Guilds of Ravnica: Top 10 Cube Picks

I decided to try something new in Cubes for Squares, so I put off compiling my top Cube picks from Guilds of Ravnica until I had more time to play with the cards – and that decision made it both a lot easier and a lot harder to make the list. Easier because I know the cards by now; harder because this particular set contains a surprising number of cards that I enjoyed both playing with and against in Limited. These are the cards that I would like to include in my own Cube and recommend others to try out.

Including reprints, there are more than 40 cards from Guilds of Ravnica in my Cube at the moment, but of course, that won't last. The following list is, with a few exceptions, a compilation of cards that I think will remain in my Cube or will eventually make into it. This list, however, does not contain any reprints, since they should already be in your Cube or on your Cube wish list – just remember that right now is probably the best time to buy the cards. Anyway, without further ado, let's get down to business:

10. Impervious Greatwurm

While this monster of a wurm may not actually make it to my own Cube, the mere size of this thing makes it impossible to ignore when doing a GRN Top Ten. Yes, you could argue that the big Timmy creature on this list ought to be , since or for that matter lacks the trample ability to actually get some damage in when chump blocked.

However, Siege Wurm is not eligible for this list being a reprint. And what player, even with just a single drop of Timmy blood in their veins, can resist letting a 16/16 indestructible wurm loose in their Cube whether to reanimate or to cast at its convoke cost using a bunch of saprolings (or angels – see 8. Divine Visitation).

This wurm, which is in the Buy a Box Promos for Guilds of Ravnica, can even eat Emrakul! It doesn't get much better than that unless you want to go silver-bordered and summon The Biggest, Baddest, Nastiest, Scariest Creature You'll Ever See ([B.F.M. (Big Furry Monster) (Version 1)] + [B.F.M. (Big Furry Monster) (Version 2)]) – or go silly with . It will probably take a few more expansions for the power creep to result into something bigger than this wurm.

9. Goblin Cratermaker

Speaking of taking on Emrakul, this little red fella is looking to join the conversation. may not seem like much at a casual glance, but if you read his ability more closely, you'll notice that this warrior not only clears away small utility creatures and troublesome artifacts. His backpack full of colorful fireworks also pack enough punch to clear away huge Eldrazi, including Emrakul and her cousins, Kozilek and Ulamog. I guess a couple of these guys could have saved Zendikar and Innistrad in a jiffy. So if your Cube has some Eldrazi, including the Cratermaker gives players a fighting chance against them.

8. Divine Visitation

No list of Cube picks from my hands would be true to my identity as a Johnny jank-lover without some card that does not do a lot by itself but can do a lot when combined with the right cards around it. is one such card. Five mana is a bit steep, but the fun to be had with a kicked or a after putting Divine Visitation into play is just too great to miss out on. Slap a silly flavor text on the card and I am ready to pick this card for any token-producing deck … except ones with .

7. Risk Factor

could also be viewed as a suboptimal card to include in your Cube, since giving your opponent a choice is generally seen as a bad idea in Magic. Sometimes, however, both options are situationally bad, making a choice-giving card actually worth it, and to me, Risk Factor represents such a case. Even casting this card on turn 3 without acceleration and again on turn 4 can be quite effective in a Limited game and should your opponent's life be low enough to let you draw the cards, you will almost certainly draw something that can finish them off quickly. In a low curve Burn or Spells Matter deck, pitching a land to jump-start Risk Factor doesn't even feel like paying an extra card.

6. Beacon Bolt

I may be partial to due to how well it works in my Arena-ranked deck. I revised my view on Magic Arena completely when it went to open beta and began including all the cards in the current Standard, which made for much more varied and entertaining gameplay. In my ranked Arena deck, I play one of the variations of Izzet Drakes, and Beacon Bolt is a reliable workhorse for bringing back my es, as well as clearing the way for their attack. In Cube, getting to cast a spell twice can make a big difference in a Spell Matters deck. And as the B.R.E.A.D. acronym teaches, removal should be high picks. (Pick Order: Bombs, Removal, Evasion, Aggro, Duds)

In general, jump-start has turned out to be a sweet mechanic for that particular archetype. Therefore, two jump-start cards have made it on this list, even if none of them are in my Cube yet. Being serious cards, I had a harder time making the right cuts to include cards with the jump-start mechanic than the far sillier jank, such as and , which I easily could make room for.

