Greetings, fellow Cube enthusiasts! With a few more days of Vintage Cube on Magic Online (MTGO) and Murders at Karlov Manor‘s release just around the corner, it’s a very exciting time for the world of Cube Draft. But that’s not all.
Starting today through February 5th, the Arena Cube is also live! The last time I wrote about Arena Cube, there was an Arena Open for the format, which sadly isn’t the case, but the article I wrote for that run is a solid introduction for those newer to the format.
Duplication Glitch
At the time of this writing, the Cube list published on the mothership is very likely to be slightly incorrect. There are 533 cards listed, which includes duplicates of both Kellan, Daring Traveler and Woodland Acolyte. I removed the duplicates and ported the list as published over to Cube Cobra and Tweeted at the Magic Arena account regarding this issue, but have not received a reply. I intend to update the Cube Cobra page if I can get confirmation on a correct list.
In light of this potential issue with the list, I’ll focus just on the cards being added to the Cube instead of my usual ins and outs. I can at least speak to the power level of individual cards being added with a high degree of confidence, and there are some doozies here!
Digital-Only Cards
But first, let’s round up the digital-only cards currently in the Cube to see them together in one place. I am happy to report that the Arena Cube still does not feature any rebalanced cards, but there are a handful of digital-only designs that most players likely aren’t familiar with:
These digital-only cards only account for about 5% of the Cube, which is nice because it keeps the burden of knowing them relatively low, but there are standouts in this group that are among the most powerful cards in the Cube. Sigardian Evangel, for example, is a completely busted form of white card advantage that is exceptional at stabilizing the battlefield or setting you up for a lethal attack. As of the last run of the Cube, Warzone Duplicator was first-pickable and my choice for the most undervalued card in the Cube.
Arena Cube updates used to be massive as the card pool expanded rapidly, and while the update for this run is large, it comes in somewhere under 100 cards and is more approachable than the 200-plus-card updates of days past. Let’s examine the cards joining the Cube and what they mean for the environment by color!
White
I’ll mention now that adding the allied fetchlands – Flooded Strand et al. – is by far the most impactful update for this run. Fetchlands are near the top of the pick order in Vintage Cube, and they’ll be first-pickable even more often in Arena Cube. I’ve been bigger on white midrange and controlling decks than aggressive white decks in previous updates, and cleaner mana for decks trying to cast Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is a huge point in their favor.
Sunfall is also significant on the sweeper front for cleanly answering sticky threats and providing a threat of its own. I don’t see Cerise, Slayer of Fear or Wingmate Roc as major additions, but there was already a lot to like about midrange and controlling white decks in this environment.
Sanguine Evangelist, Werefox Bodyguard, and Virtue of Loyalty are all nice upgrades to white aggressive decks for different reasons, and there is a good volume of one- and two-mana threats in white as well. I like moving in on white aggro when it’s open, but I’m more keen on picking cards like Swords to Plowshares and The Wandering Emperor that will go into any style of white deck highly than trying to force Mono-White Aggro. My general preference would be for my white decks to be some form of Azorius Control or, ideally, to be a feature of my Field of the Dead deck.
Blue
Dig Through Time and Treasure Cruise left the MTGO Vintage Cube for the current iteration. That makes a lot of sense when they require more work in singleton environments than the other most powerful blue cards ever printed. These cards are considerably more contextually powerful in Arena Cube, though, and I would specifically value Dig Through Time highly, given that it just plays better with the ever-busted Counterspell and Sublime Epiphany by virtue of being an instant.
Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel has been awesome in Vintage Cube. I don’t see a reason why that wouldn’t be the case here. Horned Loch-Whale is a great anti-aggro card, though I’m more interested in sideboarding than maindecking it. Tishana’s Tidebinder is so popular in Constructed that I suspect players will overvalue it in Draft. I would generally try to take Tidebinder in the middle of the pack or hope to wheel it, but I won’t be the least bit surprised to see other drafters first-picking it.
Talion’s Throneguard, on the other hand, I expect to see going later than it should and is easily first-pickable. Venser, Shaper Savant is just a busted piece of interaction, and Talion’s Throneguard is mostly the same effect with flying. Not being able to bounce a land is a relevant downside, but the ability to tax the card that you bounce will just be game-winning some of the time.
Blue Control remains one of my preferred strategies for this Cube. I’ll reiterate that, ideally, I’m looking to draft Field of the Dead, and I value blue mana-fixing lands higher than the other colors to this end.
Black
Black remains a middle-of-the-road color with this update in Arena Cube, and indeed in most Cubes. Just set Crux of Fate side by side with Sunfall. It, uh… doesn’t look good.
Virtue of Persistence is a significant addition on an individual card level that can hang even in Vintage Cube, and it’s not like there aren’t any great black cards in the Cube. It’s just that, when it comes to both aggressive and controlling decks, black is largely a jack of all trades and a master of none. The great black decks in this Cube involve heavy pairings with other colors, which puts pressure on these decks to value lands highly, and that’s just to make the average deck function, not to support something more ambitious like Field of the Dead.
