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Drafting Digest: Cards That Are Sneaky Good

There are two kinds of Magic players: those that have not played Cube Draft, and those that are addicted to it! Count Ryan Saxe among the latter as he gives you the chance to vote for more picks with more packs!

While Vintage Cube is all about broken things, I have been having more success with decks that are overloaded with cheap interaction than dedicated combo decks. Brain Maggot, Mesmeric Fiend, Kitesail Freebooter, and Tidehollow Sculler are all better than you think they are. While they’re not as good as Thoughtseize–I’m not saying to first pick them by any means–targeted discard is extremely important given the abundance of combo decks you’ll play against.

Pack 1, Pick 3

The Picks So Far:

The Pack:

The Pick:


If this was Pack 1 Pick 1, I think the pick would be Demonic Tutor by a fairly wide margin. In fact, I think the pick still is Demonic Tutor. But given that we have a Mox Ruby and a Mana Drain, I think there’s a higher likelihood that we play some big colorless cards such as Karn Liberated. With this as the case, Grim Monolith creeps up on Demonic Tutor as a potential option, although I don’t think it surpasses the tutor. It’s pretty close though.

Pack 1, Pick 1

The Pack:

The Pick:


This pack is great. If this was Legacy Cube, I think I would take the Mystic Confluence, as that card is such a beating. But in Vintage Cube, it’s a little bit slow (still good, but not as important). As is, I wouldn’t fault anybody for taking any of these options, but I’m going to take Braids, Cabal Minion. I’ve been quite impressed with the Stax archetype in this iteration of the Vintage Cube, and Braids is certainly one of the best effects for that deck.

Pack 1, Pick 1

The Pack:

The Pick:


Cantrips and fixing are the kinds of cards I prioritize highly. They provide an added consistency to your deck that powerful cards like Liliana of the Veil cannot provide. And given the abundance of powerful cards in the Cube, I find fixing and cantrips to be more important. But here we have one of the best lands, and one of the best cantrips. Personally, I’m going to take Polluted Delta. But to express how close I think the pick is, if Polluted Delta was a Misty Rainforest, I would take the Preordain.

Pack 1, Pick 1

The Pack:

The Pick:


Sneak Attack is a card in this Cube that I have on par with Mox Emerald when it comes to how aggressively I take it. It’s one of the best win conditions in Cube, and it’s extremely difficult to interact with. Sure, you might not get Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, but there are an abundance of cards that work well with Sneak Attack, so it shouldn’t be hard to pick up a couple.