Foundations Updates

---

Champion of Wits -> Kiora, the Rising Tide
These are similar in that they are both 3mv creatures that draw 2, discard 2 on etb, but Kiora rewards aggression and generates a much better token for no additional mana.

Crafty Cutpurse -> Sphinx of Forgotten Lore
There are plenty of blink rewards and this one at 4mv is probably just a bit too cute, so I'm going to try out a card that has more synergy with spells and graveyard themes that also encourages attacking.

Body Launderer -> Abyssal Harvester
Body Launderer takes quite a bit of setup to get his effect to be worth while. At 4mv, he is just a bit clunky. Harvester rewards you much faster and repeatedly for 1mv cheaper.

Gonti, Lord of Luxury -> Rev, Tithe Extractor
Rev allows you to repeatedly steal cards as a reward for attacking while also giving you a treasure. The amount of value she provides is just too great not to warrant inclusion.

Exquisite Blood -> Bloodthirsty Conqueror
This effect is becoming more and more prevalent now. I'm just doing a one-for-one swap with it's enchantment counterpart since it is slightly harder to cast, is easier to answer, and can speed up games by virtue of being a creature.

Massacre Girl -> Blasphemous Edict
I am trying to be careful of how many board wipe effects I include. Massacre Girl being a creature means it can be recurred and slow games down. Edict will more or less be the same effect but much cheaper and will hurt go-wide strategies a little less.

Solphim, Mayhem Dominus -> Twinflame Tyrant
Solphim only affects your non-combat damage, which is no where near as useful in this cube. Twinflame Tyrant is worth the extra 1mv in my opinion.

Dryad of the Ilysian Grove -> Loot, Exuberant Explorer
Loot's mana sink is much more interesting than Dryad's static ability. With the new color identity rules, Dryad also might make splashing a bit too easy, so it is probably best to remove him now.

Rishkar, Peema Renegade -> Spinner of Souls
Rishkar's ability isn't all that unique with Enduring Vitality being a strictly better version already in the cube. Spinner will push some sacrifice strategies and provide them with better card advantage.

Mirrored Lotus -> Scrawling Crawler
Mirrored Lotus is one of the last playtest cards left in the cube. I'm cutting it now for a fun Howling Mine effect that punishes your opponents for being too greedy with card draw while also speeding up the game by pinging them similar to Razorkin Needlehead and providing them with more resources.

EDH Banlist Updates

---

---

First, I'll address changes due to the recent EDH ban list update. Jeweled Lotus, Dockside Extortionist, Mana Crypt, and Nadu, Winged Wisdom were banned this week.

The first two of these cards are currently in the cube. After spending some time thinking about it, I have decided not to remove either card at this time. This isn't because I protest the bans in any way, I actually think they were mostly a good decision by the RC. However, I believe that the considerations of a constructed format, where decks can be built with a high degree of consistency and power, aren't necessarily the same considerations that have to be made for a cube limited environment, where the fundamental structure of deck construction is very different.

In short, neither card has lead to unfun play patterns or experiences so far. Some cards recently banned certainly have, such as Hullbreacher, which is why it was removed some time ago. This cube accepts a higher power ceiling for individual cards, but acknowledges that within the contexts of a limited environment and its inherent variability. I believe this also melds well with the philosophy of cube in general, allowing a place for broken cards or otherwise forgotten cards. Whether they be relics of a beloved format's history, or cards that never had their day in the sun, they are all welcome in cube.

So, for the time being, if you are looking to build this cube in paper, you're in luck! Two expensive staples are now on discount.

---

Duskmourn Updates

Wall of Omens -> Reluctant Role Model
Wall of Omens is a pretty common effect at this point. It also has the side effect of disincentivizing combat, unlike similar cards such as Spirited Companion. Role Model, on the other hand, rewards you for turning it sideways and has a fairly powerful static effect akin to The Ozolith.

Welcoming Vampire -> Enduring Innocence
The effect is basically one-for-one, but with a slightly more restrictive casting cost in exchange for the ability to come back into play after dying.

