{"id":871,"date":"2012-06-04T00:22:43","date_gmt":"2012-06-04T04:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajmtg.com\/?p=871"},"modified":"2012-06-04T00:22:43","modified_gmt":"2012-06-04T04:22:43","slug":"pauper-cube-top-10-instants-to-first-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajmtg.com\/?p=871","title":{"rendered":"Pauper Cube \u2013 Top 10 Instants to First Pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here is the third out of (currently) four parts to a few Top 10 lists I wanted to do for the Pauper Cube. \u00a0Enjoy my picks for First Pickable Instant cards in a Pauper Cube and let me know what you think in the comments.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

MUTAGENIC GROWTH<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is not\u00a0exactly\u00a0Giant Growth in terms of raw power but it is on a different power level\u00a0altogether. \u00a0It can go into any deck and fit multiple roles. \u00a0It can act as a shield for a creature getting shocked, it can help beat a creature\u00a0that’s\u00a0attacking or blocking, or can it can be a green Shock<\/a> to kill an\u00a0opponent\u00a0after blocks are declared. \u00a0The best part, they never see it coming as you dont have to pay mana to cast it. Thank you Wizards for broken free spells.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DOOM BLADE<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The one and only. \u00a0This is an upgrade to the original card, Terror<\/a>. \u00a0This pretty much kills anything and is easier than Terminate<\/a> to cast. \u00a0The mana cost makes it splashable so take some mana fixing and slice through an opponents creature like butter (as long as they are not black).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

WAIL OF THE NIM<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Everyone always passes this card late but I am here to spill the beans. \u00a0It is a one sided wrath most of the time on its own or it definitely is during an attack or block. \u00a0I have blown people out with this and yet they still don’t understand how powerful of a spell Wail of the Nim<\/a> really is. \u00a0I talked about Crypt Rats<\/a> being first pickable and this is on the same level.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

LIGHTNING BOLT<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1 Mana for 3 Damage at instant speed. \u00a0SHIP IT! \u00a0A card from the beginning of Magic time and it still gets compared to every new “good” red burn spell. \u00a0This was the original and is still a house. \u00a0Im glad they brought it back for a short time in Standard after a long hiatus. \u00a0I think the players showed Wizards that it is a\u00a0fairly\u00a0balanced card since the power level of creatures continue to rise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RAY OF COMMAND<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This card is totally insane and its BLUE! \u00a0This ability is now pretty much a red mechanic but it is an old card first printed in Ice Age. \u00a0Way back when there was no color pie definition of what each color should and\u00a0shouldn’t\u00a0be doing and this is a prime example of that. \u00a0Ray of Command<\/a> can just win you the game by either taking their best guy and attacking with it or using an insane ability on a card. \u00a0Not to mention, if you opponent is threatening lethal you can “borrow” one of his attackers and have it block another one of his guys for the complete blow out. \u00a0Again, like with every other awesome card, this is easily splashable and should make every draft deck you make.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CLOUDSHIFT<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Cloudshift<\/a> is a new card from Avacyn Restored and I am ready to keep trying it out. \u00a0So far the verdict is in: First Pick worthy in Pauper Cube. \u00a0It can save a guy destined to die, untap a guy so it can block or just abuse a powerful come into play ability. \u00a0While White\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0have too many come into play effects that are insane, take it and play a multi color deck like every one else.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SOUL MANIPULATION<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This card does require some color\u00a0commitments\u00a0upfront but the upside to this card is well worth it. \u00a0Being able to stop your opponent from casting a guy while at the same time getting the best creature in your graveyard back in your hand is an ability you cant ignore. This a card that Blue and Black do well together, screwing your opponent….twice.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

–Stay greedy my friends.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TERMINATE<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"Here is another card that needs an early color commitment but it deals with any creature of any race, er… color. \u00a0This is Doom Blade<\/a>s big brother which does bigger things. \u00a0On this list there are a lot of Black and\/or Red instants but thats just\u00a0because\u00a0those are Wizards favorite colors (Blue who?). \u00a0Anyway, take this and all the other good cards that go with those colors. \u00a0By doing that you wont have a problem with too many creatures getting in your way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FEELING OF DREAD<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is a last minute addition while reviewing the cube list again. \u00a0I cant believe I overlooked it the first two times as it has multiple functions that can save you or win you the game. \u00a0As a top deck, you can tap down 4 creatures to push your army through the trenches and take the beaches at Normandy. \u00a0On defense it can be the Dark Knight in shinning armor by keeping guys from attacking you while in a tempo situation. \u00a0Even if you\u00a0don’t\u00a0have blue, taping 2 creatures for 2 mana is still very good for White.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

STAGGERSHOCK<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This card most of the time takes out two pesky creatures with one awesome card. \u00a0Of course you can always go to the dome and nug someone twice for 2 points but thats boring. Why not troll your opponent who is at 2 life and\u00a0just\u00a0wipe his army then attack him with two 1\/1 creatures…way more satisfying. \u00a0Jokes aside, this card can be splashed as red is a core removal color which you need to take early. \u00a0I have blow many\u00a0opponents\u00a0out when I cast this end of turn, sometimes I\u00a0don’t\u00a0even get a chance to target before they just scoop.<\/p>\n

\n

Look for part four which is about Artifacts coming soon. \u00a0If anyone wants to see any other top 10 lists for Pauper cube, let me know in the comments.<\/p>\n

Adam Arndt
\nMTGO: AdamRA4<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here is the third out of (currently) four parts to a few Top 10 lists I wanted to do for the Pauper Cube. \u00a0Enjoy my picks for First Pickable Instant cards in a Pauper Cube and let me know what you think in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8,12],"tags":[45,41,32,64,149,46,61],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajmtg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajmtg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajmtg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajmtg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajmtg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=871"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/ajmtg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1100,"href":"http:\/\/ajmtg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871\/revisions\/1100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajmtg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajmtg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajmtg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}