The Times They Are A-changin'

Let's start with two obvious requirements:

1) The most up-to-date list can be found here. Download it and check it out as that's the current line I'm operating against.

2) If you're looking for cube advice I'll let you in on a little not-quite-but-almost-a secret: @UsmantheRad is both awesome and an epic champ at cube analysis. I wish I had the same eyes he does because he sees things that should be plainly obvious to me, as well as makes very sharp suggestions for changes. I am consistently impressed by his talented knack at making my cube incrementally better.

With formalities out of the way, let's get into some of the suggestions that he's pointed out (my comments are in italics for clarity). I like most of these suggestions and, alongside a big Magic 2011 update, will probably follow through unless some counterpoints from readers like you convince me otherwise.

Artifacts:
-Chromatic Sphere, -Chromatic Star, -Moonglove Extract, +Dross Golem, +Oxidda Goleem, +Razor Golem, +Spire Golem, +Tangle Golem
The mana fixing is some of the weakest (aside from drawing a card) and the affinity for basic land critters can be very strong. I think there's something to this - and it certainly along the "more optimal" track of development.

+Darksteel Ingot (awesome manafixing)
+Prophetic Prism (quality manafixing and it cycles, which is pretty nice. Should be able to cast just about anything in the deck after playing it.)
+Opaline Bracers (doing it for 3 is really good, comparable to Vulshok Battlegear, and doing it for 4 is just insane and should just about be GG.)
+Adventuring Gear (cheap aggro support)
+Springleaf Drum (essentially turns a dude per turn into a mana bird)
His final set of recommendations carries the artifact total up to 35 even. I think less mana fixing is actually fine: I had taken out both Ingot and Drum in earlier iterations. The only one I like of the extra five he's suggesting is Prism, which makes a fine replacement to help cover for the missing Chromatics.

Multicolor:
Cuts:
-Galina's Knight
-Leonin Armorguard
-Helm of the Ghastlord
-Traitor's Roar
-Runes of the Deus
As much as I'm pushing multicolor, these are all negligible cards that will hardly be missed. Galina's Knight does bring relevant "Protection from Red" is perhaps the best of this lot, but shrinking 5 cards would be fine.

Swaps:
-Cavern Harpy, +Mystical Teachings
His point is thus: M10 clipped the Harpy's wings while Teachings is a tournament level engine. And, in hindsight, it's clear to me despite I'll miss bouncing Man-o'-War and Mulldrifter as often.

-Gobhobbler Rats, +Henchfiend of Ukor
Rats are okay beats and generally gets hellbent turned on by mid-to-late game, but Henchfiend makes a mighty fine mana sink with haste being icing on the cake. I like this potential change a lot.

-Valley Rannet, +Scuzzback Marauders
I've been looking for things to swap in for swapping out the not-quite-so-good landcyclers. Bringing in removal+trampling beatstick seems like a great idea.

-Riot Spikes, +Scar
While a permanent -1/-1 on a dude is okay, I actually like the flexible +2 power option. I have to think this over by considering if Spikes was actually Scar the next time I see it.

-Suicidal Charge, +Cultbrand Cinder
While Charge has generated a blow out or two it's actually only been useful that often over the year it's been in the cube. Cultbrand Cinder kills random Mire Boa and River Boa, something that at a baseline excites black and blue-red counterburn decks.

-Putrid Warrior, +Shrieking Grotesque
Warrior is just not as disruptive and scary as a 2/1 flying that makes opponent's discard. I had taken Grotesque out way back during an early revision but my principle at the time was to avoid discard. Today, discard based disruption is acceptably encouraged.

-Vodalian Zombie, +Probe
I've been hesitant to add Probe because it doesn't impact the board at the critical five-mana mark in terms of game development. Vodalian is pro-green which is, ironically, one of the most important protections in the cube. That said Probe is still probably the better card. Interesting...

-Valeron Outlander, +Thrill of the Hunt
If there is anything green-white needs more of it's neat spells. It's saturated with creatures and bringing in a nice tricky pump spells is something I will enjoy.

Expanding the Enemy Color Pairs
UR +Jilt
BG +Rendclaw Trow
RW +Orim's Thunder
UG +Temporal Spring
BW +Putrid Warrior
Aside from the apparent strangeness of Usman suggesting cutting Putrid Warrior above then adding him back in here, I really like all of these changes. Jilt is something Blue wants and feeds into counterburn strategies; Rendclaw Troll is a super-charged Gray Ogre (though he unbalances my hybrid v.s non-hyrbid count); Orim's Thunder benefits from more artifacts and feeds into Boros strategies; and Temporal Spring is just was a blue-green midrange deck wants.

White:
-Pegasus Charger, +Shade of Trokair
While he likes 2/1 flying dudes, a 1/2 pumping Shade makes for a fearsome addition to white decks. The argument is that pump is better than first strike. More thinking is required, but Shade would bring a new dimension to white.

-Griffin Sentinel, -Soul Warden, +Veteran Swordsmith, +Veteran Armorsmith
Beefing up white aggro seems fine when I'm losing minimally. I like this.

-AWOL, +Kirtar's Desire
I still like AWOL for more than just its silver border: exile is always better than killing. Kirtar's Desire appeals to my desire to bee white-blue strengthen as an archetype. Desire does it here without reducing my removal.