Blade Splicer -> Sanguine Evangelist
This is a miss from a while ago. Evangelist having Battlecry and generating a token on death is a great trade off for the immediate +2/+2 on the token.

Argent Dais -> Dollmaker's Shop // Porcelain Gallery
I haven't been too impressed with Dais and I'm wanting to test the mythic Room cycle from the new set. This one seems absolutely insane. The flexibility of being able to pour more mana into them for a bigger effect fits perfectly in this cube.

Venser, Shaper Savant -> Fear of Impostors
Slightly cheaper than Venser with a stricter window for the effect but countering is often better than bouncing. You do give the opponent a creature, which makes it somewhat on par with Swan Song, but being able to counter any spell and blink it at instant speed for future counterspells makes this card worth trying out.

Bident of Thassa -> Enduring Curiosity
Flash + the ability to recur itself makes this slightly better than Bident.

Glasspool Mimic -> Mirror Room // Fractured Realm
The first half of this room is slightly better than Mimic's front side, as the token is more valuable in this cube. The second room is just nuts and I can't wait to see what my players do with this card.

Sanguine Bond -> Enduring Tenacity
It's a cheaper Sanguine Bond that recurs itself. I mean, sure.

Elder Brain -> Valgavoth, Terror Eater
I'm expecting Valgavoth to be a slightly less feels bad experience than Elder Brain, while having a very similar effect.

Bastion of Remembrance -> Funeral Room // Awakening Hall
First room is Bastion minus the token, the second room is Rise from the Dark Realms. I mean, yeah, these mythic rooms are pretty dope.

Tectonic Giant -> Razorkin Needlehead
Mostly trying to cut the curve down. There needs to be better punishers for unchecked card drawing, and this works nicely while also adding needed pressure to life totals to keeps games shorter.

Increasing Vengeance -> Untimely Malfunction
Wow, is this card awesome. Cheapest redirect effect in red while also having the flexibility to remove artifacts or get in some good damage. I'm removing a fork, I think they are a bit parasitic and there are plenty of that effect still in the cube.

Caves of Chaos Adventurer -> Charred Foyer // Warped Space
I am not a fan of the initiative mechanic as a whole. It's very cumbersome to track and I believe the cube would be better without it.

Jaheira, Friend of the Forest -> Enduring Vitality
The two green in it's casting cost probably is offset by the recurring ability and the fact that it works on all creatures to produce any color of mana.

Bala Ged Recovery -> Walk-In Closet // Forgotten Cellar
Since cutting Rumunap Excavator, there isn't really a one-for-one comparison for Walk-In Closet. Bala Ged is pretty below rate for what it does, and I'm wanting to move away from DFCs.

Genku, Future Shaper -> Niko, Light of Hope
Sad to see Genku go after just adding him, but Niko does a very similar thing while being way more interesting in allowing you to copy your creatures rather than just make generic tokens.

EDIT: Sneaking in one last change.

Derevi, Empyrial Tactician -> Brenard, Ginger Sculptor
As an avid bird wizard enjoyer, I have to unfortunately come to grips with the fact that Brenard just fits most of the current themes of the cube.

Bloomburrow Updates

Keeper of the Accord-> Beza, the Bounding Spring
Very similar cards at the same CMC, but Beza works as a blink target to help push the Azorius archetype.

White Sun's Twilight -> Jacked Rabbit
These are two similar cards in that it is an X spell that generates a bunch of tokens. White Sun's is a much better card, but I'd argue that it isn't better for the environment. This swap will help remove a board wipe (which are still too prevalent) while replacing it with a creature that rewards aggression.

Flawless Maneuver -> Dawn's Truce
Base cost is cheaper and Truce is a much more interesting card for this effect that also has the flexibility of giving the caster hexproof. I'm wanting to introduce more decision points while replacing more generic, uninteresting cards. (Dauntless Dismantler should have been removed instead of Maneuver in the last edit).

Spyglass Siren -> Thundertrap Trainer
These are two blink targets that can leave behind a token. TT Trainer is a bit better at digging through for a relevant card and generating card advantage.

