Theros Brews, Pauper and Modern Decklists (pics)

Last night towards the end of my stream, I decided to brew up a decklist that I would be interested in playing in the post Theros format. I wanted to start with GR Aggro because of how much I like Polukranos and Stormbreath Dragon but I also want to look at GW Aggro and WU Control. Here are my initial ideas:

Gruul

4 Elvish Mystic

4 Experiment One

4 Kalonian Tusker

3 Scavenging Ooze

2 Boon Satyr

4 Ghor-Clan Rampager

4 Polukranos, World Eater

4 Stormbreath Dragon

4 Domri Rade

3 Mizzium Mortars

4 Stomping Ground

4 Temple of Abandon

12 Forest

4 Mountain

There are no Burning-Tree Emissary because it doesn't fit well with Tusker, which is a card I like better in this deck. Boon Satyr may not be good enough to be included in large numbers but it's still a 4 power 3-drop and that's something I want. Magma Jet is probably not better than Mizzium Mortars but I could see a combination. The new planeswalker, Xenagos, is fine but I would prefer to play 4 Domri and the two don't mix that well. Xenagos does interact well with all of our late game mana sinks so it's something I will try at some point, sideboard at least. Fitting Mutavault into the manabase is probably too greedy, especially when we already have so many late game mana sinks.

Selesnya

4 Elvish Mystic

4 Soldier of the Pantheon

4 Voice of Resurgence

4 Fleecemane Lion

2 Scavenging Ooze

4 Loxodon Smiter

4 Polukranos, World Eater

4 Advent of the Wurm

4 Selesnya Charm

2 Ajani, Caller of the Pride

4 Temple Garden

4 Selesnya Guildgate

8 Forest

8 Plains

I'm not sure which of the available 1-drops are best but Soldier is worth a shot over Dryad Militant. Experiment One has been great in Standard so far so that could still be the way to go. It even works with Ajani in a cute way. Ajani is a card I think can shine in correct circumstances. This deck is incredibly dense so I think it's perfect for Ajani, so long as he's easily castable. The God weapons in red, green, and white are all playable in my opinion but they need to be better than the alternatives and I think Ajani is better in this case.

Azorius/r

1 AEtherling

4 Chained to the Rocks

4 Syncopate

1 Celestial Flare

4 Azorius Charm

2 Azorius Keyrune

4 Detention Sphere

4 Supreme Verdict

4 Jace, Architect of Thought

2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion

4 Sphinx's Revelation

4 Hallowed Fountain

4 Azorius Guildgate

4 Sacred Foundry

4 Steam Vents

2 Mutavault

3 Island

5 Plains

I hit a wall while working on this deck. There are almost no good cards from Theros to help this deck along so I decided that I wanted to give the new 1-drop removal spell a try. Playing 8 additional dual lands isn't ideal, and my just not be worth it, but Chained to the Rocks gives you a Swords to Plowshares type effect that works well with Jace's -2 ability. Otherwise we could always adopt Pacifism or Sensory Deprivation. Going deeper into red could be the way to go but for now I'm sticking to this idea. I would love to be able to play 4 Mutavault in this type of deck but I'm pretty conservative when it comes to mana, at least before any testing.

Going deeper into red could definitely alleviate some of the card quality issues in just UW. It also means that we get access to scrylands but at the cost of Mutavaults and being a more streamlined deck. We'll have to wait and see how important Thunder Strike, Warleader's Helix, and friends are to the new format. And for the record, I'm not a huge fan of Steam Augury. I'm a much bigger fan of Jace, though alongside more instant speed removal it probably has a place. 

Also last night, Pauper bannings were announced. Temporal Fissure and Cloudpost both met the hammer which I think is great for the format. I took a decklist that I brewed up previously in the format (but knew it was bad in a Cloudpost format) and updated it for my expectations of the new format:

4 Fume Spitter

4 Augur of Skulls

4 Chittering Rats

1 Crypt Rats

4 Mulldrifter

1 Snuff Out

1 Brainstorm

1 Disfigure

1 Undying Evil

1 Vendetta

1 Grim Harvest

1 Oona's Grace

1 Soul Manipulation

1 Traumatic Visions

1 Spinning Darkness

4 Tragic Slip

4 Diabolic Edict

3 Mystical Teachings

3 Dimir Aqueduct

2 Dimir Guildgate

4 Evolving Wilds

12 Swamp

1 Island

Sideboard

3 Basilica Screecher

1 Crypt Rats

1 Disfigure

1 Dispel

4 Duress

1 Echoing Decay

1 Grim Harvest

1 Psychic Strike

1 Soul Manipulation

1 Spinning Darkness

This type of deck has a natural advantage against creature decks which is what most of the remaining format is made of but it also has enough card advantage to fight through control decks. A deck comprised of mostly countermagic would give us a hard time but if we can deal with their threats (easy enough), then that'll give us a chance for our engines to take over.

I used to employ a Probe and/or Trinket Mage Engine but I've decided the Mystical Teachings engine is going to be the way to go. It's less clunky than Probe, more versatile than Trinket Mage, and works through discard and countermagic. It also allows the deck to play a lot of sweet singletons as seen above. I would list the sweetest ones, but I'd end up listing almost all of them.

