Cubing with Big Nass #3 & #4

Posted on October 1, 2012

The Magic Online Cube is back! There are a few changes this time around—some of which I like, and some of which I don’t. Black has traditionally been the worst color in Cube, but the update has definitely increased the incentive to play with a bunch of Swamps in your deck. Black aggro now has some 1-mana, 2-power creatures such as Carnophage and Vampire Lacerator. The more controlling decks now have Corrupt and Tendrils of Corruption. And then there’s Lashwrithe, a very scary threat in any black mage’s deck.

The full set of Ice Age and Apocalypse pain lands are in, which I’m less excited about. I feel that there are enough dual lands already, and if you were going to add more, the Ravnica bounce lands would be way better choices, especially considering we’re all Ravnica all the time these days.

There are also a large number of M13 cards being added, which is another change I’m not overly thrilled with. I can understand why; it’s just that a lot of them are there for the sake of having M13 cards in the Cube and not to have a better play experience.

Probably the most controversial change is the innovation of Cube tickets.

A Cube Ticket is an untradeable digital object that will be the primary prize and alternate entry option for Cube drafts going forward.

I understand that they want to have participation prizes, but I’m completely baffled by why they made them untradeable. What the heck am I supposed to do with all these Cube tickets when Cube Drafts are over? This honestly makes me feel like I’m a kid at Disneyland who spent all his money playing skee ball and has to go home with a bunch of useless tickets. When are we going back to Disneyland, Mom and Dad? Never. I’m sure Cube Drafts will come back and all, but what if I only have time to cube once or twice? How many people do you think would still play slot machines if the best possible payout was a free spin?

Despite the terrible prize structure, Cube Drafts are still fun, so I don’t mind taking a bit of a hit for each one. It just means I’m only going to Cube once or twice instead of several times a day.

Well, enough of my ranting. On to the Drafts! I have two of them coming at you this week. As it turned out, I was less successful than I would have liked. In both cases, I had sweet decks, but my opponents’ were a bit sweeter. In the second Draft, I succumbed to none other than Pro Tour: Amsterdam Top 8 competitor Tom Ma, so I guess there’s no shame in that. There were a lot of good games, so please check them out. As always, text recap follows the video links.

Draft 1

Match 1, Game 1

Match 1, Game 2

Match 1, Game 3

Draft 2

Match 1, Game 1

Match 1, Game 2

Match 2, Game 1

Match 2, Game 2

Pack 1, Pick 1:

My Pick:

Ugh, this pack is pretty bad. I’m only taking Phyrexian Metamorph here because it fits into the widest variety of decks.

Pack 1, Pick 2:

My Pick:

Channel is one of the most unfair cards in the entire Cube. I can’t not take it! I’m probably all-in on mono-green ramp, but it’s not too late to switch to something else in theory.

Pack 1, Pick 3:

My Pick:

I’m just going to keep drafting green cards until I have a reason to do otherwise. I’m also fairly confident that All is Dust will come back.

Pack 1, Pick 4:

My Pick:

Alright, now we’re talking. Turn-two Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is pretty unreal.

Pack 1, Pick 5:

My Pick:

Mirari's Wake is interesting, but I think I prefer the explosiveness Somberwald Sage offers.

Pack 1, Pick 6:

My Pick:

I don’t think Cursed Scroll will be any good in this deck, and depending on what fixing I pick up, Spiritmonger might be close to a free splash.

Pack 1, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis is less free, but I don’t think I’m playing anything else here.

Pack 1, Pick 8:

My Pick:

This is not the most exciting pick, but I do plan on having twelve or more Forests in my deck.

Pack 1, Pick 9:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 10:

My Pick:

Ding! I’m quite certain that no one else is in this deck, which will influence my decisions for the rest of the Draft.

Pack 1, Pick 11:

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Pack 2, Pick 1:

My Pick:

I thought about taking Heartbeat of Spring here, but I was pretty sure it was going to table. Turns out I could not have been more wrong, but I’ll get to that later.

Pack 2, Pick 2:

My Pick:

Deranged Hermit is awesome on its own, and it’s downright amazing if you can power it out on turn three. It’s not that unreasonable for that to happen either.

Pack 2, Pick 3:

My Pick:

As much as it pains me to pass Sulfuric Vortex, I have to slam the Elf here.

Pack 2, Pick 4:

My Pick:

Arbor Elf will come back, so I can take Everflowing Chalice here.

Pack 2, Pick 5:

My Pick:

The choice is between Prey Upon and Strangleroot Geist, both of which are mediocre. I don’t know if this pick was right, but I do know it isn’t likely I’ll play either of them.

Pack 2, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Indrik Stomphowler will come back.

Pack 2, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 8:

My Pick:

Mortarpod is actually really good, and I’m a little surprised to see it this late. Unfortunately, it’s not very good in this deck. Wall of Blossoms, on the other hand, does a pretty good job of keeping me alive against aggressive decks.

Pack 2, Pick 9:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 10:

My Pick:

Wow, tenth-pick Strip Mine? Really?

