Premodern Cube
(360 Card Cube)
Blog Posts (20+)
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  • Smokestack has rarely, if ever, seen play, so I replaced it with The Rack to strengthen the Machine Head archetype.

  • Fallen Askari has been underwhelming in performance, so I swapped it for Cabal Interrogator to further support the same archetype.

  • To make the Cube fully Premodern-legal, I decided to remove Entomb. In its place, Graveborn Muse adds value as an extra card-draw option, particularly for decks like The Rock.

  • Lastly, Sengir Autocrat has seen almost no play, so I replaced it with Vendetta, a highly efficient removal spell.

hartwjg posted to Premodern Cube -

I've decided to remove the Enchantress theme. While some players experimented with it, it often led to "draw into nothing" scenarios. Additionally, it lacked the tools to effectively compete with the blue-dominant meta in this cube.

Here are a few thoughts on the other changes:

  • Spike Feeder is a staple in Premodern sideboards, particularly against aggro.
  • Bad Moon is a solid support for the mono-black aggro archetype. On the other hand, Urborg Uprising is easily replaceable, as black already has plenty of similar effects.
  • Radiant's Judgment seems versatile enough to give it a shot. It provides White Weenie with a solid way to handle pesky blockers.
  • Anurid Brushhopper is an experimental addition. Time will tell how well players can make use of it, but it has potential synergy with cards like Squee, Basking Rootwalla, board wipes, and more.
  • Pouncing Jaguar is excellent in a beatdown strategy or as another target for Natural Order.
  • Werebear is a well-rounded card — great for early-game ramp and a decent body later on.
  • Bloodfire Colossus is another powerful target for Sneak Attack.
  • Juggernaut is a classic, but I had to cut it since it saw little play (which I'm a bit sad about). Ring of Gix, on the other hand, is a fantastic card that fits well in various deck types.

I decided to remove the mill-theme, since nobody ever enjoyed going into it. Instead I added Tinker again to first of all support Phyrexian Devourer-stuff and tutor other powerful artifacts like Masticore and Teeka's Dragon

hartwjg posted to Premodern Cube -

I removed the zombie theme due to people never really going into it.

Also there wasn't the right build for Kirtar right now, so i added something more "aggressive" for white weenie.

Hammer of Bogardan never really shined in the cube matches. However Lavaborn Muse has more potential in matchups, where both players run out of cards fast.

Mainboard Changelist+1, -1

Psionic Blast is a very iconic card that does something blue would not be able to do. Concentrate on the other hand is just another carddraw for blue, while it has plenty already.

  • Teferi's Moat -> Sawtooth Loon: People were complaining about the strenght of this card in certain matchups. It was very frustrating to play against it and rounds took forever. Sawtooth on the other hand is a balanced card that lets you filter your hand, shuffle back in combo cards and gives you extra value for etb effects.
  • Mirari's Wake -> Sabertooth Nishoba:
    Nobody ever played Mirari's Wake and i thought Sabertooth Nishoba could be a nice card vs. blue (that color wins way too many times^^).
    Goblin Brigand -> Orcish Lumberjack: A weak card in general and Goblins had shown a lot of strenght without it already.
  • Temporal Spring -> Jungle Barrier: It rarely had seen play and came around late during drafting very often. Jungle Barrier is a nice defensive card with extra value. Also fits well together with Opposition.
  • Rogue Elephant -> Fierce Empath & Pouncing Jaguar -> Wild Growth: Green stompy feels underwhelming compared to the other aggro decks. I want to move Green in a more rampy direction.
  • Corrupt -> Noxious Ghoul: People rarely draft monoB-decks and Noxious Ghoul seems nice in the Zombie Tribal to get rid of goblins and mana-dorks.
  • Coat of Arms -> Scroll Rack: That card rarely had seen play and when it did, it confused everyone since all the creature type errata changes. Scroll Rack found it's way back in the cube to support combo-decks.

I removed some cards that almost never ended in decks in the previous drafts. Further more, I decided to put out the wizards package, since blue seems to be more of a support colour that many players want. However, I included some cards to make milling the opponent a more viable win-con.

Mainboard Changelist+1, -1

Land Tax got banned recently so i replaced it with a card white weenie could need to get rid of annoying enchantments.

  • Rampant Growth is nice for fixing and ramping. Seal of Strength isn't needed since there are still three other tricks in Green, if you count Consume Strength.

  • Sylvan Safekeeper is very nice at any stage of the game. It helps to protect your big bois, while it can come in for some dmg in the early game. It's also a very nice topdeck for the lategame, when the game is even. Veteran Explorer is very situational. it's only good in a deck with a high curve and only if you draw it early. It can also be bad in certain matchups when your opponent needs the mana too.

  • Auramancer rarely had seen play and came around late while drafting very frequently. False Prophet get's it's chance now. It's a fairly unknown card, but basically is another wrath. I might need to cut it again, since there are already 2 white wrath effects.

  • I didn't like cutting Noxious Ghoul but I had to find space for Dauthi Horror since I think, that Dead Guy Ale needs more early threats. Noxious Ghoul might be too slow anyways. I may will put it in again though - depends on how much people like to draft zombies. I have been the only one so far^^.

Mainboard Changelist+1, -1

The only purpose of voltaic key was to untap some mana rocks, mill artifacts, disk and icy manipulator. I never saw people actually putting it into their deck. Juggernaut on the other hand will get it's chance to shine in aggro decks. I think it could be a nice curve filler and is a neat creature to use combat tricks on.

Mainboard Changelist+1, -1

First I wanted to include Rhox as a meme. But it turned out that nobody ever wanted to put it into their deck :D. Sad story but true. People were asking about Utopia Tree though, so I decided to add it to the list. It's a decent fixer.

hartwjg posted to Premodern Cube -
Mainboard Changelist+1, -1

Skirk Prospector isn't really needed in these old goblin decks. it's a very akward one to draw late and th ramp isn't that big of a deal.

Hammer of Bogardan though is a great fit for any red deck in my opinion.

hartwjg posted to Premodern Cube -
Mainboard Changelist+1, -1
hartwjg posted to Premodern Cube -
Mainboard Changelist+1, -1

Shard Phoenix hadn't seen much play at all and I always had an eye on that amazing limited card Ghitu Slinger.

hartwjg posted to Premodern Cube -

Gamble is a nice way to find missing combo pieces and Covetous Dragon doesn't fit well since there is no artifact-heavy build at the moment.
Bösium Strip is a lovely value card for grindy games, also Burn can benfit from it. I haven't seen anyone using Jeweled Amulet in all the drafts we did; therefore it's an easy cut for me.

hartwjg posted to Premodern Cube -

Added the Saproling Burst + Pandemonium combo since both cards are fine on their own. Any creature-heavy deck can benefit from either one and even Sligh could run Pandemonium to have some sick damage outputs with cards like Ball Lightning.

Mainboard Changelist+1, -1
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