As for Theros additions, Read the Bones is a viable option but I've always said that if you're playing blue you can do better when it comes to card draw.

Lastly, if you missed my Living End decklist that I've started streaming with, here it is:

4 Fulminator Mage

2 Shriekmaw

4 Deadshot Minotaur

4 Monstrous Carabid

4 Street Wraith

3 Pale Recluse

2 Twisted Abomination

4 Jungle Weaver

3 Living End

4 Demonic Dread

4 Violent Outburst

4 Blackcleave Cliffs

3 Copperline Gorge

1 Raging Ravine

1 Blood Crypt

1 Stomping Ground

1 Godless Shrine

1 Overgrown Tomb

4 Verdant Catacombs

1 Swamp

2 Forest

Sideboard

2 Avalanche Riders

1 Domri Rade

2 Faerie Macabre

3 Ingot Chewer

2 Jund Charm

2 Shriekmaw

3 Sin Collector

There's no Dryad Arbor because you rarely need to have one for Demonic Dread and even when you do it's really situational. The deck doesn't need more dead cards either.

The 1 Domri Rade in the sideboard could easily be a 4th Sin Collector but I've had good results with him so far. It serves as a way to circumvent hate while still being a bro otherwise. I bring him in against Tron and UWR.

A Daily Event with a similar decklist will go up on ChannelFireball in a few days so look for that and if you'd like to watch the archived stream from yesterday go here. Thanks for reading!

Currently Playing

Modern: RWU Wafo Tapa Control

4 Celestial Colonnade
2 Sulfur Falls
2 Steam Vents
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Arid Mesa
1 Plains
1 Mountain
3 Island
3 Tectonic Edge

4 Snapcaster Mage

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
2 Spell Snare
1 Izzet Charm
4 Lightning Helix
3 Shadow of Doubt
2 Electrolyze
2 Supreme Verdict
4 Cryptic Command
1 Batterskull
2 Sphinx's Revelation

Sideboard
2 Batterskull
1 Counterflux
2 Negate
2 Runed Halo
2 Stony Silence
1 Isochron Scepter
3 Vendilion Clique
1 Wrath of God
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

 Standard: Esper Control

2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Augur of Bolas
1 Restoration Angel

4 Devour Flesh
4 Azorius Charm
4 Think Twice
2 Liliana of the Veil
2 Dissipate
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Planar Cleansing
4 Sphinx's Revelation

24 Duals
3 Nephalia Drownyard

Sideboard
1 Blind Obedience
1 Duress
3 Negate
1 Planar Cleansing
4 Rest In Peace
1 Tragic Slip
3 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Witchbane Orb

Currently Playing

Modern: RWU Flash

4 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Vendilion Clique
4 Snapcaster Mage

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
2 Spell Snare
4 Izzet Charm
1 Lightning Helix
2 Remand
4 Electrolyze
2 Batterskull
1 Sphinx's Revelation

4 Celestial Colonnade
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
4 Arid Mesa
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Plains
1 Mountain
3 Island
1 Slayer's Stronghold

2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Lightning Helix
2 Meddling Mage
3 Molten Rain
2 Negate
1 Purify the Grave
1 Runed Halo

Standard: Esper Control

2 Snapcaster Mage

4 Devour Flesh
4 Azorius Charm
4 Think Twice
1 Blind Obedience
4 Liliana of the Veil
1 Murder
1 Dissipate
1 Detention Sphere
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Jace, Memory Adept
4 Sphinx's Revelation

24 Duals
3 Nephalia Drownyard

Sideboard
1 Detention Sphere
1 Duress
3 Negate
4 Rest In Peace
4 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Witchbane Orb

UW Control in Modern

I recently wrote an article detailing many of the various options available to UW Control players in Modern. It wasn't meant to be comprehensive because there are still plenty of unexplored variations in the format. For instance, Spellstutter Sprite + Mutavault is something that could be viable (potentially in conjunction with equipment).

There are some other cool things that I've been exploring though, leading me to like this list. A few of the ideas I took from Riccardo Neri's Worlds 2009 Extended decklist (which I've always liked).

4 Celestial Colonnade
3 Hallowed Fountain
1 Watery Grave
4 Seachrome Coast
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Tolaria West
3 Island
1 Plains
2 Tectonic Edge
1 Academy Ruins

3 Wall of Omens
1 Snapcaster Mage
3 Vendilion Clique
2 Restoration Angel

2 Relic of Progenitus
4 Talisman of Progress
1 Batterskull
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Path to Exile
3 Spell Snare
3 Mana Leak
2 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Supreme Verdict
4 Cryptic Command
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Sphinx's Revelation

Sideboard
3 Damping Matrix
1 Batterskull
4 Meddling Mage
2 Runed Halo
2 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Celestial Purge

This version makes use of a few synergies not seeing play elsewhere:

• Tolaria West, Academy Ruins, Engineered Explosives

This package has very little cost and in a very diverse format can be rewarding. It shines in some matchups more than others (like GW Auras) but even in matchups you wouldn't expect, it can still be good. Also, playing Tolaria West increase the density of the deck slightly more.

• Relic of Progenitus, Talisman of Progress, Thirst for Knowledge

Maindeck Relic allows Thirst for Knowledge to be playable, which is something this deck really wanted, but is also great against the many graveyard interactions in the format. On occasion you'll end up exiling a card from your graveyard that you rather wouldn't but if you have to then you have to.

