs, but still worth a slot to me. I cut Thirst for Knowledge to make room for this.

Black:
Nullpriest of Oblivion: A pretty nuts aggro card that has some late-game flexibility. Putting menace on a Child of Night is pretty big game even if you don't kick it. I axed Nezumi Graverobber // Nighteyes the Desecrator for this. Sorry little rat friend.
Skyclave Shade: Recurrable 2-drops are great for black aggro, and this can even come back bigger! Seems like an easy include, and the showcase art on this one is outstanding. I cut Night Incarnate here to go +1 on aggro 2-drops for the cube.
Nighthawk Scavenger: A virtually strictly better Vampire Nighthawk. Assuming that anything ends up in your opponent's graveyard, you're already at the same level, and it has the opportunity to scale nicely. The cut here is straightforward - I still ran Vampire Nighthawk and don't need both.
Hagra Mauling // Hagra Broodpit: This was the non-mythic MDFC I was most on the fence about, but want to try out. 4 mana feels like a lot for removal, but am still erring on the side of the flexibility being very strong. I cut The Eldest Reborn for it.
Agadeem's Awakening // Agadeem, the Undercrypt: This might be the mythic MDFC I'm most interested in seeing in action. The scaling seems really awesome for a black midrange deck later on. I cut Profane Command for this, which hurt. The swap seemed most comparable, though.

Red:
Kargan Intimidator: A solid if not amazing 2-drop. It's definitely good enough to make it in the cube, though, so it's replacing Abbot of Keral Keep.
Roil Eruption: A very strong Volcanic Hammer variant. The kicker cost is expensive, but I think it's enough to get the nod. I'm axing Magma Jet to make room.
Shatterskull Smashing // Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass: Easily the best MDFC in my opinion, since it's so flexible as a spell in addition to being a land. This replaces Flames of the Firebrand.

Green:
Tangled Florahedron // Tangled Vale: A fairly unassuming MDFC, but the land/mana dork flexibility seems nice and clean. I'm cutting Mayor of Avabruck // Howlpack Alpha, which recently came into the cube but doesn't have a lot of Humans support.
Kazandu Mammoth // Kazandu Valley: This card seems playable even without the land side, but the flexibility pushes it over the top. I was looking for a 3-drop beater to replace Manglehorn, and found it here.
Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary: A very cool Regrowth variant that's playable early as a land when you won't be able to leverage the regrowth effect yet. Kicks Den Protector out of the cube, since 4 of this effect seems like a lot (the other two being Regrowth and Eternal Witness).
Turntimber Symbiosis // Turntimber, Serpentine Wood: Definitely a neat effect for an MDFC, and easily makes the list. Finding a cut for this one was tougher, but ultimately I decided to axe Oath of Nissa. I'm still mulling this one over, though.

Multicolor:
Overall, I'm playing all of the Pathway lands. Despite locking yourself into a color, they always enter untapped, which can be a huge difference. Here are the land cuts by guild.
Clearwater Pathway // Murkwater Pathway: Cutting Temple of Deceit.
Cragcrown Pathway // Timbercrown Pathway: Cutting Cinder Glade.
Branchloft Pathway // Boulderloft Pathway: Cutting Canopy Vista.
Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway: Cutting Concealed Courtyard.
Riverglide Pathway // Lavaglide Pathway: Cutting Spirebluff Canal.
Needleverge Pathway // Pillarverge Pathway: Cutting Inspiring Vantage.

Colorless:
I'm not adding Skyclave Relic yet, but I'm still considering it. Can't find a cut I like enough, although the kicked effect is compelling for artifact-matters things.
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Ulka
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Post by Ulka » 3 years ago

I actually think with the Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary should replace Regrowth itself over the Den Protector IMO


The other cards I'd maybe consider for your cube:

Akoum Hellhound: I honestly think this would be super solid in your cube as I know you always want more aggro beaters.

Skyclave Pick-Axe: I know you support Green aggro so I was curious on this as I really like this for limited settings.

Archon of Emeria: The final card I do think is powerful enough to be considered for your cube.
Modern: Goryo's Gifts | Heartless Architect | Soul Sisters | MonoGreen Devotion
Pauper: Blackened Eggs | Zombies | Domain Zoo | Sultai Teachings | Jund Gardens

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