Fairly big update which pulls new cards from the last couple years' releases. Replacements are aimed at functional upgrades, overall Cube mana curve reduction and archetype solidification.
Green and black's roles outside of their various archetype bleeds are now focused on good rate playables and removal respectively.
Simic is now a "lands matter"/ramp adjacent color pair.
Gruul ramp's new payoffs now have immediate return on investment in the form of powerful ETBs. This is the same rationale as with the Dimir reanimator payoffs.
Corrected that Adrkar Wastes was added to help the UW aggro lists with an untapped dual.
After watching everyone's games, debriefing the players and considering the various match-ups, I've come to the following changes:
-Rakdos gets louder signpost gold cards for its sac theme as well as a power injection enabler in Goblin Bombardment.
-Arc Trail comes in as a check vs tokens and aggro strats. Similarly, this is the argument for Archfiend of Sorrows (also adds a great reanimator payoff for UB.)
-Gruul gets an actual ramp payoff in Phylath which both stabilizes and then wins over the course of a couple turns if you untap with it.
-A couple of optimization changes in mana and cards with better efficiency/casting costs.
-Trims were cards that didn't have a purpose anymore. Previously I wanted generically playable cards in the cube for players that had trouble making playables/finding a lane. These would be players inexperienced in limited (cube in particular.)
My current philosophy on the design of this cube is that cards need to fill one of three roles:
Future considerations for cuts:
Shivan Wurm
Magus of the Scroll
Future Maybes:
White:
Clarion Spirit
Luminarch Aspirant
Teleportation Circle
Blue:
Behold the Multiverse
Black:
Elderfang Disciple
Sedgemoor Witch
Ebondeath, Dracolich
Power Word Kill
Red:
Plargg, Dean of Chaos
Magic Missle
Green:
Esika's Chariot
Sarulf's Packmate
Gold:
Vanishing Verse