• Mystical Teachings

A pure value card that works really well with Cryptic Command and the many instants/flash creatures. At 1 copy and with a pretty modest curve, it should only be clunky in fast matchups.

Feel free to ask questions in the comments or on twitter. It's early in the week so I'm sure I'll make more changes but this is what I intend to PTQ with if I don't end up going to SCG San Diego this weekend.

UWb Control in STD

I've finally played a few games of Standard, and with a mostly original list no less. I have no idea where the deck stands against Zombies and Jund since I have done very little with it so far, but the deck is showing some promise.

The idea behind the deck is to be a control deck that doesn't rely on a creature to win. It generally gets advantages by keeping Planeswalkers alive. It usually takes a looong time to kill with...

4 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Plains
4 Island
2 Nephalia Drownyard

4 Azorius Charm
3 Think Twice
4 Lingering Souls
2 Forbidden Alchemy
4 Detention Sphere
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 Curse of Death's Hold
2 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
4 Terminus
3 Syncopate

2 Angel of Serenity
1 Dispel
4 Dissipate
2 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Sever the Bloodline
1 Sundering Growth
2 Ultimate Price

From the top, we have 26 lands with as many black sources available to us without playing Swamp. The reasoning there is that I'd like to be able to Azorius Charm very consistently.

Nephalia Drownyard seems innocuous but it is actually a game changer for other control decks. They usually have very few ways to answer it (Tamiyo) and so little happens in G1s that Drownyard just takes the game eventually. It's not the primary win condition because a lot of decks have graveyard synergy and you don't actually want to activate it on them but you can still activate it on yourself if you have nothing else to do.

Azorius Charm is one of the best things you can do both early in the game as well as late. I kinda wanted some Ultimate Price in the deck but I ended up just putting them in the SB.

However much I would love to play Sphinx's Revelation, Forbidden Alchemy gets the slot over it because it allows you to abuse all the graveyard interactions seen throughout the deck.

Curse of Death's Hold is a pretty narrow card and I'm pretty sure it will be the first card I cut when I'm looking for room but I didn't want to board it because a lot of decks will be bringing in enchantment hate anyways. It does do a pretty good job against opposing Lingering Souls though.

At the start of this format I thought that counterspells would be near unplayable. That changed very quickly. It turns out they are still playable and you actually want to have them in a number of matchups. Dissipate is certainly better than Syncopate, but the most important thing is being able to interact on turn2 so Syncopate gets the slot and Dissipate is in the SB.

UPDATE 10/29:

My updated list looks like this now:

4 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Swamp
3 Plains
4 Island
2 Nephalia Drownyard

4 Azorius Charm
3 Ultimate Price
4 Lingering Souls
4 Detention Sphere
1 Sever the Bloodline
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
2 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1 Supreme Verdict
3 Terminus
3 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Syncopate / Remove Soul

2 Angel of Serenity
1 Negate
3 Dissipate
3 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Pithing Needle
3 Seraph of Dawn
1 Sever the Bloodline
1 Ultimate Price

C:L Comprehensive Ability Sheet

Updated 9/27

I figured it would be a better idea to just list the comprehensive ability sheet rather than list the abilities that are currently on the rotating sheet. I keep the following amount on each successive tier on the active list at a time: 2, 5, 4, 3, 2.

Fifth Tier abilities (1 pt):

• Reach
• Wither
• Trample
• Vigilance
• Scry 1 or ETB scry 1
• Basic land type-walk

Fourth Tier abilities (3 pts):

• Flash
• Haste
• Flying
• Breath
• Exalted
• Shadow
• Populate or ETB Populate
• First Strike
• +1 toughness
• Regenerate for C
• Protection from a color
• Gain 2 life or ETB gain 2 life
• Cycling equal to C or 2 (+1 if the card was printed with madness)
• Draw a card then discard a card or ETB draw a card then discard a card
• Ninjutsu equal to 1C if CMC is <5, 2C if CMC is 5-6, and 3C if CMC is 7+
• Madness equal to 1C if CMC is <5, 2C if CMC is 5-6, and 3C if CMC is 7+
• Morph equal to C if CMC is <4, 1C if CMC is 4-5, 3C if CMC is 6, and 3CC if CMC is 7+ (you may pay an additional point to change ETB abilities to "turned face up" ones; put only on creatures)

Third Tier abilities (6 pts, 7 pts if it's the second sticker for a card):

• Graft 1
• Shroud
• Unleash
• +1 power
• Defender
• Protection from a card type
• Scavenge XCC where X is 1 less than the creature's power
• Deal 2 damage to target player or ETB deal 2 damage to target player
• Miracle equal to C if CMC is <6, 1C if CMC is 6-7, and 2C if CMC is 8+
• Unearth equal to 1C if CMC is <5, 2C if CMC is 5-6, and 3C if CMC is 7+
• Switch a keyword ability with one worth the same amount of points or less that appears on the comprehensive ability sheet
• Glass-spin (whenever this permanent becomes the target of a spell or ability for the first time in a turn, counter that spell or ability)

Second Tier abilities (9 pts, 10 if it's the second sticker for a card):

• Persist
• Dredge 3
• Hexproof
• Recover 2C
• Echo equal to mana cost
• Draw a card or ETB draw a card
• Increase or decrease a numeral in a textbox by 1
• When this card deals damage to a player draw a card
• Suspend 2 equal to up to 2C less than CMC, but not less than C
• When this card deals damage to a player that player discards a card at random
• Change colored mana symbols in a card's mana cost or text box to phyrexian mana symbols

First Tier abilities (12 pts, 14 if it's the second sticker for a card):

• Graft 2
• Undying
• Cascade
• Rebound
• Flashback
• Indestructible
• Double Strike
• Creatures you control get +1/+1 (put on only permanents)

Ability Reset (4 pts): Remove all ability stickers from a card. This option is usable on any card but not after the card has become a part of a cube in progress.