Jace, Vryn's Prodigy -> Kitsa, Otterball Elite
I'm slowly starting to move away from DFCs and overly complex cards. They add unnecessary cognitive load and are slightly awkward in play and draft.

Read the Bones -> Diresight
Surveil over scry is a strict upgrade here.

Make an Example -> Fell
Black has a gluttony of 4cmc spells. Make an Example is a little too cute and that slot could benefit from a cheaper, guaranteed single-target removal spell at the same speed.

Sign in Blood -> Cruelclaw's Heist
Heist looks much more fun than the generic Sign in Blood.

Grenzo, Havoc Raiser -> Agate Instigator
Grenzo is just a bit too hard to cast and is arguably not that great of an effect. Instigator should help red decks close out games and give it some extra reach.

Kessig Flamebreather -> Coruscation Mage
Coruscation has a more aggressive body and much higher upside with it's offspring ability.

Urabrask -> Stormsplitter
Each card wants to go into the Izzet spells deck, but Stormsplitter rewards going wide and synergizes with cards like Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer.

Gyome, Master Chef -> Ygra, Eater of All
Ygra adds the food-matters archetype to the cube in a more interesting way and is more in line with the existing Golgari archetype cards.

Balmor, Battlemage Captain -> Bria, Riptide Rogue
Bria, while more expensive, is much better at buffing and pushing through damage than Balmor.

King Darien XLVIII -> Finneas, Ace Archer
King Darien is a bit clunky and there are plenty of the mass protection effects in the cube. Finneas will push token decks to be more aggressive, rather than sit back with their tokens to block.

Prophet of Kruphix -> Octomancer
I'm very sad to see Prophet go, as it's one of my favorite cards and is extremely powerful, but considering it is banned in Commander and doesn't fit well with the new Simic tokens theme, I am cutting it in favor of a more on theme and fun card.

I've noticed that most playtest drafts have very few lands. I want to up the amount of fixing available. This especially helps with the new rules I'm trying out regarding color identity, making fixing during the draft much more valuable.

As a result, I've add a full cycle of the restless manlands and cut two cards from each color.

MH3 has been out for a good minute and I've had some time to digest the new cards. Below are the swaps I'm making this round to the cube.

• Soul Warden -> Guide of Souls: Obvious swap here. While the energy mechanic is a bit ugly, in my opinion, a soul sister that encourages attacking is a no brainer for inclusion.

• Doomed Traveler -> Indebted Spirit: Spirit is a strict upgrade to traveler. The ability to bestow this later for extra bodies and sacrifice fodder is super sweet.

• Nesting Dovehawk -> Witch Enchanter: Dovehawk is a fine card. There is just a lot of competition for white 4 drops and there is plenty of token pay offs already. I wanted to give a more generically good card that could see play in a variety of decks a spin.

• Excavation Technique -> Argent Dais: this was a tougher swap. There are plenty of cards that have a similar effect in white of non-land permanent removal in exchange for cards or treasure. Argent Dais is a repeatable version of this effect but has a much harsher trade-off. I want to try this out but I'm not sold on if it will be good or not.

• Arcane Artisan -> Volatile Stormdrake: this is the only other energy card I plan on adding. Artisan has just never seen play nor has it ever been the type of effect that any particular blue deck wants. Stormdrake is an interesting removal spell for blue while also being a decent theft card.

• Plaguecrafter -> Accursed Marauder: This effect at 2 cmc is just too good. Hitting a non-token creature is also very big in my cube.

• Yahenni, Undying Partisan -> Warren Soultrader: Similar effect of a 3cmc sacrifice outlet, but Soultrader is just leagues better than Yahenni in terms of the value it provides.

• Murderous Rider -> Fell the Profane: I'm not sold on this swap. The increased cmc for this effect might be worth the ability to play this as a land. Murderous Rider is a fine card, but it's also one of the more underwhelming versions of this effect.

• Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia -> Marionette Apprentice: Marionette Apprentice feels like it will just provide more value by pressuring life totals.

• Invasion of Innistrad -> Emperor of Bones: these cards aren't really like each other at all, however I feel like Emperor is just a more interesting card.

