Best of Draft Cube

[Thomas David Baker]

A cube of the best common and uncommon draft picks from the last 22 sets. Here's what we have so far.

What do you think?

Lists particularly in need of review by people who know what they are doing are: ROE, COK, BOK, SOK, LRW, MOR, GPT, DIS, 5DN.

# ROE Beastbreaker of Bala Ged Brimstone Mage Corpsehatch Dawnglare Invoker Domestication Enclave Cryptologist Flame Slash Forked Bolt Hada Spy Patrol Heat Ray Joraga Treespeaker Last Kiss Narcolepsy Nirkana Cutthroat Oust Pelakka Wurm Smite Staggershock Vendetta Wall of Omens # WWK Bestial Menace Calcite Snapper Cunning Sparkmage Leatherback Baloth Loam Lion Refraction Trap Searing Blaze Tideforce Elemental Tomb Hex Vapor Snare # ZEN Baloth Woodcrasher Burst Lightning Disfigure Gatekeeper of Malakir Grazing Gladehart Hideous End Inferno Trap Journey to Nowhere Kor Skyfisher Living Tsunami Marsh Casualties Merfolk Seastalkers Plated Geopede Punishing Fire River Boa Shepherd of the Lost Torch Slinger Trusty Machete Vampire Nighthawk Vines of Vastwood	# M10 Air Elemental Armored Ascension Blinding Mage Cudgel Troll Doom Blade Dragon Whelp Fireball Goblin Artillery Harm's Way Howl of the Night Pack Lightning Bolt Merfolk Looter Mind Control Overrun Pacifism Pyroclasm Serra Angel Sleep Tendrils of Corruption # ARB Behemoth Sledge Bituminous Blast Bloodbraid Elf Enlisted Wurm Esper Stormblade Marisi's Twinclaws Qasali Pridemage Slave of Bolas Terminate Vengeful Rebirth # CFX Ember Weaver Esper Cormorants Grixis Slavedriver Parasitic Strix Path to Exile Sedraxis Alchemist Shambling Remains Viashino Slaughtermaster Volcanic Fallout Wild Leotau # ALA Agony Warp Branching Bolt Bull Cerodon Executioner's Capsule Fatestitcher Infest Jund Charm Knight of the Skyward Eye Magma Spray Naya Charm Necrogenesis Oblivion Ring Resounding Thunder Rhox Charger Rhox War Monk Sprouting Thrinax Tower Gargoyle Vithian Stinger Wild Nacatl Woolly Thoctar	# EVE Ballynock Trapper Cankerous Thirst Desecrator Hag Hatchet Bully Noggle Bandit Puncture Blast Savage Conception Snakeform Unmake Wickerbough Elder # SHM Biting Tether Boggart Ram-Gang Burn Trail Devoted Druid Firespout Grief Tyrant Hungry Spriggan Incremental Blight Kitchen Finks Kulrath Knight Mistmeadow Witch Murderous Redcap Plumeveil Prison Term Rune-Cervin Rider Seedcradle Witch Silkbind Faerie Spectral Procession Torrent of Souls Trip Noose # MOR Boldwyr Intimidator Meadowboon Obsidian Battle-Axe Rivals' Duel Spitebellows Stonybrook Schoolmaster Swell of Courage Thornbite Staff Violet Pall War-Spike Changeling # LRW Briarhorn Changeling Berserker Cloudgoat Ranger Crib Swap Dreamspoiler Witches Eyeblight's Ending Final Revels Goldmeadow Harrier Imperious Perfect Knight of Meadowgrain Lash Out Makeshift Mannequin Marsh Flitter Mulldrifter Nameless Inversion Neck Snap Shriekmaw Tarfire Thundercloud Shaman Warren Pilferers	# FUT Arc Blade Foresee Gathan Raiders Ichor Slick Imperiosaur Infiltrator il-Kor Kavu Primarch Nacatl War-Pride Spin into Myth Sprout Swarm # PLC Calciderm Shaper Parasite Necrotic Sliver Deadwood Treefolk