I’ve kept Palace Jailer in because it’s such a great effect for white decks. I am cutting it though because Monarch (and Initiative) are just a bit too punishing in cube. The game essentially revolves around getting it back, and if your deck isn’t great in combat, it can feel hopeless. So I’m cutting it and adding in Bronzebeak Foragers. A bit bigger of a body, has a bit of life gain built in for some added bonus against aggro, and still relevant against creatureless decks.

Get Lost is pretty comparable to Fateful Absence, and that card has been pretty decent. Two maps is comparable to one clue, but the fact that you can just keep creatures off the board to make them useless is a pretty nice upside. Stroke of Midnight was just a bit too much of a tempo loss for the mana and flexibility, so I’m cutting it for something cheaper.

Supreme Will has been a fun card that rarely gets cut, and Confounding Riddle is essentially the same card with some upsides. I didn’t really want two of this effect so it’s a pretty easy swap.

The same goes for Deep-Cavern Bat and Kitesail Freebooter. Slight upgrades and not wanting more of the effect makes it another easy change.

I’m trying out Spitting Dilophosaurus as a Bone Shredder type card. It can kill any pikers or lions, and what it can’t kill makes it easier to race. I don’t support black aggro, where the card will likely shine brightest, but I want to give it a shot as simply a nice midrange card. Hero’s Downfall has lost some of its luster recently. The format is a bit faster, and although still plenty playable, being double black and three mana makes it a little too slow for cube nowadays.

Bitter Triumph having alternate modes of payment and targets makes it a nice upgrade to Infernal Grasp. My other consideration for this cut was Power Word Kill, simply to lose the feel bad moments of not hitting a Hellrider, Griselbrand, etc.

Inti is a pretty cool card. It can have one power haste with a rummage stapled on, and can get nasty with some cards like Putrid Imp, Faithless Looting, Survival of the Fittest, and any cycler. A combo-esque and aggro-ish card in one seems like a playable to me. Bloodthirsty Adversary just never played how I wanted it. It was mostly just a 2/2 haste, and at that point there’s plenty of other stronger options for that slot. The upside of the card was rarely relevant so I’m giving it the axe.

Trumpeting Carnosaur provides stiff completion for Inferno Titan now at six. A 7/6 trampler that bare minimum draws a card, but usually just casts a card for free, makes it a legitimate threat for Sneak Attack. The fact that it’s also interaction early if needed and can then be reanimated is a really nice upside to the card as well. I’m not even sure which side will be most used. I’m cutting Pia and Kiran Nalar, because even though it’s a fairly unique effect for red, something has to give to make way.

I’ve decided to add Thrun, Breaker of Silence as another way for green decks to punch through control. It can’t be chumped, and dodges almost all targeted removal in the cube, making it a pretty sticky threat against some decks. Tooth and Nail has slowly been power crept out. With the speed of the format always increasing, it’s difficult to actually cast nine drops in cube. There’s still enough ways I feel to cheat Eldrazi into play that I’m ok with cutting it.

I’m not completely sold on Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant as what green decks want to ramp into, but it is another way to cheat Eldrazi into play, and can get nasty in certain situations for cheaty style decks that’s it’s worth it for me to at least try it out. Thunderous Debut is similar to Tooth and Nail, too expensive most of the time, and although the Bargain is fairly easy to get going, it still did put you down some type of resource. The fact that it could potentially miss is enough of a reason to make this swap.

Legolas’s Quick Reflexes having Split Second makes this one of the first pure combat trick only spells to make it to cube. Biting a creature, blanking a removal spell, ambushing something in combat, and combinations of those effects makes it pretty versatile for one mana. Another card that can help green decks attack control. Augur of Autumn was a bit too flimsy on the battlefield, and the fact that it didn’t ramp and could possibly not be fully active made it a pretty easy card to pass and cut from the final forty.

Ashiok, Nightmare Muse is back. The card is quite powerful and was missed a bit. Kaito was a bit too small ball for cube. Without aggro support, the card was enough to cut and pass for control decks.

Another slight upgrade, cutting Dreadbore for Molten Collapse for some random upsides of eating a few important one drops like Skull Clamp or Retrofitter Foundry, or just snagging a random treasure, clue, map or food token.

I originally didn’t add Questing Druid, because I felt it was a bit too small for cube, but I was wanting to add Wrenn’s Resolve but couldn’t find the right cut. Druid makes sense because the red decks can still play it as another Reckless Impulse effect, but now it’s a card that five color control might want to draft as well. I’m cutting Radha to make room. Radha is quite good when you’re ahead, but lacks catch-up power. Both cards have a similar roll in Gruul decks, but Druid has more chance to see play outside of Gruul.

Order of Sacred Dusk is a bit of weird card. It’s a more expensive Baneslayer with haste, but is still fine to reanimate or ramp out (and even lets your non-elf creatures help out too). Magister of Worth hasn’t been worth very much lately anyways, so it’s easy enough to make this exchange.

Quintorious Kand offers quite a bit of power for five mana. Drawing cards, making tokens on a plus ability, all of the hallmarks for a good five mana walker. Lorehold Command has performed quite well, and I did consider cutting Ajani, but I just like Ajani too much. I could definitely revisit this one day.

Restless Anchorage might not be as powerful as Colonnade for UW decks, but another evasive creature land is always welcome. Creating maps is a nice upside, even if UW won’t always be able to capitalize on them. Prairie Stream is worse than Colonnade, and cutting fetch/shock/dual/triome is not something I’m interested in for any color, so it’s the cut here.

Restless Reef can’t pressure walkers as well as Tar Pit, but can still pressure libraries when the time comes. Being a 4/4 means it also doesn’t die to Bolts, along with the fact that it has Deathtouch, makes it a formidable blocker, something that most creature lands can’t say. Sunken Hollow is the cut for the same reasons as Stream.

Restless Vents is the most exciting creature land IMO, because RB has always wanted a strong creature land. Menace means it can get in often enough early to help fix draws with its rummaging effect. A great addition for RB. Graven Cairns is slightly worse than Smoldering Marsh (being fetchable is a big plus) so that’s the cut here.

Restless Prairie gives GW a nice creature land as well. Although a bit fragile, the upside of an anthem effect makes it one of the most high upside creature lands in the cube. GW is also the best at going wide as well. Cutting Horizon lands seems incorrect, so Canopy Vista is the last remaining option.