When buying an ability for a card that has one or more counterparts (double faced cards, Squadron Hawks, etc.), for each counterpart you may pay 1 more to give it the same ability.

The winner of each cube draft gets to roll a die to obtain one of the following rewards to be used at the appropriate time:

• Obtain a random first or second tier ability sticker.

• At a time when you could normally buy a sticker, move a sticker on a card in your pool to a different card that has no stickers. Repeat this process.

• The current cube is now a 3v3 team cube. You pick the teams. Use after drafting is completed (winning team members each win a reward).

• Everyone reveals their first picks. You choose one of them for yourself, the rest are randomly redistributed. Use only after P1P1.

• Choose either the drafter to your left or your right. Look at that player’s picks and exchange one card from their picks with a card from yours. Use between packs during the draft.

• Challenge a player to a heads up best of 5 sealed deck match. Wager an amount of points of your choosing.

• Add a rare of your choice to the Cube. Make it count because the cube owner may veto ridiculous suggestions and you only have two chances to get it right.

• Name a card in your pool in your honor. That card costs 1 less for you to cast and 1 more for your opponents.

Zombies And A Control Mockup

First, this is the deck that I expect to be strong at the beginning of the format. I feel that the format will hinge on this deck or something close to it:

4 Gravecrawler
4 Diregraf Ghoul
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Blood Artist
4 Rakdos Shred-Freak
4 Geralf's Messenger
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat

4 Pillar of Flame
4 Brimstone Volley
1 Tragic Slip

4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
2 Mountain
13 Swamp

The fear of this deck stems from the fact that it's hyper-aggressive (12 one-drops) and that it has threats that are hard to answer/ require specific removal (Gravecrawler, Geralf's Messenger, Falkenrath Aristocrat). There are answers to these cards but they tend to be limited in some way. Azorius Charm isn't permenant, Oblivion Ring/Detention Sphere and Sever the Bloodline are clunky, and Knight of Glory is not difficult to answer (BG even has Golgari Charm). Sensory Deprivation and Pacifism might actually be reasonable options seeing as they're both maindeckable and hit any creature, but they don't stop Gravecrawler and Messenger forever (and then there's Abrupt Decay and Golgari Charm).

As far as a control deck goes, I'm having a hard time figuring out a reasonable configuration (as is the case with any unknown format). This is what I've currently got cooking:

2 Snapcaster Mage

4 Pillar of Flame
4 Izzet Charm
4 Mizzium Mortars
2 Desperate Ravings
4 Lingering Souls
4 Rakdos Keyrune
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
2 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1 Devil's Play
3 Sphinx's Revelation

4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Clifftop Retreat
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Steam Vents
4 Sulfur Falls
2 Island
3 Mountain

The color breakdown of the deck is very odd. The only white cards are Lingering Souls and Sphinx's Revelation and the only black costs are Souls, Rakdos Keyrune, and a Nicol Bolas. With 10-11 lands untapping the M10 lands I think the mana could actually work out.

The first black card I decided to play was Lingering Souls. It just feels really powerful with Planeswalkers, against certain creatures, and is also a potent win condition. The second black card was Rakdos Keyrune which is miles better than other Keyrunes in control decks. Being able to cast Pillar of Flame off it is one of the reasons for that. I might not actually want any Keyrunes in this deck but Sphinx's Revelation has me pining for them. Nicol Bolas was actually an afterthought. I wanted a game ender and he seemed least vulnerable and also versatile.

Sphinx's Revelation gives the deck access to a huge swing. It might also be the reason we want to keep our curve low. Casting it for 2 is not the worst thing you can do for five mana, but once you pass that point it gets pretty powerful.

Who knows whether or not the deck is actually good. It might not even fare well against the deck I had most in mind when making it, but we'll have to wait and see. Until then it'll just be Cube, Pauper, Modern, and Sealed for me.

Battle Pod

I've done some streaming and some testing with a deck I'm calling "Battle Pod." I knew it wouldn't be a great success going in, but I was convinced I could make something of it. Now, I'm not so sure. The deck started out as a giant Birthing Pod deck that had a ton of useless singletons. I trimmed it down so that it turned into a Ramp-Birthing Pod-Battle of Wits hybrid and saw some reasonable success in 2-man queues (broke even in tix). But the variance of the deck can't really be helped, thus it is a failed experiment. But if you'd like to give the deck a shot (hopefully just for fun) then continue reading.

One of my guidelines in forging the deck was that there needed to be a lot of value/two-for-one cards in order to offset the likelihood of mana flood/variance. Another was to keep the deck as streamlined as possible also to reduce variance.

