Best Draft Picks, Mirrodin to Rise of the Eldrazi

[Thomas David Baker]

We're building a cube composed of the best draft picks (common and uncommon only) from Mirrodin thru Rise of the Eldrazi.  That's 22 sets not including core sets.  We'll take an average of 15 from each set plus leave some extra slots for fixing (Shards trilands, Rav bouncelands, maybe Signets, Vivids, Refuges, Armillary Sphere, Rupture Spire).

To avoid over-representing little sets like Worldwake and Conflux we will do 20 cards from the big sets and 10 from the small sets. 

The idea is that you open your first booster and think, "wow, these are all first picks".

We'll have to force ourselves to include 50-75% creatures as first picks tend to be removal.

We'll aim for about 50% creatures which is the ratio most sets have in common/uncommon.

I will probably print a version of the cube and bring it to Portsmouth tomorrow with commons and sleeves, if I have time.  But still post your opinion if it's after that ... this is a work in progress!

I'm going to actually make the cube and bring it to the Games Club this week.

Post below what you think should make the cut for one or more sets!  Especially the older ones where I don't have a clue!

The Sets:

Rise of the Eldrazi

Worldwake

Zendikar

Alara Reborn

Conflux

Shards of Alara

Eventide

Shadowmoor

Morningtide

Lorwyn

Future Sight

Planar Chaos

Time Spiral

Dissension

Guildpact

Ravnica: City of Guilds

Saviors of Kamigawa

Betrayers of Kamigawa

Champions of Kamigawa

Fifth Dawn

Darksteel

Mirrodin

[Thomas David Baker]

Saviors: Captive Flame, Death Denied, Feral Lightning, Ghost-Lit Raider, Hail of Arrows, Hand of Cruelty, Hand of Honor, Manriki-Gusari, O-Naginata, Rushing-Tide Zubera

Skipping: AEther Shockwave, Akki Drillmaster, Burning-Eye Zubera, Descendant of Kiyomaro, Descendant of Soramaro, Exile into Darkness, Freed from the Real, Ghost-Lit Nourisher, Ghost-Lit Stalker, Ghost-Lit Warder, Godo's Irregulars, Ideas Unbound, Kagemaro's Clutch, Kami of the Tended Garden, Kiku's Shadow, Kiri-Onna, Kitsune Dawnblade, Overwhelming Intellect, Rending Vines, Secretkeeper, Seek the Horizon, Yuki-Onna.

[Thomas David Baker]

Fifth Dawn: Cranial Plating, Devour in Shadow, Eternal Witness, Furnace Welp, Grafted Wargear, Guardian Idol, Leonin Squire, Neurok Stealthsuit, Trinket Mage, Vulshok Sorcerer.

Skipping: Advanced Hoverguard, Auriok Salvagers, Baton of Courage, Blind Creeper, Condescend, Ensouled Scimitar, Etched Oracle, Fangren Pathcutter, Ferocious Charge, Goblin Brawler, Horned Helm, Infused Arrows, Lantern of Insight, Lose Hope, Loxodon Stalwart, Magma Jet, Night's Whisper, Opaline Bracers, Spark Elemental, Sparring Collar, Steelshaper's Gift, Suntouched Myr, Tangle Asp, Thought Courier, Vanquish, Wayfarer's Bauble

[Thomas David Baker]

Wow, Guildpact is just awesome.

Using: Blind Hunter, Electrolyze, Gelectrode, Mortify, Pillory of the Sleepless, Pyromatics, Repeal, Savage Twister, Thunderheads, Wildsize.

Skipping: Battering Wurm, Beastmaster's Magemark, Belfry Spirit, Burning-Tree Bloodscale, Castigate, Cremate, Cry of Contrition, Cryptwailing, Daggerclaw Imp, Douse in Gloom, Exhumer Thrull, Fencer's Magemark, Feral Animist, Ghor-Clan Bloodscale, Ghor-Clan Savage, Gigadrowse, Gristleback, Gruul Guildmage, Gruul Nodorog, Gruul Scrapper, Hypervolt Grasp, Infiltrator's Magemark, Izzet Chronarch, Izzet Guildmage, Mourning Thrull, Necromancer's Magemark, Ogre Savant, Order of the Stars, Orzhov Guildmage, Ostiary Thrull, Petrahydrox, Runeboggle, Scab-Clan Mauler, Shadow Lance, Shattering Spree, Shrieking Grotesque, Skarrgan Skybreaker, Souls of the Faultless, Streetbreaker Wurm, Tin-Street Hooligan, Train of Thought, Wee Dragonauts.

Should I be including some of the Magemarks (they seem pretty incredible) and/or the Guildmages (Gruul, Izzet, Orzhov)?

[Thomas David Baker]

Getting Dissension down to 10 is damn near impossible.

Here's my best attempt: Condemn, Leafdrake Roost, Minister of Impediments, Paladin of Prahv, Plumes of Peace, Rakdos Guildmage, Rakdos Ickspitter, Rise / Fall, Sky Hussar, Wrecking Ball

Here's what ended up on the cutting room floor: Assault Zeppelid, Azorius AEthermage, Azorius First-Wing, Azorius Guildmage, Cackling Flames, Coiling Oracle, Court Hussar, Crypt Champion, Cytospawn Shambler, Demon's Jester, Flash Foliage, Gobhobbler Rats, Guardian of the Guildpact, Helium Squirter, Hellhole Rats, Hit / Run, Indrik Stomphowler, Jagged Poppet, Macabre Waltz, Overrule, Plaxcaster Frogling, Plaxmanta, Pure / Simple, Ragamuffyn, Riot Spikes, Seal of Doom, Seal of Fire, Shielding Plax, Simic Basilisk, Simic Guildmage, Simic Ragworm, Soulsworn Jury, Spell Snare, Stoic Ephemera, Supply / Demand, Thrive, Trygon Predator, Twinstrike.