Shade of Trokair Harmonize Pyrohemia Dead / Gone Enslave Stonecloaker # TSP Basalt Gargoyle Brine Elemental Careful Consideration Castle Raptors Crookclaw Transmuter Durkwood Baloth Errant Ephemeron Firemaw Kavu Griffin Guide Looter il-Kor Nightshade Assassin Riftwing Cloudskate Spiketail Drakeling Sporesower Thallid Strangling Soot Sudden Death Sulfurous Blast Temporal Isolation Tromp the Domains Weatherseed Totem
# GPT Blind Hunter Electrolyze Gelectrode Mortify Pillory of the Sleepless Repeal Savage Twister Thunderheads Wee Dragonauts Wildsize # DIS Condemn Guardian of the Guildpact Leafdrake Roost Minister of Impediments Plumes of Peace Rakdos Guildmage Rakdos Ickspitter Rise / Fall Sky Hussar Wrecking Ball # RAV Belltower Sphinx Boros Guildmage Carven Caryatid Compulsive Research Drooling Groodion Faith's Fetters Galvanic Arc Greater Mossdog Keening Banshee Lightning Helix Mark of Eviction Moldervine Cloak Moroii Oathsworn Giant Putrefy Selesnya Guildmage Shambling Shell Trophy Hunter Vedalken Dismisser Watchwolf	# SOK Captive Flame Death Denied Ghost-Lit Raider Hail of Arrows Hand of Cruelty Hand of Honor Manriki-Gusari O-Naginata Rushing-Tide Zubera Stampeding Serrow # BOK Genju of the Cedars Genju of the Falls Genju of the Fields Genju of the Spires Horobi's Whisper Matsu-Tribe Sniper Ninja of the Deep Hours Okiba-Gang Shinobi Shimmering Glasskite Throat Slitter # COK Befoul Cage of Hands Distress Ghostly Prison Hanabi Blast Hideous Laughter Hinder Kabuto Moth Kami of Ancient Law Kitsune Blademaster Mystic Restraints Nezumi Graverobber No-Dachi Otherworldly Journey Pull Under Rend Flesh Ronin Houndmaster Sakura-Tribe Elder Samurai of the Pale Curtain Sensei's Divining Top	# 5DN Cranial Plating Devour in Shadow Eternal Witness Furnace Whelp Grafted Wargear Loxodon Anchorite Magma Jet Sunburst Manta Vedalken Mastermind Vulshok Sorcerer # DST Barbed Lightning Chittering Rats Juggernaut Leonin Battlemage Leonin Bola Loxodon Mystic Nemesis Mask Skullclamp Test of Faith Vulshok Morningstar # MIR Aether Spellbomb Barter in Blood Betrayal of Flesh Blinding Beam Bonesplitter Crystal Shard Grab the Reins Icy Manipulator Isochron Scepter Leonin Skyhunter Lightning Greaves Loxodon Warhammer Mask of Memory One Dozen Eyes Predator's Strike Pyrite Spellbomb Slith Firewalker Terror Thirst for Knowledge Viridian Shaman	# Fixing Akoum Refuge Graypelt Refuge Jwar Isle Refuge Kazandu Refuge Sejiri Refuge Rupture Spire Arcane Sanctum Crumbling Necropolis Jungle Shrine Savage Lands Seaside Citadel Azorius Chancery Boros Garrison Dimir Aqueduct Golgari Rot Farm Gruul Turf Izzet Boilerworks Orzhov Basilica Rakdos Carnarium Selesnya Sanctuary Simic Growth Chamber Azorius Signet Boros Signet Dimir Signet Golgari Signet Gruul Signet Izzet Signet Orzhov Signet Rakdos Signet Selesnya Signet Simic Signet

[Thomas David Baker]

If you know about Kamigawa it would be great if you did a list. My Kamigawa experience is one triple Betrayers Winston draft with Kieran :) Stone Rain and Eye of Nowhere definitely need to be removed but there are probably several others.

