Welcome back to our last Legacy Cube draft! Aether Revolt is about to be legal and I'll be focusing on that after this week, but for now, more Cube!

I managed to go 2-1 with a reanimator deck last week - so let's dive in to see what we end up with this week and how I do. I haven't done much more research on deck archetypes, though I do have a few ideas, so if there is anything you would have done differently, please leave a comment at the end of the article.

THE DRAFT

Pack 1

Pack 1 pick 1:



My Pick:



This was a tough pick. Nothing really jumped out at me as being better than another card; all the cards are great. I know of mono white aggro and mono green ramp as archetypes, though, so I was drawn to Thalia, Heretic Cathar and Master of the Wild Hunt . When in doubt, and with similar power levels, I went with the old idea of taking the cheaper card - so Thalia it is.



Pack 1 pick 2:



My Pick:



There are some pretty good cards in this pack. Dromoka's Command is powerful but I am unsure how good it is in Cube; Dualcaster Mage is one of my favourite red cards; and Sylvan Caryatid is a good ramp card. But in the end I went with Geist of Saint Traft . It fits with the white aggro deck if I want to splash a little blue and is as good as the other cards I listed.



Pack 1 pick 3:



My Pick:



Having taken both white and blue so far, I was drawn to Martial Coup , Ravages of War and Jace Beleren . I'm not sure what the better pick was upon reflection (probably Jace), but I went with Ravages of War; if I'm going to do a white aggro deck, then I can blow up lands after I've flooded the board.

I also note that both Reanimate and Griselbrand are in the same pack - awkward!



Pack 1 pick 4:



My Pick:



I had already made up my mind to commit to white aggro at this point, which was probably a mistake, but it was my thought process during the draft. So for this pack I was tossing up between Sublime Archangel and Glorious Anthem . While the Anthem is better in that deck, the Archangel was more versatile if I failed to get a mass of creatures, so I took it.



Pack 1 pick 5:



My Pick:



Volcanic Island is the best card in this pack, but I was a long way away from drafting that deck. Instead, I was looking at Seeker of the Way and Oblivion Ring , and went with the removal spell.



Pack 1 pick 6:



My Pick:



Having (somewhat irrationally) committed to white aggro already, Fiend Hunter was the only card in the pack for me.



Pack 1 pick 7:



My Pick:



This pick was out of Kitchen Finks and Boros Reckoner . While Kitchen Finks is probably the stronger card, I was determined to do white aggro so took the minotaur.



Pack 1 pick 8:



My Pick:



Ranger of Eos was the only pick in this pack and fits what I was trying to do, so it's a fine pick up.



Pack 1 pick 9:



My Pick:



I took the land here simply for the possible splashes I might pick up along the way.



Pack 1 pick 10:



My Pick:



Again, Dromoka's Command. Having just picked up a green-white land I was sorely tempted, and probably should have taken it; but the extra creature is good, so I took Kami of Ancient Law .



Pack 1 pick 11:



My Pick:



Again, another land in case of splashes.



Pack 1 pick 12:



My Pick:





Pack 1 pick 13:



My Pick:



Seeing Seeker come back made me think me forcing white might have worked this time. It's not something I normally do (forcing) but I was pretty happy to see this as a 13th pick.



Pack 1 pick 14:



My Pick:





Pack 1 pick 15:



My Pick:



For whatever reason (and I'm still not sure why I did it), I committed to white and it may have paid off. We'll see how pack 2 goes. (I forgot to take screenshots of my picks to this point, sorry!)

Pack 2



Pack 2 pick 1:



My Pick:



I was only looking at two cards here: Recruiter of the Guard and Smuggler's Copter . I took the Guard for two reasons - it has some good upside in a white weenie deck, and I was tired of playing the looter scooter.



Pack 2 pick 2:



My Pick:



Honor of the Pure was the best pick for a white weenie deck, but I was also tempted by Lingering Souls . I went back and forth, but I took the enchantment for one reason: it was the least replaceable effect of the two.



Pack 2 pick 3:



My Pick:



Easy pick without anything else in the pack.



Pack 2 pick 4:



My Pick:



Both Raise the Alarm and Quarantine Field are good cards but, if things went according to plan, I was planning on not playing many lands. Raise the Alarm was the better pick.



Pack 2 pick 5:



My Pick:



Kytheon was the best pick in this pack for me.



Pack 2 pick 6:



My Pick:



This pack had three cards in it I wouldn't have minded. Leonin Relic-Warder was the first, but it ended up being the first one eliminated from my consideration. The other two were Mentor of the Meek and Mishra's Factory ; I decided the Mentor had the most upside, so took it.



Pack 2 pick 7:



My Pick:



"Mom" is an easy pick and a perfect fit for the deck.



Pack 2 pick 8:



My Pick:



While Qasali Pridemage was a consideration here, Spectral Procession would do some good work with any anthem effects I might pick up.

Here is the rest of pack 2:



Pack 2 pick 9:



My Pick:





Pack 2 pick 10:



My Pick:





Pack 2 pick 11:



My Pick:





Pack 2 pick 12:



My Pick:





Pack 2 pick 13:



My Pick:





Pack 2 pick 14:



My Pick:



I wanted this earlier, and will happily take it this late!



Pack 2 pick 15:



My Pick:



Pack 3



Pack 3 pick 1:



My Pick:



Brimaz, King of Oreskos is just perfect for my deck, so I happily took it here.



Pack 3 pick 2:



My Pick:



I almost took Parallax Wave with this pick but, at the last minute, changed to Loxodon Warhammer to keep up the aggro plan.



Pack 3 pick 3:



My Pick:



I mentioned last week that I like Hero of Bladehold in the white aggro decks, so it was my pick. I am hoping Spear of Heliod will come back to me though.



