has been underperforming in recent testing. The likely cause is how slow it takes the deck to gain value from disturb/flashback while opposing decks are removing the player's threats or out-tempoing them. To combat this, will have a greater focus on tempo, flash, and Spirits. Spectral Adversary, Mausoleum Wanderer, and Rattlechains should help the deck defend against removal, and Rattlechains has the fun bonus of playing Disturbed Spirits like Benevolent Geist from the graveyard at instant speed.

Other tweaks were swapping out cards that have under-performed (Angelic Purge & Ingenious Skaab) or ran away with the game too easily (Patron of the Vein & Gryff's Boon).

Nothing too notable for this update. Most changes fall under:

1. Swapped for a more synergistic card. E.g. Prophetic Bolt -> Beacon Bolt
2. Swapped for a card that will see more play. E.g. Laboratory Drudge -> Cemetery Illuminator

Overall, cube has felt GREAT with players enjoying the included cards & themes, and are able to figure out themes during drafting without difficulty.

After finishing another draft yesterday, it was time to review a handful of cards that continued to under-perform (and one over-performer).

• Find // Finality is a little too efficient for its effects and flexibility. Loops like double-Disentomb + Eternal Witness are normally fine, but only committing 2 mana with a back-up plan of a board wipe pushes it over the edge. Blood for Bones should provide a better play experience.

• On the other end of the spectrum, Back for Seconds isn't efficient enough, especially with a relatively low density of permanents that can be bargained. Makeshift Mannequin and Eldritch Evolution aren't grabbing anyone's attention without the hard-hitting top-end targets seen in other cubes.

• Botanical Brawler is a better signpost for +1/+1 counters than Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar, with the bonus of trample and triggering off of going wide with counters.

Not related to power-level, I'm removing Lunar Hatchling and Memory Worm so this cube can potentially be drafted for weekly Discord MTGO drafts. Elmar, Ulvenwald Informant is the only UB card remaining that needs to be replaced.

Time to work out some of the kinks from the first draft--out with what wasn't quite working, and in with some better fitting themes.

-Elf decks didn't quite fit in with everything else going on in the green color pairs; Fauna Shaman is one of few worth its weight.

-RG "cast from exile" didn't have enough payoffs, and required draws to line up properly. Instead, RG will be "value aggro" and lean heavily on cascade/discover. Though cascade/discover can trigger other cards like Vengevine, Elmar, Ulvenwald Informant, and Memory Worm, they are required for the archetype to work since the player will already be getting a free spell. (This is an experimental archetype, so I expect necessary adjustments next update.)

-GW has moved from tokens to +1/+1 counters to better overlap with RG value aggro and WB aristocrats. Tokens made more sense to provide overlap with Elves, but with that type no longer a theme, the change felt obvious.

-Spirits were already present prior to changes, but didn't have typal support. More payoffs were added, and WU can now go either control or tempo while utilizing the graveyard.

-Even with the lower power of this format, there were still under-performers and room to dial up the power. Board stalls were prevalent, so more powerful threats like Froghemoth, Angel of Sanctions, and Lunar Hatchling should help push interaction and move games towards a close.