5. Murmuring Mystic

Casting both Risk Factor and Beacon Bolt twice is all well and nice, but what if I told you that you could also have four 1/1 fliers to go with that? not only quickly gives you ten birds by the hand (much better than one on the roof) that you can either use to chump block until you cast your game-winning spell or to grind down your opponent's life total. It also, on its own, provides a quite effective 1/5 body for blocking, while you build up the mana or cards to go off with, for example, Thousand-Year Storm.

4. Assassin's Trophy

One story about why we can't have fetch lands reprinted in Standard is that Wizards of the Coast wants to eliminate all the library searching and shuffling because it makes for bad video coverage in tournaments. Well, and debunk that explanation for a that costs 50,00 € upwards. Both cards, in most cases, involve at least the same amount of library searching and shuffling as fetch lands.

Honestly, I was considering to not even include the initially most-hyped card from Guilds of Ravnica on this list, since I had a hard time finding a place for it in my own Cube with Golgari slots already amply filled up. But it is really good removal. Also, its artwork is by Seb McKinnon, who is among the hottest current Magic artists. And art matters – I have been known to choose cards with artwork by Rebecca Guay above technically better cards and to make up a lot of excuses for keeping them in. Well, you won't need to come up with any excuses to include this card in your Cube. As the card's initial hype has already passed, Assassin's Trophy can be had for a quite fair price nowadays, beginning at 10,00 € (at the time of writing).

3. Conclave Tribunal

Another piece of Seb McKinnon art (and a much better looking one, may I say) decorates , my favorite white removal spell from the set and one of the best-looking cards, not to say the least, in Friday Night Magic Promos' foil version, where the artwork truly shines (pun kinda intented). This card has worked wonders for me in the confused Mono White deck that I use for grinding my dailies in non-ranked play on Arena. Having also experienced Conlave Tribunal put to good use (on both sides of the table) in paper in Guilds of Ravnica Draft and Sealed, this card was an easy inclusion in my list – and for my own Cube. And as mentioned above, it does not hurt that it's got the looks.

2. Doom Whisperer

While 's mom may disagree, this is definitely not a guy you pick for his looks. But you may pick him for his ability to look into your library. The set's new Dimir mechanic has been awesome in Limited, and it seems a safe bet to say that Guilds of Ravnica will certainly not be the last we have seen of it. Unfortunately, some of the strongest card with surveil in Limited, like , are just too parasitic to make it into most Cubes. Unless you have a very small-sized Cube or you are building a Cube solely based on this set, Disinformation Campaign won't really work its magic.

Doom Whisperer, on the other hand, doesn't rely on other surveil cards. It is just a big flying trampling dude that is already low-priced at five mana for its 6/6 body and combat abilities. Add to that the ability to dig deep in your library and fill up your graveyard with all sorts of goodies, and you have a mythic that makes the power creep represented by Impervious Greatwurm appear a little quaint.

1. Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice

One card creeps above them all when it comes to getting a good deal on its casting cost and its actual card cost, since it is a lot cheaper to buy as a single than a couple of other cards in this list. That card is – or rather Exemplar of Power Creep, am I right? Perhaps it is just due to me being an old player back in the days of being one of the best deals when it came to creatures. Aurelia, however, is a bit nuts. The only reason the card is not in my Cube is probably because I had not read it properly earlier, and only later realized that a lot of times, it will be a 4/5 vigilance, trample, flying, mentor creature.

Second-guessing my own choice for number one in this list, I went in search of views from higher authorities on Draft and Cube design when it comes to this card; I ended up feeling vindicated with my card choice. Draft expert and longtime co-host on the podcast Limited Resources, Luis Scott-Vargas gave the card a healthy 4.5 out of 5 in his set review of Guilds of Ravnica for Channel Fireball. The mentoring angel is also one of the ten cards from the expansion to make it into the latest iteration of Magic Online's Vintage Cube. Not that such opinions guide my choices on these lists or when it comes to curating my own Limited environment, but at least, in this case, my choice somewhat aligns with the experts. Even with a lot of competition for Boros slots in my Cube, something will have to go very soon to give place for Aurelia and her fiery brand of justice.

Anyway, that's my take on which 10 cards from Guilds of Ravnica should you first consider for inclusion in your Cube. I am sure that a lot of readers have another take on what fits best into Limited environments in general and more specifically, in their own Cube. Please share your insights, suggestions, and considerations regarding Cube picks from this set with your fellow cubers in the comments below.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily Cardmarket.