Pack 3 pick 4:



My Pick:



I didn't really want Flickerwisp or Restoration Angel , so I took the solid removal spell instead - something that could come in very handy.



Pack 3 pick 5:



My Pick:



A good aggressive card that can be played on turn 2. I was happy to pick this up.



Pack 3 pick 6:



My Pick:



I'm not sure if I'll end up putting Linvala, Keeper of Silence in the main deck, but it can be a decent sideboard card. I didn't want Terminus way, so this was fine.



Pack 3 pick 7:



My Pick:



Another Linvala, but I wasn't taking it over Precinct Captain , which is a very good card in our deck.

Here are the rest of the picks, of which I probably won't play any except the Spear of Heliod that came back:



Pack 3 pick 8:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 9:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 10:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 11:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 12:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 13:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 14:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 15:



My Pick:



THE DECK



I'm reasonably happy with the deck. I do wish the curve was slightly lower, and I went back and forth on whether to play 16 or 17 land before finally settling on 16. Let's hope it's the right choice.

MATCH 1

I am on the play game 1 and lead off with Kytheon, while my opponent plays Forest into Elvish Mystic , meaning they are on the green ramp deck. I then play Honor of the Pure into Thalia, while my opponent plays Arbor Elf , Sylvan Library and Whisperwood Elemental . Thanks to Thalia, I was able to attack my opponent down to 7 life, but was facing a pretty full board. Luckily, I drew Parallax Wave and was able to clear some blockers out of the way, followed by Banishing Light to finish the job, and I took the first game.

I get off to a slower start in game 2. My opponent plays out Sylvan Library and I respond by playing Kami of Ancient Lore, sacrificing it immediately. My opponent then plays Courser of Kruphix , Llanowar Elves and Fauna Shaman while I play Kytheon and Honor of the Pure. At this point I feel like I am getting behind quite fast. But then I draw and play Hero of Bladehold, which my opponent neutralizes with Song of the Dryads ; thankfully, I have Oblivion Ring in hand to get rid of their enchantment and get my Hero back. The next turn proves to be the pivotal one, as I attack with all my creatures, transforming Kytheon into Gideon; I then give my Hero indestructible and cast Day of Judgement, which I had sided in, wiping the board and demanding my opponent find an answer or lose. As it turns out, them playing Avenger of Zendikar and Hornet Queen is a fine answer! I play out Porcelain Legionnaire and Spear of Heliod, and the next turn I draw what will prove to be the match winner: Mother of Runes. My opponent attempts to race with their fliers, but two hits later from a protection from green Hero and I take the match.

MATCH 2

I start on the draw and after seeing my opponent play Plains, Mother of Runes, I figure I might be in a mirror match. When they play Honor of the Pure, that is confirmed. Unfortunately my start is slow, but I play Precinct Captain into Spear of Heliod, only to have my opponent follow up with their own Hero of Bladehold. I play Seeker of the Way into my own Honor, while my opponent is able to play a Kytheon; all I can draw are lands though and with Mother of Runes out I am powerless to stop their Hero.

My opponent starts with Champion of the Parish into Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit in game 2, while I play Precinct Captain and Fiend Hunter (targeting Anafenza). I am able to get a hit in, but then my opponent drops Mother of Runes and Kytheon, and I find myself in a similar predicament to game 1. The next few turns are a bit of a stall as we both build our boards; I play Boros Reckoner, Thalia and Sublime Archangel, while my opponent plays Mirran Crusader , Soulfire Grand Master and Hero again. They then attack, giving Kytheon indestructible and Hero protection from white, meaning Kytheon is able to transform. Unfortunately I am not able to keep up and quickly lose the game and match.

MATCH 3

I'm on the draw for game 1 and I like my opening hand. My opponent plays Tropical Island , Island, and Scrapheap Scrounger ; while I play Isamaru and Porcelain Legionnaire. Thankfully, my opponent starts to stumble on mana and, despite them Remand ing my Seeker of the Way, I'm able to get in a chunk of damage. Eventually they play Elvish Mystic , tapping it to cast Polukranos, World Eater ; but I have Fiend Hunter in hand and, after targeting the hydra with it, swing for lethal to take game 1.

This time, my opponent starts with a Joraga Treespeaker and Polukranos, while I start with Isamaru, Seeker of the Way and... nothing. I get stuck on 2 land and, while I am able to play Mother of Runes and Kytheon, they get eaten by the hydra. I then start drawing a bunch of cards that cost 3 mana and go into chump block mode, while my opponent plays Shardless Agent , Harbinger of the Tides and Nissa, Vital Force and I am soon overrun.

Game 3, and the game that decides if I end up with a decent 2-1 record or a lackluster 1-2. I'm on the play and cast Isamaru, while my opponent plays Elvish Mystic. We both take turn 2 off from casting spells, but I am able to cast Brimaz on turn 3 - which gets bounced with Remand. On their turn, they play Kiora, the Crashing Wave , but I have Oblivion Ring in hand to deal with her. I start getting some hits in with Isamaru and Mishra's Factory before landing Brimaz, while my opponent plays Delver of Secrets and Dungeon Geists , tapping Brimaz. This is only temporary, though, as I use Fiend Hunter to get rid of the Geists and free my cat lord. In the meantime, I have my opponent down to 8 life, and Parallax Wave in hand; my opponent doesn't have anything to stop me removing their board, so I take game 3 and the match.

CONCLUSION

I enjoyed this deck, though I think a lower curve would have made it much better. I think 16 land was the right call, despite being mana starved in match 3.

What do you think? What would you have picked differently? Would you have run 16 or 17 land? Let me know in the comments.

Join me again next week as we get into Aether Revolt.