Most OP monocolor cards?
Limited forum
Posted on April 1, 2015, 12:45 p.m. by grumbledore
Hi all -
I am building my first cube, and I want to have in it a cycle of 1 OP card from each color that kind of exemplifies the play style of that color.
What I have so far:
Black: Chains of MephistophelesGreen: Tarmogoyf
Does anyone have suggestions for the other ones? I'd like to avoid walkers (JTMS is obvious for blue) because I am doing separate cycles specifically for them.
Thanks!
grumbledore says... #3
i was thinking about FoW but i wonder how well it would work in a draft scenario. chances of having 
cards in hand to use it properly don't seem statistically high.
April 1, 2015 12:48 p.m.
TurboFagoot says... #4
Tarmogoyf and Chains aren't exactly that great in cube lol
Treachery is probably the best blue card on sheer power level for cube. Maybe Vedalken Shackles or JtMS instead. Hell even Upheaval.
Balance is pretty unbeatable from a white card.
Mind Twist is a more powerful black option.
Goblin Guide/Sulfuric Vortex/Fireblast are some insane red options.
The take away from this is to remember Cube is limited. Cards that are great for constructed (Goyf, etc) are not always great in limited.
April 1, 2015 12:52 p.m.
grumbledore says... #5
TurboFagoot - great points! thanks man this is very helpful.
April 1, 2015 1:01 p.m.
Personally I would add cards that are op and very typical for the color. So my suggestions would be:
Black - Demonic Tutor - Simply the best tutor in the game and very typical for black.
Red - Lightning Bolt - One of the most used cards in the game and may not seem op at first glance, but it is the best and most versatile red damage spell in MtG. If you want something fancy buy an Alpha EditionBolt.
Blue - Mana Drain - Not as situational as Force of Will and without mana burn it is completely op for sure. And counterspells is as typical for blue as it can get.
Green - Tarmogoyf - I do believe that green should have a creature as 'archetype card', and I also think that Tarmogoyf is a very good (and certainly iconic, despite being relatively new) creature even in a cube draft.
White - Balance is a relatively good choice since it is (somewhat) a mix of the board wipe cards that are so typical for white. And it's broken, though I assume in a cube it is not nearly as broken as in constructed.
April 1, 2015 1:17 p.m.
grumbledore says... #8
ah those are also good points, as I do want the cards to be 'archetypal' of their colors. for though, do you think Vampiric Tutor > Demonic Tutor?
April 1, 2015 1:21 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #9
green, Primeval Titan. much better at representing what green's about.
April 1, 2015 1:25 p.m.
grumbledore says... #10
ChiefBell - I'm starting to think that Thrun, the Last Troll might be a more appropriate archetypal card for then goyf. can't be countered, hexproof? i mean come on! lol
April 1, 2015 1:25 p.m.
I assume for combo decks Vampiric Tutor is better, for everything else Demonic Tutor is better. In a cube Demonic Tutor is far better for sure.
For green you could also use Birds of Paradise instead of Tarmogoyf. It is a creature and gives mana, which is almost everything green is about combined in one card. But since you already have Tarmogoyf I assume you want to keep him.
April 1, 2015 1:25 p.m.
My vote would go for a ramping creature in green. PrimeTime is awesome. Though Thrun is also very green.
April 1, 2015 1:28 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #13
yeah, thrun is also a good creature for green. I prefer primetime though. Sylvan Primordial is also very green in everything it does, but not as powerful. Terastodon also might be worth noting, but really not the most powerful 8-drop in a cube.
April 1, 2015 1:30 p.m.
grumbledore says... #14
Phitt - i have 5 goyfs currently and don't really need a reason to buy another. so yea feel free to talk me out of it :D
also yea those are salient points for Primeval Titan. I'm sold on it for green.
April 1, 2015 1:35 p.m.
Yes, Primeval Titan is also a very good choice. Certainly nowhere near as iconic as Birds of Paradise or Tarmogoyf, but it has all the characteristics of green (fat creature with trample and mana). Birds have flying, which is not exactly typical for green.
April 1, 2015 1:36 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #16
I'm pretty sure Primeval Titan is the most characteristically green creature I can think of. big, trample, ramp all at once. birds is more iconic to magic's past, but not more green.
April 1, 2015 1:38 p.m.
grumbledore says... #17
how about ? i like the idea of Lightning Bolt. Goblin Rabblemaster or Urabrask the Hidden also seem like contenders to me.
April 1, 2015 1:59 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #18
I like Goblin Rabblemaster. I feel like Lightning Bolt belongs in a cube regardless of the cycle, so it wouldn't feel like part of it.
April 1, 2015 2:01 p.m.
grumbledore says... #21
April 1, 2015 3:10 p.m.
Balance, Ancestral Recall, Demonic Tutor, Sulfuric Vortex, Survival of the Fittest would be my picks.
also, cubing is awesome and is the best way to play magic.
also, have you heard of cubetutor.com? Not to draw traffic away from T/O, but that site is a goldmine for cube builders. You can see the most popular cards across all cubes on the site, upload your cube, keep a blog on the changes you make, draft yours or others' cubes and build decks, and look at all kinds of data regarding colors, mana curves, draft picks, etc. I'd recommend taking a look.
showda says... #2
Force of Will I'd say would work best with blue.
April 1, 2015 12:47 p.m.