Miracles seemed like a good idea in the deck since they will be live a lot more often in a giant deck, but the idea might be slightly misguided. For one thing, the mana is difficult and you won't always have the correct colors for miracles at the right times. And then there's the issue with having too many cards that are stuck in your hand. Bonfire of the Damned (and Terminus in other versions/SB) should continue to be in the deck but I think I'm done with Temporal Mastery in the deck.

I narrowed down the necessary Birthing Pod/Green Sun's Zenith targets to the following:

Rune-Scarred Demon

Sunblast Angel

Fiend Hunter

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

Inferno Titan

Deceiver Exarch

Wurmcoil Engine

Viridian Corrupter

Mwonvuli Beast Tracker

Wolfir Silverheart

Stingerfling Spider

Acidic Slime

Strangleroot Geist

I'd say that's pretty streamlined

Now, for the 4-ofs:

Creatures:

4 Birds of Paradise

4 Avacyn's Pilgrim

4 Llanowar Elves

4 Elvish Visionary

4 Viridian Emissary

4 Scorned Villager

4 Phantasmal Image

4 Borderland Ranger

4 Blade Splicer

4 Huntmaster of the Fells

4 Solemn Simulacrum

4 Restoration Angel

4 Phyrexian Metamorph

4 Thragtusk

4 Primeval Titan

You'll notice that most of the 4-ofs are either ramp or value creatures, as they should be.

Primeval Titan, being the most consistent win condition to hit play, might actually be the best card in the deck. It is capable of fixing all mana issues and of putting a lot of additional power into play. If you're really psycho (or have a better functioning mana base), you could even include Glimmerpost in the list. The utility land package I currently have is 1 Gavony Township, 1 Kessig Wolf Run, 1 Vault of the Archangel. The Vault is actually a surprisingly awesome slot. It does something that Primeval Titan isn't usually capable of, which is racing from really tough spots.

Noncreatures:

4 Ponder

4 Abundant Growth

4 Rampant Growth

4 Farseek

4 Sphere of the Suns

4 Vessel of Endless Rest

4 Divination

4 Forbidden Alchemy

4 Birthing Pod

4 Ranger's Path

4 Garruk Relentless

4 Battle of Wits

4 Gideon Jura

4 Tamiyo the Moon Sage

4 Green Sun's Zenith

4 Bonfire of the Damned

I'm not sure if this version of the deck should actually include Increasing Ambition. It's not likely that you will have 5-mana available and the ability to do nothing two turns in a row without dying.

In this version I've opted for Ranger's Path over Gilded Lotus because we care about that extra turn a lot. And hopefully we're casting Primeval Titan or something else big the turn we'd be casting the Lotus.

The deck does actually want to have removal, but it wants to have the broadest removal possible which is why wrath effects and planeswalkers are best. Something like Dismember could also fit and is something I'd consider.

Initially, I was convinced that Venser the Sojourner would be an auto-include in the deck but I've found that it's not reliable enough. Very rarely will you have a worthwhile card to blink and have Venser sticking around. I've now switch to both Gideon (which I think will be really good) and Tamiyo to accompany him.

I'm contemplating Lingering Souls especially since the two worst matchups are Delver and Zombies. For now I'm going with the heavy planeswalker package because I think they fill a role that this deck needs filled but I'll keep Souls in mind.

Everything else:

2 Zealous Conscripts

2 Mycosynth Wellspring

2 Trading Post

I like two Conscripts because sometimes you want to tutor for the second one.

Then we have two additional mana fixers,and two Trading Posts. Trading Post does enough stuff that we don't mind having a few copies, though I don't think we want to see it often enough to play four.

This deck is capable enough of winning without Battle of Wits that I see no reason to waste a slot on a card like Elixir of Immortality. It would just be another dead card to draw.

Karn Liberated is a noticeable card that is missing from this list. I'm very hesitant to add more 7-drops to the deck but that could just be my normal deck instincts. If I continue playing the deck I'll definitely consider Karn.

75 creatures, 68 spells, now for the 88 lands:

20 Forest

11 Island

7 Plains

1 Mountain

1 Swamp

4 Seachrome Coast

4 Glacial Fortress

1 Darkslick Shores

4 Copperline Gorge

4 Rootbound Crag

4 Razorverge Thicket

4 Sunpetal Grove

1 Isolated Chapel

4 Woodland Cemetery

4 Hinterland Harbor

4 Sulfur Falls

3 Clifftop Retreat

4 Evolving Wilds

1 Gavony Township

1 Kessig Wolf Run

1 Vault of the Archangel

By no means perfect, but there's not much else to work with (Shimmering Grotto...?). You will mulligan a lot because of the lands and other times you will just draw a ton of them because there are so many mana sources. That's the variance you have to accept to play this deck.

No 231 card deck is complete without the last 15:

4 Terminus

4 Day of Judgment

1 Tree of Redemption

1 Silklash Spider

1 Glissa, the Traitor

1 Sylvok Replica

1 Ghost Quarter

2 ?

When you don't get to see your sideboard cards very often, you want them to be as impactful and as tutorable as possible. As such, I have eight additional wrath effects, and 5 useful tutor targets. Not much else fits in the remaining two slots. I'm sure there's some more tutor targets but they would end up being wasted space.

