Cubing with Big Nass #8

Posted on January 14, 2013

Welcome back to another episode of Cubing with Big Nass. I have another sweet control brew this week, but things didn’t go quite as planned. Control decks tend to do quite well in powered Cubes. Because they draw so many cards and have access to fast mana, control decks can easily outclass creature-based aggro decks. The only aggressive decks that can do well are the red-based ones with reach and the fish-style, aggro-control decks with cheap creatures and disruption. Control decks aren’t without their weaknesses however, as certain combo decks can cause problems. Read on to find out more. As always, a text recap follows the video links.

Draft

Match 1, Game 1

Match 1, Game 2

Match 2, Game 1

Match 2, Game 2

Pack 1, Pick 1:

My Pick:

There are definitely some good options in this pack. To be honest, I’m not sure how good Tamiyo, the Moon Sage is in Cube, whereas Control Magic is the second-best card of its type behind Treachery. I’m not willing to speculate on Mishra's Workshop this early. Phyrexian Arena is a good card as well, but it’s typically not that good in decks I like to draft (slow control decks that take a million turns to win).

Pack 1, Pick 2:

My Pick:

I like Mox Diamond a lot, and if you’ve been following my Cube Drafts, you know I’m not the biggest fan of Land Tax.

Pack 1, Pick 3:

My Pick:

Ajani Vengeant is actually among the better planeswalkers. He’s no Jace, the Mind Sculptor, but I’m still happy to play him.

Pack 1, Pick 4:

My Pick:

I value good mana in these decks quite highly, and you can’t do better than the original dual lands.

Pack 1, Pick 5:

My Pick:

There’s a case to be made to taking Pernicious Deed or Day of Judgment, but see above for my feelings on good mana.

Pack 1, Pick 6:

My Pick:

WE’RE GOING DEEP, BOYS. Inquisition of Kozilek is probably the correct pick here, but my dark lord hath summoned me.

Pack 1, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 8:

My Pick:

I’ve actually been impressed by Sphinx of Jwar Isle as a finisher in these decks. Having shroud is huge. I see no reason to be in green just yet, so I can forgo the Bayou.

Pack 1, Pick 9:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 10:

My Pick:

Well okay, I may not like Land Tax that much, but I certainly don’t think it should go tenth-pick.

Pack 1, Pick 11:

My Pick:

We saw last week that Epochrasite can actually be pretty good, but I still prefer having an on-color bounce land here.

Pack 1, Pick 12:

My Pick:

I’m sure I can make something happen with this.

Pack 1, Pick 13:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 14:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 15:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 1:

My Pick:

I have a love for Shelldock Isle that borders on the grotesque.

Pack 2, Pick 2:

My Pick:

Moat is “Good Game” against a lot of decks. This is shaping up to be a nice Keeper-style deck.

Pack 2, Pick 3:

My Pick:

I don’t expect that Yawgmoth's Will will be all that great in this deck, but the pack is pretty bone dry.

Pack 2, Pick 4:

My Pick:

This might have been a mispick. I think I should have taken Careful Consideration instead.

Pack 2, Pick 5:

My Pick:

Angel of Despair might be going a little too deep.

Pack 2, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 8:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 9:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 10:

My Pick:

As I said before, aggro decks aren’t that good in a powered Cube, so Vampire Nighthawk loses a lot of value.

Pack 2, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 12:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 13:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 14:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 15:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 1:

My Pick:

The Gravefather is among the best possible finishers for this deck. It sucks that I have to pass Damnation for it, but between Moat and The Abyss, I think I’ll be fine without it.

Pack 3, Pick 2:

My Pick:

Oh man, Karn Liberated is so sweet. I love this deck. I really need that Bloodstained Mire, but I can’t not take Karn.

Pack 3, Pick 3:

My Pick:

I think I’m a few artifacts shy to make Tolarian Academy playable. Preordain is a great way of finding lands early or finding action late.

Pack 3, Pick 4:

My Pick:

I think this is reasonably close, mostly because I already have a Control Magic. It’s just that Treachery is such a beating. I’m sure a lot of people will disagree with this pick, and they might be right, but I just can’t bring myself to pass a Treachery.

Pack 3, Pick 5:

My Pick:

I won’t have nearly enough Islands to play Vedalken Shackles, unfortunately.

Pack 3, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 8:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 9:

My Pick:

I definitely wasn’t expecting Damnation to come back, but hey, I’ll take it.

Pack 3, Pick 10:

My Pick:

It’s usually a good sign when you debate between picking two cards and the other comes back.

Pack 3, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 12:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 13:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 14:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 15:

My Pick:

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Here’s where I ended up:

"Keeper Cube Draft"

I loved how this deck turned out. Many of the cards in this deck would not look out of place in 1996 Keeper. Throw in some sweet planeswalkers and upgrade the creatures, and you have an awesome Cube deck. Unfortunately for me, I ran into an old nemesis: G/U Opposition. Even though I lost in the semis, I had some great games, and I definitely encourage you to watch the videos. I even got the amazing combo of The Abyss and Sphinx of Jwar Isle out. Autumn Willow, eat your heart out! Even the match in which I lost was pretty exciting, as my Moat shut off his attack step, and we had to have a planeswalker duel.

Hope you enjoyed the recap, and I’ll be back next week for my last episode of this season of Cubing with Big Nass. Following that, I’m planning on musing on Modern as well as Gatecrash Limited. As always, any and all article suggestions are welcome. Until next time, take care.

Nassim Ketita

arcticninja on Magic Online

http://www.youtube.com/nketita

TAGS articles, draft, limited, magic online, casual, cube, nassim ketita, recap