The Cube Showdown! Can you guess the winner? Part 1: Temur Reclamation vs Jeskai Control vs Boros Aggro vs Dimir Reanimator

Normally, I do a draft recap where I write down what decks were drafted in my cube in a four player pod and just write about them. However, I had an idea and I will do something different in this new series which I will call "The Cube Showdown!". How will this work exactly?

In the first part of this, I will give you the complete decklists of the decks that were drafted and I will roughly explain what the drafters were thinking with their deck design initially. Unfortunately, it is too complicated for me to also include the sideboards but these didn't matter much in this particular draft. Of course, when I briefly discuss the decks, I will be in some way biased in my writting as I already know the results of the matches. However, I will try my best to be the most objective as possible and will try to capture our inital evaluations of the decks before they were played.

These four drafted decks were played against each other in the usual fashion. In our drafts, we often complete the full matchup spread so everybody will have played against each opponent. We play best of three matches. As was suggested by one reader, my cube list can also be useful:

MY CUBE

The question for you is: How good is each individual deck and can you predict the winner from only seeing the decklists? I would gladly hear your hottakes on which deck will win or lose against which other and also why that is. A crucial part of cube draft is of course drafting. But, during the drafting process, we are already considering deckbuilding. I think it is a very valuable skill to see a decklist and accurately predict whether the deck is rather "good" or "bad" and more importantly how the deck matches up against other decks.

So, optimally I would like to hear your opinion on who you think will be at an advantage in which matchup. As an example, the following questions might be interwsting: Which deck will win in a best of 3 between Temur Rec and Boros Aggro? Is the match close? What ascpects and which cards will give one deck a huge advantage?

After a few days of (hopefully a thousand) predictions, I will post the actual results of the cube draft here together with an average of your opinions. I will try to incorporate your hot takes on the decks, especially the very (in)accurate ones and will tell you how the matches went.

I hope that this sounds cool to you and I really hope that you give your predictions, even ones without a lot of analysis are appreciated. See this as a chance to proof your skills in cubing and deckbuilding. And, most importantly, you can feel really good when you are accurately predicting the results.

 

So, let's go into the decks:

1) Temur Reclamation

The main gameplay seems to be to play Wilderness Reclamation and get advantage by untapping lands. The deck has a very good manabase with multiple dual lands and fetches. The deck has access to a very powerful combo in Wilderness Reclamation and Expansion/Explosion but that has to come together first. The deck runs a few counterspells in Jwari Disruption and Supreme Will but does not have Cryptic Command or similarily powerful cards. Magma Jet and Prismari Command look good against aggro but there are no boardwipes. Other very noteable cards are Mox Diamond, Retrofitter Foundry, Urza and Walking Ballista. 

Decklist:

Mox Diamond

Ponder

Mystical Tutor

Noble Hierach

Retrofitter Foundry

Jace, Vryn's Prodigy

Fblzpp

Jwari Disruption

Scavenging Ooze

Edge of Autumn

Wilt

Magma Jet

Mazemind Tome

Scrollrack

Hullbreacher

Supreme Will

Silundi Vision

Bala Ged Recovery

Prismari Command

 

Urza, Lord high Artificer

Wilderness Reclamation

Walking Ballista

Mulldrifer

Expansion/Explosion

Rimewood Falls (edited to enter untapped)

Waterlogged Grove

Taiga

Highland Forest

Stomping Ground

Scalding Tarn

Polluted Delta

Windswept Heath

2) Jeskai Control

A fist glance looking like a tempo deck, this deck seems more like a very low curve control deck. The deck has a few cantrips and a lot of interaction. Counterspells in Lose Focus, Daze, Archmage's Charm, Commit/Memory and Cryptic Command. Also lots of Burnspells in Bolt, Shock, Firebolt, Lightning Helix, Fire/Ice and Unholy Heat. Also there is a splash of fast mana with Grim Monolith and Ancient Tomb. The winconditions are Ugin and Thassa bests the Seagod. Other cards that are on my radar are Arcum's Astrolabe and Slash the Ranks. The manabase is also good but not as good as for the Temur rec deck. The two colorless sources seem potentially dangerous with heavy comor spells like Cryptic and Archmage's but even the single boardwipe with WW.

Decklist:

Urza's Bauble

Arcum's Astrolabe

Chromatic Sphere

Dragon's Rage Channeler

Lightning Bolt

Shock

Firebolt

Unholy Heat

Serum Visions

Dreadhorde Arcanist

Lose Focus

Daze

Winds of Abandon

Fire/Ice

Lightning Helix

Grim Monolith

Archmage's Charm

Commit/Memory

Cryptic Command

Nahiri, the Harbringer

Slash the Ranks

Kiora bests the Seagod

Ugin, the spirit Dragon

Hallowed Fountain

Glacial Floodplain

Volatile Fjord

Sacred Foundry

Windswept Heath

Wooded Foothills

Wasteland

Ancient Tomb

3) Boros Aggro

The aggro deck of the draft. We have powerful 1 drops in Ragavan, Goblin Guide and Usher the Fallen. We have powerful 2 drops in Bonecrusher, Robber of the Rich and the combination of Stoneforge Mystic and Umezawas Jitte. We have powerful 3 drops and powerful 4 drops, even Armageddon. The deck has 4 oncolor nonbasic lands for fixing, which is good. Can't really point out more things about this deck. 

Decklist:

Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

Goblin Guide

Akoum Hellhound

Usher the Fallen

Dauntless Bodyguard

Swords to Plowshares

Bonesplitter

Mutagenic Growth

Robber of the Rich

Bonecrusher Giant

Tithe Taker

Stoneforge Mystic

Umezawa's Jitte

Phoenix of Ash

Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin

Pia Nalaar

Skyclave Apparition

Lingering Souls

Pia and Kiran Nalaar

Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

Cast Out

Secure the Wastes

Armageddon

Sunbaked Canyon

Cliftop Retreat

Plateau

Alpine Meadow

4) Dimir Reanimator

A nearly mono Black deck splashing a few Blue cards like Opt, Search for Azcanta, Thassa's Oracle and Jace, Wielder of Mysteries. We have powerful interaction in Fatal Push, Dismember, Baleful Mastery, etc. We also have some handdisruption with Inquisition of Kozilek, Kitesail Freebooter and Tourach, Dread Cantor. The main goal is to reanimate Archon of Cruelty or Gravetitan with Recurring Nightmare. The mana base is a bit sketchy though. Splashing for UU or even UUU cards while having a nearly mono Black deck will probably be tough.

Decklist:

Chrome Mox

Unearth

Inquisition of Kozilek

Fatal Push

Bloodchief's Thirst

Dismember

Opt

Skyclave Shade

Shriekmaw

Dusk Legion Zealot

Kitesail Freebooter

Baleful Mastery

Search for Azcanta

Thassa's Oracle

Baleful Strix

Murderous Rider

Recurring Nightmare

Phyrexian Metamorph

Ranke, Master of Pranks

Tourach, Dread Cantor

Gonti, Lord of Luxury

Ravenous Chupacabra

Jace, Wielder of Mysteries

Grave Titan

Archon of Cruelty

Watery Grave

Shelldock Isle

Volrath's Stronhold

So, there are our four decks: Temur Rec, Jeskai Control, Boros Aggro and Dimir Reanimator. What deck do you think will win against which and what deck will get the best result? What cards will be important and game winnning and which cards will underperform? What card will be the MVP of the draft.

I am excited for your feedback on this series and would appreciate if you would tell me if you like this idea and I am open for any type of suggestion.

See you for the results!