Friday, May 16, 2014

MTG - Journey into Nyx Cube Update 1

Big update this time.  With the full set of temples available I've found a way to include them.  I have a large gold section so having the proper mana fixing is important.  The temples are a great addition while not breaking the bank.  Drafting 5 colour good stuff will now be more feasible in my cube!

I also removed the following mechanics as they were kind of confusing to my friends who don't play MTG outside our cube nights or conflicted with other mechanics in my cube or I just felt were under performing.

  • Bestow - A very cool mechanic and gives so many options.  You could have cheap aggro creatures that had late-game impact and they trigger Heroic as well.  However, the rules behind it were very complicated and the intricacies of the mechanic are beyond my playgroup.  I did keep Chromanticore though as it is just a fun and powerful card.
  • -1/-1 counters - Goes counter to all the +1/+1 counters that are present.  Again the interactions between the two types can be confusing so I chose to remove them.
  • Scavenge - The timing of this ability caused a lot of confusion in my group so I removed it.  I did keep Varolz, the Scar-Striped as it is a fairly strong card and with only one instance of Scavenge it would be easier to explain.
  • Detain - Fairly lack-luster and I wanted to try new things in the UW slot.

So on to the actual changes!


Land
Temple of Triumph replacing Akroan Hoplite

More mana fixing to support the color combinations and all the gold cards.  Seems odd to be taking gold cards out to put mana fixing in, but about a quarter of the cube is still multi-coloured.

Fleetfeather Cockatrice replacing Drakewing Krasis

Mostly because I got a foil Fleetfeather Cockatrice. Ups the mana curve of UG but lots of tricks possible with a flashing deathtouch flier.

Nevinyrral's Disk replacing Door of Destinies
Armillary Sphere replacing Akroan Horse
Gorgon's Head replacing Trepanation Blade
Springleaf Drum replacing Primal Clay
Expedition Map replacing Codex Shredder

More mana fixing to replace some of the not so useful artifacts.  Also added the disk as more sweepers is useful for control decks.

Favored Hoplite replacing Hopeful Eidolon
Knightly Valor replacing Glimmerpoint Stag
Banishing Light replacing Arrest
War Falcon replacing Master Splicer
Dawnbringer Charioteers replacing Griffin Protector
Dictate of Heliod replacing Ornitharch
Archetype of Courage replacing Phantom General

In addition to removing Bestow, I removed the Splicers from white and green (except for Blade Splicer) as I wanted to try other things in those slots.  Another Oblivion Ring effect is never bad as a silver bullet for pesky permanents.  I did keep Celestial Archon though as it's a nice card and the promo art looks cool.

Hydra Broodmaster replacing Anthousa, Setessan Hero
Hunted Troll replacing Courser of Kruphix
Crocanura replacing Thrashing Mosdog
Time to Feed replacing Boon Satyr
Market Festival replacing Golgari Decoy
Nemesis of Mortals replacing Brutalizer Exarch
Verdant Haven replacing Wild Beastmaster
Roar of the Wurm replacing Maul Splicer
Eidolon of Blossoms replacing Vital Splicer
Font of Fertility replacing Vines of Vastwood
Seek the Horizon replacing Crushing Vines

Big changes here.  In addition to taking out Bestow I removed most Scavenge creatures for similar reasons.  This allowed me to add some cooler monster creatures (Monstrosity is an easy mechanic to read and it's fun to make giant creatures). and some more mana fixing.  Took out Anthousa, Setessan Hero and Courser of Kruphix as they were difficult to use effectively for most of my group.

Satyr Hoplite replacing Stonewright
Shiv's Embrace replacing Purphoros' Emissary
Predator Dragon replacing Mordant Dragon
Madcap Skills replacing Everflame Eidolon
Molten Disaster replacing Wrap in Flames
Gore-House Chainwalker replacing Impetuous Sunchaser

Bestow creatures replaced by more cheap creatures or actual auras.  Also added another sweeper as those are always good for control decks.

Mark of the Vampire replacing Erebos' Emissary
Manor Skeleton replacing Sewer Shambler
Ophiomancer replacing Herald of Torment
Fate Unraveler replacing Nighthowler
Brain Maggot replacing Undercity Informer
Extinguish All Hope replacing Spread the Sickness
Gatekeeper of Malakir replacing Skinrender
Dark Favor replacing Grim Affliction

Removing Bestow, Scavenge and -1/-1 counters.  Didn't intend to take out Proliferate, just happened that way.

Spectral Flight replacing Nimbus Naiad
Mind Control replacing Simic Manipulator
Triton Shorestalker replacing Hedron Crab
Sea God's Revenge replacing Opportunity
Curse of the Swine replacing Hidden Strings
Countermand replacing Nullify
Scourge of Fleets replacing Sphinx of Uthuun
Archetype of Imagination replacing Prescient Chimera

In addition to removing Bestow, I replaced some of the underperforming blue cards.  Replacing Sphinx of Uthuun was kind of iffy, as I like the big flier and his ability is pretty cool but I did get the Scourge of Fleetss promo and the foil art is pretty nice to look at so I figured it wouldn't be too bad to try out for a bit.

Plague Boiler replacing Sluiceway Scorpion

Part of removing Scavenge.  Another sweeper to help combat all the big creatures and enchantments.

Ephara's Enligtenment replacing Lyev Skyknight
Battlewise Hoplite replacing New Prahv Guildmage

Removed Detain in favour of more Heroic stuff.

Desperate Stand replacing Arrows of Justice

Mostly because I got a foil Desperate Stand.  It can also trigger heroic on multiple creatures.

There are still some things I want from both Born of the Gods and Journey into Nyx but they are chase rares or mythics so that probably won't happen anytime soon.

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