Don't the Hondens require Shrines?

Paul Hodgson said:

Yep, shard is fabulous.
For COK - Stone Rain? Really? How about Cage of Hands, Blood Rites, Frostwielder or one of the Hondens (Blue one is fine by itself).

[Paul Hodgson]

The problem with KAM block is that it's massively incestuous - a lot of the first picks rely on Spirits or Arcane. e.g. glacial ray, teller of tales etc. The core set mechanics are insular, splice and soulshift make for powerful, resilient decks, but not if the card pool isn't setup to support them.

Blue Honden is a personal howling mine, there might be an argument for including the rest of them but they're pretty weak standalone. Take out eye of nowhere and stone rain for cage of hands and strength of cedars, I'll review the rest when I get home tonight (and BOK and SOK). I did far too much drafting of that set online...

Thomas David Baker said:

If you know about Kamigawa it would be great if you did a list. My Kamigawa experience is one triple Betrayers Winston draft with Kieran :) Stone Rain and Eye of Nowhere definitely need to be removed but there are probably several others.

Don't the Hondens require Shrines?

Paul Hodgson said:

Yep, shard is fabulous.
For COK - Stone Rain? Really? How about Cage of Hands, Blood Rites, Frostwielder or one of the Hondens (Blue one is fine by itself).

[Charlie Grover]

Right, finally read the second half of te list properly, proposed changes:
COK: -eye of nowhere, stone rain + cage of hands, nezumi shortfang (hes like surrakar marauder but better..)
MIR: -skeletal shard + granite shard
DAR: -grimclaw bats -darksteel gargoyle, + nemesis mask, test of faith (both sick cards)
BOK: -matsu tribe sniper, hundred talon trike, horobi's whisper + throat slitter, okiba gang shinobi, jetting glasskite,
FD: -trinket mage, guardian idol + loxodon anchorite, vedalken mastermind
sok: -feral lightning + stampeding serrow
dis: -paladin of prav +Gaurdian of the guildpact

Im fairly sure most of those changes would be correct..

[Rob Wagner]

Yeah agree with Charlie,

You should add mystical teachings as well, even though it wasn't that sick in the format it would probably end up being pretty good in this format, interacts v well with faeries etc.

Halimar wavewatch is definitely correct, it's blues best common! Trinket mage should stay - he can tutor for top/clamp/splitter/bola/lands. I think LOR block should have a few changelings as they will embelish the tribal and spirit based effects from the different blocks while staying strong - bring on the changelings!

5DN needs the sunburst manta - best common.

No betrayal of flesh in mirrodin? That was like the best non-rare card!

I love the idea of this cube - you might want to add some shroud guys as it seems 50% of the cube is removal.

[Thomas David Baker]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

What should we remove from 5DN for Sunburst Manta? And from ROE for Halimar Wavewatch?

Shroud-wise we have Hada Spy Patrol, Calcite Snapper, Calciderm plus Lightning Greaves and Vines of Vastwood. Not that much. There aren't many candidates for inclusion, either, though: Algae Gharial, Aspect of Mongoose, Clout of the Dominus, Deft Duelist, Hisoka's Guard, Naya Hushblade, Protective Bubble, Whispersilk Cloak. Not sure any of those is a first pick or makes the cube much better?

[Simon O'Keeffe]

Rob Wagner said:

... Trinket mage should stay - he can tutor for top/clamp/splitter/bola/lands. .

I'm pretty sure Tom isn't including the artifact lands, which brings down Trinket Mages usefulness a bit. At first I disagreed with Charlie that he should come out, but the more I think about he may be correct. The mage will quite often be too narrow to make your deck.

I did propose Btrayal of Flesh in my list of MIR cards.