The most significant addition to black actually comes in the form of a red card in Goblin Bombardment. Bitterblossom is rather modest by today’s standards, but some great sacrifice outlets go a long way, and Goblin Bombardment and Yawgmoth, Thran Physician offer awesome payoffs for Sacrifice decks when things line up properly.
Red
Naturally, Goblin Bombardment is arguably the biggest addition to red with this update! The other contender is Inti, Seneschal of the Sun, a Constructed and Cube powerhouse . The other cards coming in are mostly fine, though Virtue of Courage is rather actively weak.
Bonehoard Dracosaur and Trumpeting Carnosaur are both solid top-end cards, though red isn’t typically the best color to reach for when it comes to midrange and control payoffs. I’m far more interested in Mono-Red Aggro and Rakdos or Mardu Sacrifice decks than splashing red in my Azorius or Simic shells, but, to be fair, red can meaningfully contribute to those decks at the right draft table.
While first-picking it wouldn’t thrill me, I do want to say that Jaya, Fiery Negotiator is a solid top-end card for red aggressive decks that does enough to justify a slot in midrange shells as well. I’ve played the card a lot in Standard, and a high starting loyalty that churns out prowess creatures is great at buying time with chump blockers as well as quickly turning the corner when the time is right. I like Jaya in basically any red deck in this environment.
Green
Green in this Cube and in most Cubes is best at accelerating mana, and worst at attacking. Utopia Sprawl will be hard for me to pass in this environment, and Cenote Scout is close to unplayable. Sentinel of the Nameless City does generate enough value to be quite strong, but a one-shot Explore effect just won’t do it here.
Nissa, Resurgent Animist is the other significant card coming in for green, and while there aren’t all that many Elementals in the Cube, it is my dream to find Muldrifter with Nissa’s landfall ability. No matter what you’re ramping into, Nissa is a solid body that should play well in most any green deck, and it benefits a lot from the introduction of fetchlands to this environment.
Green is the best color for making Field of the Dead work, and is also great for casting game-enders like Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Sublime Epiphany ahead of schedule. I’m big on green in Arena Cube, and I’m particularly big on Breeding Pool decks.
Gold
The gold additions aren’t terribly relevant, though Ertai Resurrected is an awesome Cube card that I’m always happy to have, even in Vintage Cube. It just covers all of your bases, like Talion’s Throneguard.
Huatli, Poet of Unity is totally playable as just a Borderland Ranger with three toughness, and transforming the card is pretty strong when you have nothing else to do. I personally don’t feature the card in any of my Cubes, largely because the Dinosaur tutor distracts from the value that the card otherwise provides, but the card is strong even when you have nothing to find. If you do have an Etali, Primal Conqueror to tutor, though, then that’s pretty busted!
Assemble the Team is intriguing for Cube given the singleton nature of the format. The card is very close to Demonic Tutor in Construted, which is well worth going into two colors. You’re a coin flip to find the exact card that you want in Cube, though, so I wouldn’t draft it nearly as highly as a true tutor. I imagine the card will play pretty well in five-color decks that are full of haymakers, though.
Colorless
Syr Ginger is a strong colorless threat to scoop up in Mono-Red or Mono-White Aggro, and Gingerbrute is also playable in either shell. The most significant colorless card coming in is Agatha’s Soul Cauldron. I won’t even try to articulate what the card will add to the environment, but it is literally always a scary card to see on the battlefield, given the range of things it can potentially do with all of the different activated abilities in the Cube. I wouldn’t want it in a full on beatdown deck, but it seems great in a Sacrifice or Midrange strategy.
Chimil, the Inner Sun is a good top-end for value decks that are a little less focused. I expect to end up with the card a lot when it comes around late after I pick a bunch of mana-fixing for my Control deck.
Lands
I’ve already called that fetchlands are the single most impactful aspect of this update, but creature duals also provide a shot in the arm to midrange decks. I expect a lot of long games, and will want to be on the extreme of Mono-Color Aggro to go under the average opponent or Five-Color Control to go over them as often as I can. It will be easy to get a solid midrange deck, and I err on the side of trying to exploit the weaknesses of such decks.
Captivating Crossroads joins the Cube along with Forsaken Crossroads as two digital-only lands that are very high picks. Captivating Crossroads is really strong when you’re on the draw, and non-aggressive decks will be pretty happy to have it even on the play. The card is quite similar to Fabled Passage, but will be a lot more useful at casting removal spells on time on the draw against aggressive decks.
The updated list as printed took out Horizon lands and allied fastlands to make room for these new lands, though I’m still wondering what the actual Cube list will look like when it goes live. My preference would just be to toss another ten lands in the Cube to make the mana better, though to my knowledge Arena isn’t as beholden to the 540-card size as MTGO, so maybe the Cube will just show up exactly as published! I assume they’d at least remove the duplicate cards, not that they’re particularly exploitable. I’m sure that what we get will at least be very close to the list currently published, and I hope everyone has a blast drafting it!