-Dawn Charm, +Shelter
While I like cards that are basically "Fog plus options" Shelter generally is a better effect that replaces itself. I've always liked Shelter and this is its chance to prove itself even more.

-Wispmare, +Shu Cavalry
A 2/2 unblockable for three when there already several enchantment destruction options with a minimal number of enchantments? Nice. Swap.

Blue:
-Welkin Tern, +Infiltrator Il-Kor
I get what he's saying. 2/1 flying awkward blocker seems not as good as 3/1 shadow. The fact is that I think there is room for both: I just need to find it.

-Prodigal Sorcerer, +Sea Gate Oracle
Swapping a marginal (i.e. the "fair" baseline) pinger out for some card selection on a blocker is definitely something blue wants. However the tempo loss of flipping a Fathom Seer early may make swapping that for the Oracle a better switch.

-Shoreline Ranger, +Double Header
Swapping out landcyclers is one part of my overall agenda. Finding fun Un-cards to get into the cube is another. This switch is EPIC.

-Wu Elite Cavalry, +Windrider Eel
A 2/3 unblockable is fine but a 4/4 flying on the offense seems better in some ways. Neither is out of Lightning Bolt range, but Windrider is more vulnerable to burn in general. A fair trade-off I think.

-False Demise, +Choking Tethers
Tethers is as close to a Sleep effect as I'll get at common, but I've seen the insurance policy of False Demise work in wonderful ways: slapping it on Cadaver Imp/Gravedigger/Mulldrifter/Æthersnipe/etc is just sick. I have to put more thought into this, but Tethers definitely belongs.

-Mystic Restraints, +Mysteries of the Deep or + Train of Thought
Restraints just got in so I'd like to pilot it a bit longer, but adding more card draw seems solid. I would suspect that Mysteries will always be cast as the opponent's EOT so Train provides a modest discount for the same effect. Train also dodges counter spells pretty well.

Black:
-Unearth, +Mindstab
He points out that "Discard 3." is often more backbreaking than grabbing one dude back. I'm not sold. With the increasing abundance of premium quality creatures at converted manna cost three and less (like Cadaver Imp and Qasali Pridemage there is a rare moment when Unearth isn't amazing, especially with the creature heavy focus. Four turns in a long time in Limited and I don't like this change.

-Cuombajj Witches, +Okiba-Gang Shinobi
He argues that Witches seems like the "weakest black card left" and that Gang is superb so it belongs in. I think he's half right: Gang needs in but I find the Witches serve at worst as an effective blocker and at best a better Fireslinger. I'm going to scout for swapping alternatives here.

-Prickly Boggart, +Null Champion
I haven't been that excited about lil' Prickly, and the Champion was one of the very few levelers that I like. I see no problems here.

-Rend Flesh, +Duress
While I wouldn't say that Rend Flesh is inefficient as it's one of the few universal removal spells out there (i.e. doesn't have the non-black clause), wedging Duress into the mix does seem good. Choices, choices.

-Razertooth Rats, +Warren Pilferer
Razortooth Rats are 2/1 fear with Dread Warlock is 2/2 stopped only by black creatures. The +1 toughness and increasing artifact creature count make me like keeping the Warlock over the Rats. And more Gravedigger effects are always nice.

Red:
-Dead//Gone, +Reckless Charge
I understand his point: Dead is weak removal and Gone just isn't cool enough, while Charge gets some face smashing done in a hurry. I'm not suggesting Charge doesn't belong, I'm just not convinced that Dead//Gone is that bad: Dead kills over half the creatures in my cube, and Gone handles virtually all of the remainder, even if it's only a turn. There is perhaps something else to swap.

-Ingot Chewer, +Keldon Berserker
Because there isn't an abundance of artifacts, he points to swapping in something more aggressive. I like Chewer but something that hits nicely as well would be nice. Something to consider.

-Prodigal Pyromancer, +Arcane Teachings
I get the pinger hate - I've taken many out and haven't missed them at all. Arcane teachings is definitely a step in the right direction (encouraging aggro) I just think I need more creatures rather than a fragile aura. This is certainly something I need to think more about.

-Mudbutton Torchrunner, +Hissing Iguanar
Iguanar will likely do as much direct damage as Torchrunner while also being a nice beatstick - all for the same cost. Nice.

Green:
-Fists of Ironwood, +Hungry Spriggan
I like Fists of Ironwood but it hasn't pulled it weight. Apparently, Hungry Spriggan is "pretty good" on the offense. Who knew? (Not me, apparently.)

-Giant Dustwasp, +Wild Dogs
Giant Dustwasp doesn't serve it's purpose when there are bigger, better critters to work with anyway. I've heard Wild Dogs thrown around quite a bit and it seems time to give them a test drive.

-Farseek, +Wall of Roots
I've been eying up taking Farseek out for something, and Wall of Roots is one viable option. Sylvan Ranger or Cultivate, recently spoiled in M11 are others.

-Ferocious Charge, +Wildheart Invoker
While there may be one too many pump effects, there is certainly a disproportionate number of green creatures. I like Wildheart though and Charge is the weakest pump effect.

The Mission:
I want me cube to be two things:
1) Super-charged limited with distinct, viable strategies across all colors.
2) Fun and interesting with just a taste of wacky, nostalgic goodness.

Please leave a comment here, or for me (@the_stybs) on Twitter, and tell me what YOU think. I'm all ears: trust me.