Well, that's Battle Pod. I think with the new changes I want to try the deck again but I know it won't end witty.

C:L July Cube Update

Hello cube enthusiasts! I have a good amount of stuff to update you on about the happenings of my cube. First, I’ve updated the ability sheet and achievement/rewards pages at the bottom of the blog. Second, I’ve shifted a few cards around after giving some more thought to the M13 changes. Those changes are as follows:

    Simian Grunts > Farhaven Elf

After playing with Simian Grunts (despite the fact that its been in the cube for a long time) I realized it’s actually shit. Echo makes cards really bad and every card with the ability has slowly been cut from the cube. I think we’re down to just Goblin Patrol, Ghitu Slinger, Albino Troll, and Hetrick Champion.

    Crippling Chill > Jilt

Crippling Chill was never supposed to stick around. I just needed to find a suitable replacement and Jilt is perfect. I overlooked it a while back and then just didn’t realize how good it is.

    Feeling of Dread > War Falcon

I thought Feeling of Dread would be a decent card but it’s very narrow. White decks are usually not great and Feeling of Dread is probably one of the worst cards you’ll find in a bad white deck. War Falcon (errataed to say Rebel of course) is another one-drop, 2-power flying creature which is perfect for white.

    Dauthi Slayer > Surakar Murauder

There’s nothing wrong with Dauthi Slayer except that black has an abundance of creatures that can’t block and also cards that are black intensive. As such, I’ve decided to cut it for the more versatile Surakar Murauder.

    AEther Spellbomb > Traumatic Visions

In short, there’s too many bounce spells and Traumatic Visions is a nice card for blue mages to have access to.

    Latch Seeker > Fettergiest

As a narrow double-U card, Latch Seeker wasn’t particularly impressive. Fettergeist is a cool card for blue to have that I overlooked from AVR.

    Wonder > Stern Mentor

Blue decks usually don’t really care about giving flying to the few creatures they have that don’t already have flying. Stern Mentor allows for potential mill wins single-handedly which is something I like having as an option.

    Recoil > Cut

    Jungle Barrier > Cut

    Giant Ambush Beetle > Cut

    Monstrous Carabid > Cut

I mentioned in my last update that I’m working on cutting the worst of the gold cards because they are usually the latest picks and because RTR is around the corner. Recoil is also out because of the large amount of bounce spells. Jungle Barrier is out because there are now too many UG cards. The other two are just lackluster and don’t see a lot of play.


In updating the Achievements/Rewards section, I decided that the both the achievements need to be more difficult and the rewards need to be splashier. Therefore a lot of them have been removed from the list or updated to reflect that.

One of the new rewards is something that’s been requested for a bit: the ability to add a rare to the cube (treated as an uncommon). I ended up switching out the reward for the “mulligan to 4 and win” achievement with the new one because it has been on the sheet so long without being achieved. It was shortly achieved and Snapcaster Mage was added to the cube.

Shriekmaw (Graft 1, Persist), AEther Adept (Graft 1, Persist), and Mulldrifter (Persist) have been reset. I gave Beast Attack Cascade and someone else gave it Rebound. No one has reset that one yet...

A new ability that I added to the third tier reads, “switch a keyword ability with one worth the same amount of points or less.” This is a tricky ability to enact because you (cube owner) have to know/decide what all keyword abilities are worth. It’s a really sweet one though. It lets players make cards that they deem “too good” into less powerful ones (read: poop) as they see fit. Defender (6 pts) is an interesting ability to make use of. I’m allowing this ability to overrule the “only 2 stickers” rule because it doesn’t technically add an ability.


Recently, some local players liked the idea of Cube:Legacy and created their own with a real (and powered) cube. They went way over the top though. Their ability sheet was 4 pages long and included just about everything you could think of (change colored mana symbols to phyrexian mana, etb destroy artifact or enchantment, etb search library for basic land/any land).

One of the abilities I liked most is one they adapted from my sheet. “Counterparts” turned into a keyword ability called friendship which acts similar to soulbond. For instance, If you give friendship to Attended Knight then whatever abilities that card has its “friend” also has. I’m not sure about the logistics surrounding it (infi tokens? works after Attended Knight has died?) but I love the idea.

Their experiment ended up being a success, but not for very long. Without any efforts to keep it balanced It got pretty far out of hand. I’m sure that I’ll adopt a bunch of their ideas in the near future.


Another fun idea I discovered recently was the BoozeCube. If you’re not familiar, it’s a format/cube designed with drinking dynamics and is intended to get you drunk (what else?). The design space for such a game is pretty wide open. I’m not about to create an entirely new cube but I do think I could incorporate some of the simpler things from BoozeCube into my ongoing cube project, most likely just adding boozetouch or something similar to the ability sheet. You can find out more about that here.

C:L Achievements and Rewards (Discontinued 9/27)

The achievement part of the game was abandoned on 9/27/12 to help lower the barrier of entry. There was a blog post on the same day that talks about the change.

Achievement Criteria

There are up to 7 achievements available at a time. Each one has a randomly attached reward from the Rewards found below. They are single use and should be self explanatory.

• Kill a player with a 11+ power creature.

This one gives players the option to prolong the game in order to meet this achievement. I consider that to be okay since that will give their opponent a chance to get back in the game.