[Charlie Grover]

No and no, but wee dragonauts might be better than pyromatics, its basically a rxx spell, not that great.

FD: -leonin squire, stealth suit + baton of courage, magma jet.
Betrayers: -hundred talon strike (not enough arcane) + ogre marauder (he was really really good iirc)
Darksteel: -aether vial (i dont remember it being that great in limited) +juggernaut. I dont like fireball really, its boring to lose to.

Dont cut anything from TSP for strength in numbers I guess, its not *that* good.

Its alarming that we need more blue cards lol..

[Thomas David Baker]

Blue is now doing just about alright now. It's actually come out fairly balanced.

48 W, 47 R, 46 B, 41 G, 40 U, 28 , 10 BR, 7 GW, 7 UW, 6 GR, 5 BG, 5 BW, 3 RU, 3 RW, 3 GRW, 2 GU, 2 BGR, 2 BUW, 2 BU, 1 BRU, 1 GUW

This is without edits to my rather woolly Kamigawa picks.

Also this only comes out to 310 cards because of Maths fail.

50 lands/fixing is excessive? That's 2 per booster.

5 Shards Trilands
10 Bouncelands
10 Signets
Rupture Spire
5 Vivid Lands

31 good inclusions

5 Zendikar Refuges
Sejiri Steppe
5 Reborn Borderposts
Ancient Ziggurat
Armillary Sphere
Novijen, Heart of Progress
Prahv, Spires of Order
Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace
5 Kamigawa "don't untap next turn" lands

21 Not so hot inclusions

Or we could do 30 lands and 20 cards from M10 or core sets generally?

Or we could make the cube larger and do 10 cards from each of M10, 10th, 9th and 8th but they do have a lot of overlap.

[Charlie Grover]

The Kamigawa lands are terribad. So is sejiri steppe in this format. I think we could do 30 m10 cards? it has alot of good draft set filler in it.

[Thomas David Baker]

Yes the Kamigawa lands are pretty awful. I'm not keen to include anything in "not so hot" unless we decide we need that much fixing.

Here's Tom LaPille on cube manafixing:

"The most important difference between my cube and the R&D cube is the amount of lands and mana fixers we have. My cube has 100 lands in 640 cards, while Wizards’ has about 50 lands in 720 cards. My lands include full cycles of original dual lands, Ravnica dual lands, Ravnica bouncelands, painlands, and Onslaught and Mirage fetchlands; Wizards included only the original duals and the Ravnica bouncelands. I have a full set of signets, talismans, and diamonds, while Wizards’ has none of these. This difference may be subtle, but it leads to very different play experiences. Every decklist from the invitational cube draft had eleven or more basic lands; plenty of decks I have seen drafted in my cube have had as few as three basic lands in them. The invitational cube decklists were also almost all two colors with maybe a splash of a third color; most control decks drafted in my cube are solidly in three colors, and it’s not too hard to draft all five if you want. When you draft the invitational cube, a color commitment actually means something because basic lands are going to provide most of your mana."

His cube is 15% mana fixing. Wizards is 7%. I think we want to err more to Wizards side without making the tricolor cards unplayable. That means about 10%? Which would be 36 cards. We have 31 good mana fixers. We could add the Borderposts, or not, and be about right.

Which leaves 14-19 slots to be filled by core set cards. It doesn't matter if we go over 360 (8 man draft) but I think maybe we might as well stop at 360 for the initial run.

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

Not:Acidic Slime, Assassinate, Awakener Druid, Black Knight, Borderland Ranger, Centaur Courser, Consume Spirit, Deadly Recluse, Divine Verdict, Gorgon Flail, Gravedigger, Howling Banshee, Ice Cage, Looming Shade, Prodical Pyromancer, White Knight

[Daniel Royde]

Wow,
We were sorry not to see you today Tom, but after reading this it seems somewhat justified. Would really like to be involved in drafting this.

[ross miles]

what about the trooper?

Thomas David Baker said:

ARB: Behemoth Sledge, Bituminous Blast, Bloodbraid Elf, Enlisted Wurm, Esper Stormblade, Marisi's Twinclaws, Qasali Pridemage, Slave of Bolas, Terminate, Vengeful Rebirth (5 Creatures, 5 Spells).


(Near misses: Crystallization, Ethersworn Shieldmage, Giant Ambush Beetle, Gloryscale Viashino, Gorger Wurm, Grixis Grimblade, Jund Hackblade, Messenger Falcons, Naya Hushblade, Putrid Leech, Rhox Brute, Sewn-Eye Drake.)

Again with the too few creatures. Perhaps swap out Vengeful Rebirth and Terminate for Putrid Leech and one of the blades?

[Thomas David Baker]

We will obviously seed the draft with 2 Talon Troopers per player like in Teachings cube.

I'm a bit conflicted about whether we want the Borderposts or (better?) the storage lands?

Mr. LaPille makes a fairly good case for masses of fixing: http://playmagicwith.tomlapille.com/index.php/invitational-cube-com...

[Thomas David Baker]

Haha. This is actually going to be a really awesome format.

Checkout these example boosters:

Booster 1
Booster 2
Booster 3
Booster 4

(I wonder if we should cut one of the Oblivion Rings as it's the only card with dupes unless we include the second Fireball.)