Guardian of the Guildpact will probably be almost a 1st pick in this cube.

[Thomas David Baker]

Trinket Mage targets: Trusty Machete, Executioner's Capsule, O-Naginata, Sensei's Divining Top, Leonin Bola, Skullclamp, Æther Spellbomb, Bonesplitter, Pyrite Spellbomb. Seems like he would be pretty cool if you got even one of these. I did fish out the artifact lands when building it but not sure what they would come in for, they'd really only be there to support TM himself.

What should we take out for Betrayal of Flesh? Leonin Skyhunter?

[Thomas David Baker]

Latest Changes:

LRW: -Oblivion Ring; +Thundercloud Shaman (leaving in Neck Snap which is just wrong but I bow to public opinion about having 2 O Rings)

SHM: -Briarberry Cohort; +Spectral Procession

EVE: -Soul Snuffers; +Cankerous Thirst

MIR: -Skeleton Shard; +Betrayal of Flesh

DST: -Grimclaw Bats, Darksteel Gargoyle; + Nemesis Mask, Test of Faith

5DN: +Sunburst Manta, Loxodon Anchorite, Vedalken Mastermind; -Baton of Courage, Guardian Idol, Trinket Mage

COK: -Stone Rain, Eye of Nowhere; +Kabuto Moth, Cage of Hands

BOK: -Genju of the Fens, Hundred-Talon Strike; +Throat Slitter, Okiba-Gang Shinobi

SOK: -Feral Lightning; +Stampeding Serrow

DIS: -Paladin of Prahv; +Guardian of the Guildpact


Additional proposed additions that need to find cards to come out to be enacted:

MIR: Viridian Longbow, Granite Shard.

COK: Nagao, Bound by Honor, Strength of Cedars, Nezumi Shortfang, Blood Rites, Frostwielder, Honden of Seeing Winds.

BOK: Split-Tail Miko, Jetting Glasskite
Possible BOK cuts for these: Genju of the Fields, Matsu-Tribe Sniper, Horobi's Whisper, Shimmering Glasskite

SOK: Secretkeeper
Possible SOK cuts: Death Denied

ROE: Halimar Wavewatch

5DN: Trinket Mage (for Cranial Plating???)

[Paul Hodgson]

MIR - one dozen eyes isn't that great tbh, perhaps take that out for Longbow?

Tom, what are the latest stats on card types, CMC, colour distribution etc? Are there any tweaks needed to balance anything out?

[Thomas David Baker]

Stats after these changes:

CMC: {0} => 21, {1} => 36, {2} => 79, {3} => 99, {4} => 64, {5} => 33, {6} => 21, {7} => 5
Color: 59 Colorless, 53 R, 52 W, 47 B, 44 U, 42 G, 10 BR, 7 UW, 7 GW, 6 GR, 6 BG, 5 BW, 4 RU, 3 RW, 3 GRW, 2 GU, 2 BGR, 2 BUW, 2 BU, 1 BRU, 1 GUW
Types: 160 Creature, 74 Instant, 38 Artifact, 35 Sorcery, 30 Enchantment, 21 Land

I think that's fine - I'm not desperate to make it completely balanced.

[James Mills]

I have to say I though this cube was really fun to draft. Cheers Tom!

Also Glacial Ray was a first pick from COK

[James Mills]

Also I thought I would had my 2 cents to Champions block because I really enjoyed drafting it:

Earthshaker
Frostwielder
Gutwrencher Oni
Hearth Kami
Honden of Seeing Winds (a windmill slam first pick)
Initiate of Blood
Innocence Kami
Kodama's Reach
Mothrider Samuri
Nagao, Bound by Honor (windmill slam)
Nezumi Cutthrout
Order of the Sacred Bell
Orochi Sustainer
Pain Kami
Painwracker Oni
Soratami Savant
Teller of Tails
Yamabushi's Flame