Cubing and a card that will make you PISSED

I keep saying this and this time I mean it. I am going to finish typing up my cube and post it and we are going to have a little chit chat about it. For the time being, I found this screen shot from a website that generates cube packs, and I just remember it blew my mind. Let's talk about it and what pick to make first:

Pack 1, pick 1:

So, when I saw this, I was met with a dilemma....HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO MAKE THIS CHOICE?!?!?! Bwaaaah....Ok, breath...breath....breath breath BREATH RAAAAAMMMMPAGE!

So I've sat with this decision for a while trying to think of the pick order here and this is the top 5 and why I would pick those:

5. Knight of the White Orchid

The Knight squeezed it's way into number 5 by being a  great archetype for cube. Getting a white weenie deck up online is extremely fast, incredibly hard to deal with, and will absolutely win you games. That said, the problem with white weenie is that white is a great color to share. White is BFF with green and blue, it can help red be a little extra faster, and it doesn't hurt black (Death grasp anyone?). The thing that helps ole' knighty here is that there is another great white card that helps out white weenie, and that is Griffin Guide, which you can be almost assured that it will table and you will have a great foundation to a white weenie beatdown deck. 

4. Regrowth

Here is another fun pick. Regrowth is easily one of the best green cards, bar none. The best part about it is that is splashable. You are making a sick red deck wins and you need to push through that extra 3 damage but you have already used your Lightning Bolt  to kill something early game? Well look no further! Boom, mighty Zeus comes down, throws that bolt back in your face and you are ready to regale your buddies how you splashed green for your regrowth. Good for you. It's an awesome, extremely toolsie card. 

3. Sarkhan Vol

This dude is such a beast. I wish my 1 and 2 picks aren't there because this guy...holy gg on a stick. If I were to tell you that there was a card that was a Act of Treason , a Fires of Yavimaya and Gaea's Anthem and if you stick around, it will vomit out a ton a dragons. Sound cool right. Yeah. That's my boy. Sarkhan has won me more games than not. He is just suuuuch a beater. The one real drawback by picking Sarkhan in a pack 1, pick 1 environment is that you are dedicating yourself to 2 colors almost immediately. Could backfire....

Well...moment of truth, does he choose door number 1 or door number 2?

2. Ancestral Recall

This didn't hit number 1 for a couple of reasons, but you really shouldn't get down on yourself. This card is just nuts and there is a reason why it is part of the power 9. Every color got it's own 1 mana for 3 of something. White got the shaft with Healing Salve. Green got the Giant Growth. Black and Red both got really good ones with Dark Ritual and Lightning Bolt. But the Recall leaves all of them in the dust. Ever since I was a small lad, I played card games and every single game taught me this one simple rule: Card advantage = wins. This rule is even more evident in cube. In a power cube like this one, those 3 cards could turn the game around and give you that big win. 

1. Sol Ring

This is a card that requires a windmill slam (such a great link) like no other. Even more so in pack 1, pick 1. It's very rare to think of a game I've lost when I've been running Sol Ring. I mean, lets set up a actual game scenario with Sol Ring.

Player 1 (who has drafted Sol Ring): lays a Island and plays Sol Ring. Passes.

Player 2: Draws, lays a Plains, passes.

Player 1: Draws, lays a Underground Sea, taps Island, Underground Sea and Sol Ring to play Jace the Mind Sculptor.

Look at that. You are on turn 2 and you have created a serious threat on the table. Your opponent is going to have to deal with you dropping a 4 drop on turn 2, a 5 drop on turn 3 and a possible 6 drop on turn 4. Sol Ring, by itself, ramps you past your opponent by 2 turns. So unfair. I think that the  choice of Sol Ring will not lead you astray.

So there you have it boys and girls. You looked at a first pack and I gave you a run down of what I think I would take...I think I am going to do this more often. I really like it....

RAAAAAAMMMMPAGE!!!

Oh, and by the way:

Get ready to see this card EVERYWHERE. You are going to be so sick of this card it will be ridiculous. What? What's that you say? It won't counter a whole lot? Want me to list a few? No? Too bad:

Swords to Plowshares

Path to Exile

Sensei's Divining Top

Green Suns Zenith (for 0)

Noble Hierarch

Birds of Paradise

THIS CARD

Dark Ritual

Thoughtseize

High Tide

Brainstorm

Ponder

Lightning Bolt

Aether Vial

Hex Parasite (Who will ruin your day)

The list goes on and on and on and...dude. THIS card will ruin your day....and guess what? I haven't even gotten to the most insane part about this card:

It card be played in any color.

Yeah. Sucks. Think you are safe playing against a mono-green deck and you can just start tossing all those Bolts and things at his dudes. You're wrong. Dead stupid wrong. 

rampage.