The only sure card right now is Vivi. Seems like a fun and powerful spell velocity payoff that gives you mana for the potential of some busted turns.
Summons look really cool and can’t help but think about Replenish if more enchantments are binning themselves.
I miss having more mana sinks in the cube and have really enjoyed ones like Stormchaser's Talent.
Adventures are a great mechanic, but I am not interested in the more generic ones like Bonecrusher Giant which are often too strong and don't really push an archetype. Brazen Borrower gets a pass because of the versatility of the Adventure and the evasive body that is great in aggressive Blue decks (which are pretty creature light). Virtue of Persistence is a great one early, but you really have to work to get the front half to be relevant. It's a sweet build around and should play well.
I don't plan on casting Shark Typhoon often, but when I do, it's always so sweet that I miss it. The uncounterable cantripping flyer doesn't hurt obviously.
Haven't found the need for Slogurk in my GY or lands decks, so I am happy cutting a wordy 3 drop with no immediate board impact.
I saw @Inscho running Show and Tell and I am seriously considering it as a third Blue cheat option and one that works with the enchantments I am adding. With the low curve of the cube, it should be to your advantage if you want to cast it. Cuts are tough though!
Also considering Treasure Cruise -> Stock Up. How bad is it to lose such a classic card?
White done right!
I've been struggling with White as a whole. Not that it's bad, I am just not as happy with the color as with the rest of the cube. Two main issues
I've had success with a few approaches, that I ultimately cut, but looking back, that was a mistake. I have to play into White's strengths at this power level and for me, those are
These are at a macro level and you can get more specific (artifact aggro, spells control, etc.). I'll focus mostly on the last one, because it has the most ties to other colors. White has fantastic recursion and while I do make good use of it, I haven't maximized it. Enter a couple of build arounds that I've cut in the past, the first being
Cataclysm gives Balance and Devastating Dreams some much needed redundancy. It goes great with Titania, Protector of Argoth and Greater Gargadon pushing you towards a Naya mana denial strategy. Last time, this is where I stopped but if I really want to make it pop, I then need some more tools.
I've had this in the past too and cut it because it was too slow. However, I've come to realize that my lands deck are either on the slow side and will run wraths and such making the 3 mana do nothing more palatable (I play Felidar Retreat at 4 mana, so...). Or they will run mana dorks, Exploration and Fastbond and all of a sudden, 3 mana isn't bad! There is definitely a risk that this card won't do anything if drawn late, but it can also be a unique source of damage or card advantage for the lands engine.
This is another way of making use of White's recursion and mana denial effects. Armageddon your opponent with Balance? Cast [C]Cataclysm[/C] and use the lands you've sacrificed to cast a threat on an empty board (like mana ramp and Upheaval I guess)
Land tutoring is clearly very powerful and the Wayfarer can be used fairly to hit land drops or fetch some of the more busted cards (Academy, Cradle, Saga) in the cube. It goes fantastic with the above card and the next one too.
I have overlooked Gush's full potential. Yes, it's a free spell for combo turns, but it's also a way to have lands post Cataclysm. It's a way to be down on lands for the Wayfarer, Land Tax and Balance. It can trigger Valakut Exploration later in the game if you are missing land drops. With the right tools present in the cube, it definitely becomes a powerful tool for these lands decks. And that is enough to get me to play it again.
The next build around is
I posted about potential combo set ups before and nothing has really changed. 95% of the required support is still present. The biggest piece I am missing is
Could arguably be in the cube even without the Renewal. Goes off with Gravecrawler and generating mana from creatures is up there in terms of enabling nonsense decks.
There are a few other cards that would make sense that I will try and find room for (Nested Shambler, Mogg War Marshal, Burning-Tree Emissary, Cloud of Faeries), but I want to try the cube out without changing too much first.
An related swap, but I've realized I don't need generic midrange beaters for my Boros decks. I'd rather have cards for big Boros and the potential for explosive turns with the saga.
Trying to balance the cube with complexity and snowballing gameplay in mind.
White
First card fits both categories
Blue
Speaking of no reminder text
Even if I cut Duelist, I am still in the market for evasive 2 mana looters in Blue, but there are none that are perfect. Malcolm is too wordy, so I'll be adding a placeholder.
Daze is an iconic card and one I am a fan of. However, there are two strikes against it.
One, it breaks my unwritten rule for free interaction because it costs you a single card. Returning an Island isn't nothing, but it certainly isn't a full card.
Two, it's at its best when you are ahead and will cement your advantage. The Dimir tempo decks in the cube are already the best (cheap threats, hand and stack interaction, solid card draw, ...) and Daze shines brightest in those shells. I might come around on this change, but for now it's out.
I still enjoy free spells though, so in comes Subtlety as a good beater and a piece of interaction that will still be premium in those tempo shells, but can also be used in a combo deck with draw 7s or a blink deck for example.
Red
Next, we have a decent but super wordy card in Glimpse the Impossible and my last remaining DFC with Fable. I'll be going single-sided for now, but just like with Parallax Wave, I could see changing my mind (and adding Sink into Stupor).
Fable gets replaced by Triumph which should play well with Welders especially with the option of giving haste. Glimpse gets replaced by the equipment which fits in perfectly with all the spell velocity built into the cube.
Green
I'm a fan of the Guardian, but it's the only instance of Blitz in the cube. I've found a side grade that will play different, but has similarities. The Badger trades the burst damage and combo potential (Guardian + Hogaak + Altar of Dementia) for a steady source of tokens and more mana generation. The card draw from Blitz is replaced by the Adventure mechanic. I'm not married to this slot though, so this could end up as an entirely different card down the line.
I want more 2 mana flyers and Spirit is great because it protects high impact 3 drops (Kiora, Tracker, Soultrader, …).
Priest is hate and synergy in White.
Provisioner and Ivora reward you with tons a trinkets and aren’t restricted by any clause.
Asmo is a hybrid for the discard deck.
Station is offers a combo finish in the right shell or can set you up nicely. Being colorless helps White with Phlage for example which I think is important.
Cheaper interaction and cutting the only instance of incubate.
Trying out a bounce theme to give White more options at synergy. This comes at the cost of cutting a lot of cards I love, so it's likely I change things up as I test.
Trying a little hate bear package in White.
For some reason, I've mutually excluded Gravecrawler and other fodder cards. Forsaken Miner is a great one though that is cheap to recur and easy to trigger.