I increased it from 10 to 11 because I realized Artisan of Kozilek has 10 power when I thought it had 9. It gets achieved easily enough so it's a fair update.

• Win a game while your opponent has a card with two stickers in play.

This is the perfect kind of achievement. It rewards a player from coming back from a difficult situation. It used to include games that such a card was cast, whether or not it was in play. It's more appropriate this way now that there are a lot more cards with two stickers.

• Mulligan to 5 and win.

Used to be 4 but that took a really long time to be achieved. This should be better.

• Cast Dead Weight against Ricky.

This one took a surprisingly long time to be achieved. I tried to do it many times but pairings never worked out in my favor. I think it was a really fun idea to include a specific person but wouldn’t want to include more than 2 achievements like this one at a time.

• Kill someone with a card named after them.

This was achieved surprisingly fast but it’s still a really good one. It’s difficult to accomplish but feels really good when you do. It shouldn't be achieved nearly as fast as it was the first time.

• Overkill your opponent by at least 11 damage.

One of the new splashy ones. I'd say pretty fun to achieve.

• Lose a game on or before turn 4.

Not every achievement should be about something positive. Sometimes losers should also get something, preferably when they feel like they didn't have a chance.

• Deck out each of your opponents.

Yet to be achieved. This one might just be too difficult. Players are likely to want to concede before their opponent has a chance to finish them off. This one will probably leave the list.

C:L M13 Updates

A few changes are in order for M13. I’ve also made some more updates to the Ability Sheet since my last post.

   Cloudchaser Kestrel > Attended Knight

Cloudchaser Kestrel has been a pretty big disappointment in the cube mostly due to white’s monopoly on enchantments and Kestrel's ability not being a "may" effect. Attended Knight is a reasonable replacement and gives white one of it's only "value" creatures... Yes, I know how bad that sounds.

   Sigiled Paladin > Knight of Glory

Sigiled Paladin was fine at its job but Knight of Glory does a lot of the same without costing CC. That type of costing has become a small issue in the cube so I’m trying to eliminate a few of those cards. This works out nicely because MBC has also become a very powerful archetype and needs some balance.

   Tower Geist > Arctic Aven

Another small issue in the cube is the large amount of value creatures and card draw. The card draw is worth a lot less when there are so many value creatures, so you end up seeing most of those cards going around the table. To remedy this I’m cutting down on some of the superfluous value cards and also some of the card draw. Tower Geist is first to go and is replaced my one of my favorite new cards, Baneslayer Aven.

   Courier’s Capsule > Faerie Invaders

Second to go is Courier’s Capsule. It was a holdover from when Sanctum Gargoyle and Razor Hippogriff were part of the cube anyways.

   Jace's Ingenuity > Talrand's Invocation

And the other card draw spell to go is Jace’s Ingenuity (which recently replaced Tidings in the cube). Talrand’s Invocation should prove to be a pretty sweet card in its place.

   Pestilence > Veilborn Ghoul

Pestilence started its life in the cube as an uncommon because of its power level despite once being printed as a common. But I decided that its not actually too good to be a common after all. Veilborn Ghoul is a card I am a little doubtful of. While black would love a win condition that is hard to deal with, it is also in no short supply of creatures that can’t block.

   Blind Zealot > Pestilence

Blind Zealot never performed as expected. It was neither good removal nor a good creature. There is also a flood in the black three-drop creatures and this seemed like the worst of the bunch.

   Viscera Dragger > Bloodhunter Bat

Viscera Dragger has been a very lackluster card throughout the cube’s lifespan. I don’t know why I didn’t cut it sooner. Bloodhunter Bat is much like Blind Hunter, which I cut when doing some gold card trimming. It's much more reasonable as just a black card.

   Falkenrath Noble > Knight of Infamy

There are usually not enough creatures around (or not enough time) to make Falkenrath Noble good. I was testing him out and he didn’t prove worthwhile. Knight of Infamy fills a hole in black’s two-drop slot and is a fine aggressive creature or control win condition.

   Blind Creeper > Liliana's Shade

You can’t really expect much from vanilla creatures like Blind Creeper. His stay didn’t last long. Liliana’s Shade gives another win condition and value creature to MBC. Certainly a quality card, but I might still be overflowing some of MBC’s tools.

   Executioner's Capsule > Murder

Like the other Capsule, this was a holdover from when Trinket Mage and friends were in the cube. Murder isn’t exactly exciting, but makes a reasonable replacement.

   Squealing Devil > Crimson Muckwader

I like Squealing Devil (and other similarly designed cards) a lot, but as a RB Aggro card, it doesn’t actually make a lot of sense. Crimson Muckwader is a pretty strong replacement.

   Skirk Marauder > Mogg Flunkies

Skirk Marauder wasn’t really a two-drop, but it also wasn’t a good three-drop. It just wasn’t a very good card. I think I have been leaving it in so that there is at least some confusion on what someones morph could be. Mogg Flunkies is a very well designed red card and I think is a card I simply forgot about. It fits red so well.

   Zektar Shrine Expedition > Reckless Brute

There was a reason Zektar Shrine Expedition was in the cube, but it wasn’t really a good one. Reckless Brute has a much simpler reason.

