Cube Size

This update brings the Cube up to 450 cards. I like a floating size for give the option of adding and cutting cards at freely. As our weekly Cube nights have gotten more popular, adding in a few more cards to allow a 10 person draft is worth it. I don't want the list to be much bigger, so I'll probably stick with 450, at least for a while.

The update includes some very speculative inclusions. As well as a few cuts.

Cuts

I've made an effort to cut a few red 2 drops. It's hard apparently. Ghitu Amplifier is a great fit for the environment, and maybe you could call it not a two drop even, but it's a bit wordy. It and Wee Dragonauts also contribute to a theme which has been over performing a bit when it comes together and I want to tune back down. They're not the best payoffs, but volume matters in addition to quality. Careless Celebrant is interesting on being a somewhat novel way to take advantage of the sacrifice theme, but isn't super fun to play against. Greater Sandwurm and Mad Ratter rarely if ever see play. I do like the Ratter, and I might think on it more and sneak it back in. Wrath's remain divisive and not well understood. If anything, one or two of them get played in any draft so cutting Vanquish the Horde is pretty low impact.

Adds

I've added in three more copies of Ash Barrens on top of the 4th already present. It makes sense to increase the land count a bit so the fraction doesn't drop too much, and Ash Barrens plays well and gives a little more variety to the "fetch lands".

Scrapwork Mutt is the most exciting new inclusion for me. It's not an all star, but just does a whole lot and has the potential to interact well with a lot of other cards. It does also play into some of the most supported themes which might need to get tuned down. Rabbit Battery is something I've been meaning to add which I'm optimistic about as well. It fits the "1 drop with late game relevance and lots of opportunities to interact with other effects" bill perfectly. Recruitment Officer, Thopter Mechanic, Cut Down and some others are easy to include recent releases that'll be solid role-players.

Looking over the list, and through my collection to fill out that 450, I had a thought on Green. In the local group, green is generally considered the weakest color (followed by blue). Part of the issue is that green has some of the smallest and least exciting gold sections. In particular, GU, GR, and GB. I don't want 5 color piles to be the norm, but I could see green's ability to splash being a nice way to give it more of an identity which it's been lacking. Bloodbraid Elf, Fires of Yavimaya, and Shardless Agent and probably above the normal power level here, but they could contribute to more effective, proactive, multi-color strategies in green. I have no idea what Bring to Light will do, if anything, but people enjoy it in other contexts, and is a more direct signal towards multi-color green.

Also some blue cards. Remand is probably over-powered here, but maybe I've been over cautious about counter spells here and should try pushing it. I think it and the other blue inclusions will make the color a bit more appealing.