Good evening folks, hope all has been well despite these dire times!

Today I bring you changes from the other side of Innistrad Remastered. There were a few changes that I wanted to make anyway, but with the new set coming out, I wanted to let things percolate. The minds at WotC are fantastic at making limited sets, and I was wondering if there was any inspiration I could take from INR, or at least from the conversations people would have about it in the coming weeks.

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Blazing Torch was always cute in theory, but is a card that was never drafted. I'm still unsure of what exactly I'll put in its place, but for now Thraben Gargoyle will hold down the fort. It's a cheap, good blocker that has two card types and can trade off early with aggressive creatures. Solid filler.

Grimoire of the Dead was supposed to be a colorless option for the reanimator deck, but it just took too much set up. I'm hoping the one-shot, single target Soul Separator will do what I want a bit better.

I made this change a while back, but I have not been thrilled, so I am reverting it. Moorland Rescuer is coming back out for Sigardian Savior. I'll be monitoring and seeing how Savior performs now that it's back.

I love Eldrazi, but they just never work out here. Elder Deep Fiend just never performed well. In its place is Deadeye Navigator, sporting new art! Deadeye is a powerful card, and I want to see what it can do in this format.

This is another change I am reverting. Delver of Secrets is an iconic card that should be in the cube. Curious Homunculus has not done a whole lot in its tenure here. While not bad, I don't think I can justify it staying in over Delver. It might come back some time though.

I like to make sure that certain effects are in the cube, and I always want to make sure there is at least a single mind control effect in here. Grafted Identity hasn't done much, so I am going to do a 1-for-1 swap with Spirit Away to see how it performs. it's pricier for sure, but better for slower decks in my estimation.

Necroduality has performed similarly to Parallel Lives, which is not well at all. In its place comes another zombie card that also fits into the other blue decks: Forgotten Creation! Creation is not a card that's ever been in the cube, so I am very interested to see how it performs.

One thing that I saw a handful of people lamenting about INR is the lack of Flashback loops with things like Spider Spawning, and I realized that that isn't something that my cube provides either. Over time I trimmed down these effects, citing them as "air". Blue and Green weren't performing well at the time, and I thought it was the fault of these cards, but in reality, both colors just needed an overhaul. Now that that has been accomplished, I can afford a couple slots for effects like these! As such...

Runic Repetition and Memory's Journey are coming in for Docent of Perfection and Pieces of the Puzzle. Both of these cards were for the U/R Spells deck, but that deck is pretty bloated as is. As such, by cutting these two cards, I can give a bit of room to the loop-y graveyard flashback stuff in Sultai or Temur that may have wanted them previously.

Falcon Abomination was just curve filler. The main zombie support is in black, so I don't mind nixing this for the return of one of my favorite cards, Geralf's Mindcrusher. Great for zombies, great for self mill, overall just a fun card!

Famine has been...Fine. Inoffensive really. Instead of an inoffensive card though, I'd rather have a card with a clear purpose and role. Vampires need a couple more pulls into back, so I am going to try out Olivia's Wrath. I thought about adding in Captivating Vampire, but I didn't want another lord at 3 mana. Hopefully this does the trick instead!

INR reminded me how much I enjoy Madness and discard. Coming from this, another boon to the vamps are Incorrigible Youths and Stensia Masquerade. With all the Blood and discard outlets, I felt like I should have a couple more decent madness cards. The cards cut, Creepy Puppeteer and Unholy Heat were very good cards, but they didn't push in any one direction. They were generically solid, but I want a bit more pizazz out of these two slots. I wouldn't be shocked to see either of these cards return, but for different cards.

Similarly to Memory's Journey and Runic Repetition, Gnaw to the Bone returns as a vital piece to these slow, loopy decks. I think I was a bit too harsh on it the last time, and just need to see how it works in these slower style of lists. It isn't for every deck, but that's okay. It is replacing Unnatural Growth, as, while I liked the idea of pushing a stompy green deck, this just isn't the way to do it. It's a bit slow and clunky, and the 4 green pips are just too restrictive outside of dedicated green decks.

Danwtreader Elk was another inoffensive card, but Abundant Growth but a new borderless art treatment, and I could use another enchantment to help fuel Delirium...So it's in. It's very pretty.

Predator Ooze is in the same boat as Unnatural Growth, it isn't for any of the established decks, and it has too many green pips. Hermit Druid comes out of nowhere to join the fray...And I'm not sure how good it'll do either all being told. These limited decks have a bunch of basics in them, so it won't be milling a massive amount, but we'll see! Being able to secure a land drop every turn is powerful!

Revenge of the Hunted was just a bit much. I already have Craterhoof Behemoth, so I don't think a second Overrun (and one that you don't have to work for most of the time) is needed. In its spot is another "air" card for the slow, loop deck Turn the Earth. Hopefully with these four pieces, there will be a revitalization of this style of archetype!

Vadrik, Astral Archmage has been alright, but has never really done much. A three mana Goblin Electromancer is a little too pricey, and a lot of the spells for U/R are cheap ones anyway. Eruth, Tormented Prophet has much more synergy with these cheaper spells I think, and will help push U/R decks over the finish line. If that doesn't happen though, this is an easy change to revert.

And finally, Old Stickfingers is out, and Maelstrom Pulse is in. Sticky-boy has done a decent job at getting creatures into the yard, but G/B doesn't just want creatures in the yard, it wants different card types in there! G/B lacks a bit in the sorcery department, and having an excellent removal spell that just also happens to be a sorcery is just what the doctor ordered!

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And there we have it, all of the changes post INR!

I haven't had the pleasure of drafting INR yet, but I've been diving into it intently, looking through the set, noting all the synergies and tools and interesting pieces WotC thought would make for a fun draft environment in hopes of applying it to the cube.

What're your thoughts on these changes though? Make sure to let me know! I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, stay safe out there!