   Jade Mage > Flinthoof Boar

There are already two cards that fill a similar role to Jade Mage (Sprout Swarm and Selesnya Guildmage). I don't mind having three cards that do the same thing, but I had to cut something to make room for Flinthoof Boar. It's possible Jade Mage will find her way back into the cube.

   Pathbreaker Wurm > Sentinel Spider

Pathbreaker Wurm was the obligatory common green fatty that I wanted to have at least one of. It wasn’t very good. Sentinel Spider is only a small improvement, but I think green has enough other fatties anyways.

    Path to Exile > Swords to Plowshares

An obvious switch, Path is nowhere near as good as Swords (especially in this cube).

   Wrecking Ball > Cut

   Mistmeadow Witch > Cut

I’ve been cutting down on gold cards not just because Ravnica is around the corner. The mediocre gold cards are the ones that table and end up last picks the most often so I am only leaving in the best ones.

Wrecking Ball was in originally because of the small LD theme in the cube but I prefer for that theme to be even smaller. Mistmeadow Witch was an all-star in the early days of the cube but as it improved the card got worse and worse.


Since my last post, Mulldrifter (undying, unearth) and Dauthi Marauder (shroud, lifelink) have been reset. I’ve come to realize that I might have undervalued the persist and undying mechanics. They are the cause of most of the problem cards that have been created. Thus, persist has moved to the next tier and undying will do the same when it returns to the list.

My original reason for including a few abilities that can be bought for 1 point was to give new players something to do with their minuscule number of points after a match or two. I’ve since decided to cut them from the sheet but think that they are something you should have for a Cube:Legacy it its infancy.

Despite having enough points, still no one has bought Cascade or Flashback. It’s possible that they might have had I not implemented a new 50-point rule. I was given the idea by a jokester and of course I didn’t expect anybody to attempt it (because who is that stupid). Lo and behold someone is over halfway there. The rule is that you may spend 50 points to change the name of the cube to resemble yourself. For example, if Shahar “The Rat” Shenhar does reach his 50 point goal and renames the cube, the correct way to reference the cube will be as such: “Hey, do you guys want to go down to the sewer? I bet there’s some good scraps tonight.”


For the achievements, I think that I've made them too easy but I haven't yet had time to revamp them. It seems as though whenever I renew them three are achieve during the first cube. I'll have to work on that for next time.

C:L In Indianapolis

When cubing with some first timers in Indianapolis this past weekend I realized that being able to make broken cards so easily (the ones I mentioned above) is a hindrance to newcomers and to fun in general. So, I did end up resetting Sakura-Tribe Elder before starting that draft. The other broken cards still exist because I don’t want to be the one spending all my points on resets (and why would I reset my own Crusher?), but as the cube owner I’ll probably get over that. In any case, I’ve decided to make it harder to create such unfair cards by increasing the point cost when the second sticker is being added to a card. I think that should keep things a bit more balanced for a while.

Addendum:
Since this post, I’ve realized that costing a few extra points won't stop someone from making a broken card if they want to. A better fix for the problem is to have abilities with insane synergy, like Graft 1 and Persist, on the sheet at different times. Persist and Undying also happened to be undercosted during that time. They are now worth 9 and 12 points. It’s still possible to make some broken cards but now it requires jumping through hoops.

Cube: Legacy, Fun=Success (start here)

The original article by Gregory Marques on “Cube: Legacy” can be found here and my Pauper Cube list (updated regularly) can be found here.

I don’t ball hard enough to own a “real” cube, so about a year ago I decided to start production on a “Pauper Cube.” The idea behind the cube was that it wouldn’t just be an “all good stuff cube” like many of the “real” cubes are, but a cube that would resemble a real Limited format. I’ve used other common/uncommon based cubes as guides and evolve it when I find new cards that fill holes in the cube.

My friends and I had a good time with my cube for a while, but eventually they got tired of it and often preferred to use a "real" cube. At about the same time, Gregory Marques wrote an article about Cube: Legacy. Suffice it to say, I was thoroughly impressed by the depth and interactivity his idea would provide for a cube like mine.

Without much delay I created my own guidelines and stickers for Pauper Cube: Legacy and we had ourselves a new format that could detract attention from using "real" cubes. It's a bit of work keeping a Cube: Legacy functioning, but I imagine that all cubes are in different ways.

In the first draft we did, Sakura-Tribe Elder was given Undying and I realized that drafting with just spikes would end up ruining a lot of the potential for fun, but it would also add to it in other ways (for example, I turn3ed Shahar last weekend). I ended up adding a way to reset cards in order to fix problems like this as they pop up. Just having it as an option also helps as a deterrent from things like that.

Currently, the most broken (and apt to be reset) cards in the cube include: Hetrick’s Crusher with Hexproof and Miracle 2, Mulldrifter with Undying and Unearth, and Sakura-Tribe Elder with Undying and Persist.

If you’d like to work on your own Cube: Legacy (or are just interested), I’ve included my current rules and rotating ability sheet below. And if you’d like to make your own custom stickers, try visiting onlinelabels.com. You can order a couple sheets of "labels" as samples and use their software to print out very effective ability stickers. I spent a bit of time doing that myself and ended up losing all the stickers at GP Anaheim. Now I just write on slips of paper and stick them in the sleeve until I have time to make appropriate stickers. I only ordered 3 sheets of label paper but I still have months before I'll run out.