Here's my notes for my swaps. Just placed the order and with be updating the parent list after the cards arrive. Writing these notes down now so I know what goes where. There's a few cards I didn't order for various reasons, maybe I have them in my collection? I should check

Torchling > Devout Witness
Wanting to remove all of the morphling variations due to power creep and spotlight stealing. Devout Witness is a discard outlet, a repeatable disenchant, and a combo piece for Thran Forge, Parallax Tide and Parallax Wave (and maybe more)

Brightling > Parallax Wave
Wanting to remove all of the morphling variations due to power creep and spotlight stealing. Parallax Wave is a nostalgic combo card that has overlap into control builds and can stand up on its own. Popular premodern card

Trickster Mage > Chain of Vapor
Chain allows for more combos with Parallax Wave/Tide and also w/ stacked damage, plus it's an instant which fuels some of the other strategies of the cube. The mini-game of copying chain can be fun and also exploitable. Trickster Mage was lacking tribal support and synergy. This was leftover from when I was testing "turning off" tapped artifacts. It remained as a discard outlet with slight nod to removal/tempo, but Chain hits more boxes

Mental Note > Geistwave
The mill aspect of Mental Note is underwhelming as there are only about nine threshold cards. I like it for being a one mana cantrip, but Geistwave has a lot more flexibility as it can exploit stacked damage and be a combo piece for lots of different cards in the cube (Salvager of Secrets, Parallax Tide). It can still draw a card sometimes or be used as a tempo play against your opponent

Mindslicer > Perilous Research
Black has a bit too many cards in its pool and as cool as Mindslicer is, the higher stats are a bit of a spotlight stealer from the Kavu and the death effect rarely comes up. Newer players are terrified of drafting this guy. Perilous Research allows for some powerful shenegins, especially with stacked damage.

Cephalid Retainer > Rushing River
Squid boy is underperforming in all areas and is a bit of a loner. Rushing River can be a combat blowout and it combos with lots of other pieces of the cube.

Niv-Mizzet, The Firemind > Time Warp
A goal for the cube is for the modern-bordered cards to help shine the spotlight on the older cards, not to steal the spotlight from the older cards. Niv-Mizzet is a show stealer for the UR archetype so let's include an old-bordered powerhouse in its place.

Immobilizing Ink > Parallax Tide
I thought I was cute putting Ink on Arcanis and drawing a bazillion cards, but that was back in 2002. Despite it being memorable in my MtG experiences, you are already going to win the game if you resolve an Arcanis and you don't need the aura. The aura could be a cute discard outlet, but there's a broader nostalgia and combo fun with Parallax Tide. Control was hurting a bit in the cube and this is a step to give it some big peepee pills

Cabal Therapist > Sarcomancy
The Rapist just doesn't perform. No tribal synergy and it's too tough to churn creatures into Cabal Therapies. Sarcomancy fuels Zombie tribe, suicide black, and the aggro archetype, plus it's old border and has heavy nostalgia

Cairn Wanderer > Skeletal Changeling
Big Fat Changeling is over-statted and steals the spotlight from the older cards. Reducing the power/toughness allows Kavu to shine a bit brighter in the cube and black was easily the most heavily drafted color in my recent cube-featuring here on CubeCobra. The Skeletal Changeling lowers the curve and power while still being a flexible wildcard to let older tribal hombres shine

Two-Headed Dragon > Kavu Runner
The two headed dragon doesn't have ANY overlap into any tribes or archetypes. Maybe reanimator... or maybe fires... but both are pretty sad focuses if that is where you are going. Kavu Hill Giant lowers the curve a little, bumps up the Kavu Kount and leans more in to the midrange feel that I'm going for that archetype

Dragon Mage > Hordeling Outburst
The repeatable wheel was getting played a lot for a few reasons, but not due to it being a dragon, a wizard, or a repeatable wheel; It was getting played because it was a flying 5/5 creature. While there's a need for Timmy cards, it didn't fit. There's a lot more versatility in making 3 goblins with an instant in this cube, and it opens up for late game recursion without costing an upfront fee of 7 mana. I am concerned that there may not be enough reanimation targets, but that will always be a fun and easy fix later on down the road.

Seal of Fire > Shock
Improved synergy with Dreadhorde Arcanist, Young Peezy, Talrand, Bedlam Reveler, Ghitu Chronicler, Salvager of Secrets, Revolutionist, Tazeem Roilmage, etc, thanks Zelu0

Sylvan Messenger > Alpha Kavu
Four mana for a two two trampler is really sad. The concentration of elves isn't high enough for Sylvan Messenger to be very good unfortunately. The activated ability of Alpha Kavu can provide some unique stacked damage interactions, plus this swap lowers the curve a point. I can always add spicier modern elves to the mix if need be.

Thornling > Battlefield Scrounger
The big green morphling made it into most decks when it was drafted. It's too big and too strong and takes the spotlight away from the original morphing and also the kavu in green. I watched a recent video of The Cloudgoat Ranger where he was looping Time Warps with Battlefield Scrounger, and that sounded like a fun achievement for the cube. The butt on this guy is also solid with a unique ability.

Voracious Cobra > Mystic Snake
Too many gruul cards. no simic cards. Cobra doesn't match the kavu theme even though it's from Invasion. Mystic Snake has some long-game potential in a control shell, whcih the cube was lacking. Plus it's more nostalgic

Blinkmoth Nexus > Viseling
I don't like the interaction with Changelings and the Nexus as it's two modern cards boosting each other up. I tried to add a bunch of manlands early on, but the 4x of Mishra's Factory is sufficient. I thought about adding Black Vise, but usually that card doesn't care until turn 4 or 5 anyways, so dropping a viseling later gives for a similar win condition in a prison-style deck, with a little more vulnerability to allow for the "prisoner" a more exciting chance of escaping

Rackling > The Rack
The Rack is an aggro card. Rackling is too slow to be aggro. Let's double up on Racks, especially since the nostalgia is so high.

Hollow Specter > Ankh of Mishra
Hippie's slower, ugly brother gets picked pretty late for most kickball teams. Black has a bit too many cards and Ankh allows for more aggro synergies and a few wild combos in control shells as well (Parallax Tide, Veteran Explorer, Tradewind Rider) which is an uncommon combination of attributes

Doom Cannon > Phyrexian Altar
Nine mana and saccing a creature is just too steep of a cost to do anything. It's last picked often. Alter is an exciting combo piece that can still be used fairly and open up the Mana Echoes combos of the cube a bit more. Plus it was designed for an environment with stacked damage and mana burn. Maybe I should also put Black Market in the cube???

Coat of Arms (Exodus version)
Cosmetic Upgrade

Prismari Campus > Grixis Triome
Cascade Bluffs > Esper Triome
Flooded Grove > Bant Triome
Lorehold Campus > Naya Triome
Rugged Prairie > Jund Triome
Adding five more cards with cycling should help give a little more gas to the cycling archetype. These cards are fetchable and I was able to set aside some borderless versions to help reduce the aesthetic impact on the cube

*Ifnir Deadlands > Polluted Delta
*Ramunap Ruins > Bloodstained Mire
Trying to speed black up a bit more with its fixing. Might be a while before I get Onslaught fetches for these slots, but I have KTK fetches I can use for the time being. Getting rid of the utility lands as I don't want to set up false hopes that there is heavy desert synergy in the cube

*Need to order