RTR Cube and C:L Rules Updates

It's been a while since I've made a cube update and with Ravnica around the corner there's no better time. The changelog is pretty long so I'll just talk about the ones that stand out.

     Unearth -> Consume Spirit
     Murder -> Diabolic Edict
     Remove Soul -> Stealer of Secrets
     Dross Golem -> Dead Reveler
     Village Ironsmith -> Splatter Thug
     Penumbra Bobcat -> Korazda Monitor
     Cabal Pit -> Cabal Coffers
     Nacatl War-Pride -> Stampeding Serow
     Sengir Vampire -> Throat Slitter
     Demonic Taskmaster -> Nezumi Graverobber
     Lust for War -> Street Spasm
     Lava Hounds -> Slith Firewalker
     Krosan Verge -> Azorius Keyrune
     Dreadship Reef -> Izzet Keyrune
     Barbarion Ring -> Dimir Keyrune (Gatecrash)
     Kiss of Amesha -> Azorius Charm
     Spawning Pit -> Izzet Charm
     Crystal Ball -> Selesnya Charm
     Contagion Clasp -> Golgari Charm

     Armillery Sphere -> Relic of Progenitus

Cutting Armillery Sphere was a difficult choice but I decided I had to make a few sacrifices to make way for the Guildgates.

     Armadillo Cloak -> Sundering Growth
     Recoil -> Hussar Patrol
     Henchfiend of Ukor -> Vassal Soul

Some of the gold card switches made to accommodate Ravnica.

     Azorius Signet -> Azorius Guildgate
     Izzet Signet -> Izzet Guildgate
     Dimir Signet -> Rakdos Guildgate
     Rupture Spire -> Golgari Guildgate
     Shimmering Grotto -> Selesnya Guildgate

From the start I have been wary about having Signets in the cube. I resolved to just have the suitable three but now that there are other forms of basic fixing (in addition to the Keyrunes as replacements) I am fine with cutting the Signets. As for the five-color lands, I prefer it not to be possible to draft 4-5 color decks without any worries of color issues. There is still tons of fixing but now it doesn't apply to all five colors at once.

     Tectonic Rift -> Avalanche Riders

I've been afraid to include too many good LD spells because they aren't particularly fun and also punish people for playing bouncelands. I will probably come to regret this one once Avalanche Riders is given Persist or something like that but I don't consider the Cube: Legacy rules when making additions to the cube.

Ravnica Additions:

     Gore-house Chainwalker
     Gatecreeper Vine
     Rakdos Shred-Freak
     Fencing Ace
     Thrill-kill Assassin
     Bloodfray Giant
     Dreg Mangler
     Hellhole Flayer
     Skymark Roc
     Dryad Militant
     Rakdos Cackler
     Lyev Skyknight

Moving on, I've decided to make a few changes to the rules of Cube: Legacy to accommodate for new players who have not used the cube before. It is not incredibly fun when half of the cubers have a considerable amount of edge over you, whether it be numerous named cards or knowing exactly what every card does. There's no way to fix this issue completely, but I want to take steps so that it is lessened.

The change I'm making to help with this problem is abandoning the achievements part of the game. It had a few of its own flaws (difficult to keep track of while battling) but barrier to entry is the real problem, so instead the reward sheet will now be used for winners of the cube. The winner of a cube draft will now get to roll a die to earn one of the achievements.

I think this is a big step forward for the game. There are less rules over all, less things to keep track of during gameplay, and less of a barrier to entry. That means more fun!


As always, if you are curious about something or think I missed something feel free to post below or on twitter.