After a really fun initial playthrough of the cube (see our previous blog post), Nick, Kyle, Chris, Joshua, Greg, and Tavish were tasked with replacing some number of cards from the cube. Here are the replacements!

Nick chose to replace:

Sanctum Sanctorum (Isao, Enlightened Bushi) -> Goblin Lightning (Goblin Legionnaire): I think mono-color is too dangerous a proposition in the cube (need to have one or fewer other people drafting that color with you), and a card with 4 mana in the cost is just too risky of a pick. I cannot imagine it seeing play outside of a mono-white deck, and I don’t think mono-white decks are even that interested in this card since it’s super heavy on control.

As for the addition, Goblin Lightning is a powerful card, but I don’t think removal spells can be bombs. This kills X/5’s on defense, X/4’s on offense, or could offer some final reach in a burn deck. All-in-all, I expect it to be a very good card, but not to feel particularly unfair. I added Tribal Goblin to it because I like goblins and, if we ever end up moving in a tribal direction (e.g. Goblin Matron), it may be interesting to have on there.

The Azure Aura (Gods' Eye...) -> Ice Goblin Tunnel (Ice Tunnel): For the same reasons as above, I think Azure Aura is oftentimes going to be unplayable for any deck that grabs it. It needs to be in a mono-blue deck playing almost exclusively basic islands to be effective, and I don’t see that type of deck coming together almost ever.

Ice Goblin Tunnel is another card that makes me nervous. I view it as a midrange or control finisher for any deck that wants it. It can effectively keep two creatures back on defense (assuming no evasion) via tapping and chumping. It can also build a (tiny) army while disrupting the opponent’s mana if the game is even. I think it will be better than Icy Manipulator, but I hope it’s not so good that it’s miserable to play against. Moreover, there is a lot of artifact removal in the cube, so a 5 mana artifact that needs to stick around for a bit may not be a big issue after all.

Demolish -> Better Demolish: I sideboarded demolish in a few games, but even then it felt weak. I think incidental land destruction can be a nice safety valve in a format, so I thought I’d change the card to be more playable. I’m still not certain it’s even main-deckable, but hopefully this keeps it from being cut outright in the future.

Runebreaker Behemoth (Baku Altar) -> I Need A Hero (Heroic Intervention): a. I’m just removing another mono-color exclusive card. Granted, mono-green seems more viable given the excess of green cards currently in the cube, but is just too challenging for anyone else to take.

See the rules text for I Need A Hero if you want more elaboration on how it works (just click on the orange Heroic Intervention).

Kyle chose to replace:

Woodland Guidance -> Escalating Retaliation (Retaliation)
Root Out -> Arcane Exposition (Arcane Encyclopedia)
Patron of the Wild -> Indomitable Defense (Indomitable Will)

Chris chose to replace

Underworld Dreams -> Deadeye Plunderers: There were too many cards that punished card-draw in the cube, so removing Underworld Dreams may make that theme less oppressive. Deadeye Plunderers plays well with the token artifacts theme that currently exists and may open the door to some possible pirate or treasure synergy decks in the future.

Sorin, Grim Nemesis -> Return to Nature: Planeswalkers are a travesty, so removing a strong planeswalker makes sense as a first cut. Alternatively, cards like Return to Nature make excellent sideboard cards and can allow interaction with strategies that are otherwise difficult to impede.

Greg chose to replace

Unspeakable Symbol->Phyrexian Reclamation: A benign change swapping one mono-black life payoff that has more on-board presence with another that has more of a graveyard/grinding theme.

Tavish chose to replace

Toxic Nim -> Demon of Loathing: As one of only a few infect creatures, Toxic Nim felt a little out of place in the cube. Demon of Loathing for only a single mana more offers a much stronger board presence given the current state of the cube.

When Joshua emails me with his updates, I will update the blog post. Finally, some of these 'updates' are just adding images to custom cards that originally didn't have them (i.e. Blinding Powder, Budoka Pupil, Threads of Disloyalty, Higure, the Still Wind)