• Tragic Slip -> Lethal Throwdown: Slip has been in the cube since the beginning, and I honestly have barely seen it in play. My theory is that most of the time it is an underwhelming -1/-1 removal spell that occasionally gets around indestructible. Throwdown having immediate synergies with sacrifice and occasionally drawing a card seems worth it over Slip.

• Goblin Diplomats -> Reckless Pyrosurfer: Pyrosurfer alleviates bad draws late game and encourages the player to turn creatures sideways, rather than sit behind a wall of creatures and forcing the opponents to attack. Goading is a much better version of this effect anyway.

• Devoted Druid -> Fanatic of Rhonas: Fanatic is just an amazing slam dunk of a card. It encourages going big, has value in the graveyard, and works to enable itself when eternalized.

• Generous Patron -> Six: Six is another amazing value engine for G/x graveyard strategies.

• Life from the Loam -> Trickster's Elk: this pains me a little. Life just hasn't been doing much lately and with the addition of Six, I think I can stand to see it go for a decent green removal effect.

• Biowaste Blob -> Springheart Nantuko: Green 4 drops are a bit dense and this card is underwhelming. Nantuko is one of the best green clone effects ever printed and slots right into Simic's new identity in the cube.

• Garruk's Uprising -> Birthing Ritual: Uprising is just generically good, but still gets outclassed by cards like Beanstalk. I'd rather some variety in these value engines and Ritual does just that.

• Deathrite Shaman -> Wight of the Reliquary: Wight feels a bit more in place than Shaman in this cube while guaranteeing to provide a bit more value that encourages attacking.

• Growth Spiral -> Planar Genesis: I'm pretty sure Genesis is just much better 90% of the time.

• Ephara, God of the Polis -> Genku, Future Shaper: Genku is a much more interesting blink commander that also has synergies with the token payoffs in white. Ephara is amazing, but just a bit too generically good. I'd much rather the commander slots be filled with more interesting commanders that alter the contexts of the cube.

WHITE

The white equipment package has been an underperforming aspect of the cube for a long time. In the future, I want to focus less on equipment for Boros aggro and more on generically good beaters and combat tricks.

Attempting to remove some sweepers as the density in the cube is far too high.

BLUE

Mostly trying to lower the curve and up the frequency of cantrips while lowering the number of Evacuation effects. Aetherize, being more efficiently costed and only effecting one player will ensure there are less total resets within a game. There were also a really high number of four cmc clones that were probably too redundant.

BLACK

Looking to up the number of single target removal and sacrifice fodder.

RED

IDK, just trying out some different stuff.

GREEN

Again, trying to reduce the curve. Removing some redundant effects and packages of cards that don't currently have enough support like Rumunap Excavator and Titania

While Conspiracy and Conspiracy: Take the Crown are two of my all time favorite sets, I'm wanting to move away from the added complexity of having these conspiracy cards in the cube.

I think I will inevitably make a traditional multiplayer cube and will ensure these cards have a place there, but as it stands for the Commander Cube they go against one of the core tenets I had for the environment I wanted: emulating "real" commander.

Lore Seeker, Stocking Tiger, and Booster Tutor are a different beast. While these cards are fun, they add unneeded complexity to the logistics of the cube and break the flow of the draft and gameplay whenever one of these cards are used, as you have to scramble to the cube to shuffle up a random pack of cards in order to resolve them.

Small update to remove the last two remaining "Partner with" pairs. I'm wanting to get away from the weird one-off rules that need to be remembered for special circumstances like these. I've noticed that this rule in particular often causes confusion on the logistics of how one would apply this in paper.

Removing these cards entirely is much simpler.

I've already added two cards from OTJ: Oko, the Ringleader and Tiny Bones, Pickpocket.

This list of inclusions are the ones that really caught my eye. The new Gonti plays really well into what UB decks are wanting to do by stealing cards especially as a reward for attacking.

Other than that, I am putting in four very versatile Spree spells in place of some more underwhelming instants and sorceries that fill a similar role.