Pack 2, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Did not expect Sylvan Library to come back, but hey, I’ll take it.

Pack 2, Pick 12:

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Pack 2, Pick 14:

My Pick:

Damn, I’m good.

Pack 2, Pick 15:

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Pack 3, Pick 1:

My Pick:

There’s no way Genesis Wave doesn’t table, so I just have to decide if I want Ancient Tomb or Fertile Ground more. I think the latter will be a little better. I have enough colorless mana sources, and the enchantment will help with splashing a second color in case I go that route.

Pack 3, Pick 2:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 3:

My Pick:

Farseek is usually really bad, but I can take it if Temple Garden comes back and there’s a white card I want to splash.

Pack 3, Pick 4:

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Pack 3, Pick 5:

My Pick:

I don’t think this is a Birthing Pod deck. Memory Jar seems like it’d be sweet.

Pack 3, Pick 6:

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Pack 3, Pick 9:

My Pick:

This is the part of the Draft where you can see me wheel every green card.

Pack 3, Pick 10:

My Pick:

I guess I can take Farseek next pack.

Pack 3, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Right on schedule.

Pack 3, Pick 12:

My Pick:

Between this, Farseek, and Stirring Wildwood, I have a strong argument for the white splash.

Pack 3, Pick 13:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 14:

My Pick:

I’m soooooo gooooood!!!

Pack 3, Pick 15:

My Pick:

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Here’s the final deck:

"G/w Cube Ramp"

This is what we call “the nutter-butters.” I would have liked to pick up a Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary or an Avenger of Zendikar, but this is still awesome. Channel into Kozilek or Myr Battlesphere is truly degenerate, as is a gigantic Genesis Wave.

As it turned out, I didn’t get to do anything cool, as I lost first round to a sweet Heartbeat of Spring storm deck. I didn’t have too many ways of interacting with him, and I was a turn too slow. I did dramatically defeat his Plan B when I used my long-neglected Psychatog-math skill. He was forced to try to win that way after I took out his Heartbeat of Spring with a Naturalize. Game 3, I wasn’t so lucky. I can’t be mad that I lost to Mind's Desire since it is my favorite Magic card of all time.

Draft 2

Pack 1, Pick 1:

My Pick:

I normally look for build-around-me cards in Cube, but in the absence of that, planeswalkers are generally a safe bet. I’m not sure how good this newfangled Ajani is, but I’m willing to find out.

Pack 1, Pick 2:

My Pick:

Do you guys realize this card says, “Draw four cards,” on it?

Pack 1, Pick 3:

My Pick:

Control Magic effects are pretty awesome in Cube, even if they are this fragile. It’d be nice to table Ninja of the Deep Hours, but somehow, I don’t think it’ll happen.

Pack 1, Pick 4:

My Pick:

If Yavimaya Coast comes back around, there’s a good chance we can make Edric, Spymaster of Trest work. I’m not married to the Ajani just yet.

Pack 1, Pick 5:

My Pick:

I think we’re forming a deck here. I’m putting a down payment on that wedding ring now.

Pack 1, Pick 6:

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Pack 1, Pick 15:

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Pack 2, Pick 1:

My Pick:

Sword of Body and Mind isn’t that good, whereas Upheaval usually ends the game. I don’t have the best deck for Upheaval, but I’m willing to gamble.

Pack 2, Pick 2:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 3:

My Pick:

I find it very hard to pass a card that says, “Gain control of target creature,” on it.

Pack 2, Pick 4:

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Pack 3, Pick 1:

My Pick:

Faith's Fetters is awesome in Cube because of all the planeswalkers running (walking?) around.

Pack 3, Pick 2:

My Pick:

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Pack 3, Pick 4:

My Pick:

As terrible as this makes the mana, I love Old Man of the Sea and will play him any chance I have.

Pack 3, Pick 5:

My Pick:

It’s a combo with Spectral Procession!

Pack 3, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Here’s another combo with Spectral Procession!

Pack 3, Pick 8:

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Here’s the final deck:

"W/U Cube Midrange"

Planeswalkers (1)
1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride

I won a very close game against a R/U deck in which I locked down Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind with Dungeon Geists. Round 2, I faced Tom Ma, who played an entwined Tooth and Nail, fetching Myr Battlesphere and Sundering Titan in Game 1. Despite the huge monsters, I had enough power in flyers that I was still in good shape, but Primal Command and a timely Swords to Plowshares was enough for him to win the race. Game 2, he double Stone Rained me with Sundering Titan (off a Rofellos no less), and the turn before I was going to steal it with Sower of Temptation, he cast Armageddon. Frown town. Tom played very well Game 1, so I don’t feel bad losing.

Hope you guys enjoyed the Drafts, and I’ll see you next time. Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel so you can watch my Drafts the second they go live.

Take care,

Nassim Ketita

arcticninja on Magic Online

www.youtube.com/nketita

TAGS articles, draft, video, limited, editorial, magic online, casual, analysis, mtgo, cube, nassim ketita, recap