Hello friends! It has been quite some time since I updated my 360 Unpowered cube.

First, some new bannings:

• Companions (ie Lutri, the Spellchaser) - these were erata'd, so I have decided to ban all of them
• Cards with the "Initiative" keyword (ie White Plume Adventurer) - to cut down on game-state and logistic complexity
• Universes Beyond cards (ie Royal Gaurd) - not a fan of external characters showing up on magic cards

Since this cube is no longer in paper, I'll only be updating the list semi-regularly. Making a few swaps for proven cards:

• Journey to Nowhere > Fateful Absence: Improved creature removal at instant speed.
• Supreme Will > Memory Deluge: Improved (and repeatable) card selection at the cost of a subpar counterspell.
• Nissa, Voice of Zendikar > Cemetery Prowler: Testing this change.

For those of you paying attention at home, this is a huge scale in power level for my cube. Since I've sold off this cube in paper, I decided to lower the power level when playing online. I hope this gives me a better opportunity to more readily test, add, and cut cards. I won't go into each of these changes in detail, but many of these cuts should be apparent for their power.

For those of you paying attention at home, this is a huge scale in power level for my cube. Since I've sold off this cube in paper, I decided to lower the power level when playing online. I hope this gives me a better opportunity to more readily test, add, and cut cards. I won't go into each of these changes in detail, but many of these cuts should be apparent for their power.

• Mizzium Tank > Kargan Intimidator: Kargan Intimidator offers red aggro perhaps its best two-drop ever printed. I anticipate it to be a staple for a long time to come. It replaces Mizzium Tank, which I am still a fan of - at lower power levels.

• Braids, Cabal Minion > Knight of the Ebon Legion: Long live stax. Braids has gotten to slow and grindy for my environment, and a 4 mana 2/2 with a delayed effect is not holding up. Knight has impressed me in other environments as a scalable aggro beater.
• Liliana's Triumph > Eliminate: Edicts are a tough sell in this day and age, and Triumph's upside wasn't enough to justify its inclusion. It is replaced by a slam-dunk removal spell from M21.
• Night's Whisper > Heartless Act: While it may make a return eventually, Whisper was cut for a premier removal spell.
• Abbot of Keral Keep > Heartfire Immolator: As one of red's least played two-drops, Abbot promises a lot but infrequently delivers. Heartfire Immolator will occupy a test slot.

• Vivien Reid > Nissa, Who Shakes the World: I've long been a fan of the versatility of Vivien Reid. However, from playing others' cubes online, I've been proven wrong about the pure power of Nissa. Both her ramp and her damage output continues to impress.

• Retrofitter Foundry > Eidolon of Obstruction: Retrofitter Foundry is certainly a card my group enjoys, but we found it to be too slow for the quickening format. Eidolon of Obstruction is good in both Aggro and Midrange, and will be tested over the next few drafts.
• Porcelain Legionnaire recategorized to colorless.

• Nimble Obstructionist > Brazen Borrower: A shoe-in swap. I've been high on Obstructionist for a while, but Brazen Borrower offers much more flexibility and is a 2-for-1 rather than making you choose.
• Remorseful Cleric > Charming Prince: Remorseful Cleric wasn't in for very long, but it was a solid role-player. Charming Prince is good in a multitude of decks - all three modes can be good in midrange, control benefits from the gain life and the scry, and aggro now has a 2-power creature that can fix future draws. Bonus points for being incidental flicker support.
• Phyrexian Arena > Murderous Rider: Arena has been seeing less and less play as a relic from its time. Rider is the second Hero's Downfall I needed - instant speed, low drawback, and a guaranteed creature on the back half. Rider as a creature is an unassuming 2/3 but can quickly flip a board.
• Vivien's Arkbow > Once Upon a Time: Arkbow had consistently underpreformed after replacing Birthing Pod. Once Upon a Time is an exciting new card that I am slotting into a test slot to see if it pans out.

• Noxious Gearhulk > Rankle, Master of Pranks: Rankle ushers in a new era of stax. Evasion + haste ensures that Rankle produces value, and the symmetry is easy to break. Gearhulk was a little to inefficient in cube and the Tinker/artifact synergies never came to fruition.
• Alesha, Who Smiles at Death > Bonecrusher Giant: Bonecrusher Giant offers a 2-for-1, a premium in red aggro. Getting a shock with a back half as a creature with relevant text is exactly what red decks want to be doing. Alesha has been too mana-intensive, and while when it pays off, it is excellent, the payoffs are few and far between.
• Oracle of Mul Daya > Questing Beast: The end of an era! Oracle is a fantastic card that has seen a lot of great cube games. It enables ramp at the 4CMC slot, and improves your draws. However, creatures are getting much more efficient - as Questing Beast proves.
• Wickerbough Elder > Nightpack Ambusher: Ambusher adds flexibility and occasionally additional value to green. What was once a weak slot has gotten much better in 2019. Elder has been outclassed by cheaper green 3CMC ETB enchantment/artifact removal, and doesn't require additional investment.
• Mimic Vat > Fabled Passage: Another incredibly good fetch land, Fabled Passage demands the cut of a colorless card since lands are already so stacked. Mimic Vat is a fun card to play with but is often too slow at 360.
• Nissa, Steward of Elements > Oko, Thief of Crowns: The only real test from ELD, I made a direct swap of walkers. Oko threatens 6 loyalty the turn it comes into play (which can be on turn 2 off any elf!), which is insane. Nissa will likely make its way back in, but I don't think Simic wants two walkers simultaneously.

• Land Tax > Soldier of the Pantheon: SotP didn't stay out of cube for long, but I felt Land Tax was too narrow to support in a 360 cube. While Land Tax's power is universally good, the card does not appeal to me or my drafters.
• Fiend Hunter > Gideon Blackblade: Fiend Hunter has seen numerous reiterations. It has since been outclassed, but is also a narrow effect that is easy to blow out in cube. With the recent addition of Banishing Light (and the removal of functional reprint restrictions), Hunter became outdated. Gideon has proven to be one of the better white 3-drop "creatures."
• Thalia's Lancers > Hanged Executioner: No one wanted Lancers. Hanged Executioner moves into its test slot.
• Angel of Serenity > Remorseful Cleric: No one wanted an overcosted effect, and white didn't need another fattie. 2 mana 2/1 fliers with utility slot into a number of decks, so Cleric has moved into a test slot.
• Chandra's Phoenix > Hazoret the Fervent: Chandra's Pheonix is good, but not good enough for 360. Red fours needed more pure aggro options, so Hazoret seemed like a natural fit.
• Manic Vandal > Pia Nalaar: Manic Vandal performs much better in powered lists than unpowered. Pia offers a good rate, two bodies, utility, and incidental artifact synergies.

• Soldier of the Pantheon > Skymarcher Aspirant: SotP was excellent when my multicolor count was much higher, but Aspirant has been preforming highly in other player's cubes, so I decided to make the swap.