AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #691
ASTONISHING X-MEN TP VOL 08 CHILDREN OF BROOD
AVENGERS #29
AVENGERS ACADEMY #35
BATWOMAN #12
BEFORE WATCHMEN RORSCHACH #1 (OF 4)
BIRDS OF PREY #12
BLOODSHOT (ONGOING) #2
BLUE BEETLE #12
BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 03 RUSSIA (C: 0-1-2)
CAPTAIN ATOM #12
CAPTAIN MARVEL #2
CATWOMAN #12
DAREDEVIL #17
DARK AVENGERS #179
DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER MAN IN BLACK #3 (OF 5)
DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #12
DEADPOOL #59
DEADPOOL KILLS MARVEL UNIVERSE #3 (OF 4)
ELEPHANTMEN #42 (MR)
FATALE #7
GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #15
GREEN LANTERN #12
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #12
HARBINGER (ONGOING) #3
HELLBLAZER #294
HULK #56
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #12
NEW MUTANTS #47
NIGHTWING #12
PATHFINDER #1
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #12
REVIVAL #2
SAGA #6
SAUCER COUNTRY #6
SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #33.2
SHADE #11 (OF 12)
STAR WARS DARTH VADER GHOST PRISON #3 (OF 5)
SUPERGIRL #12
UNCANNY X-FORCE #29
UNCANNY X-FORCE TP VOL 04 DARK ANGEL SAGA BOOK 2
VOLTRON #7
WALKING DEAD #101
WONDER WOMAN #12
X-FACTOR #242
X-MEN #34

ACTION COMICS #12
AGE OF APOCALYPSE #6
ANIMAL MAN #12
AVENGERS ACADEMY #34
AVENGERS VS X-MEN #9
AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #10
BATWING #12
BEFORE WATCHMEN NITE OWL #2 (OF 4)
BOYS #69
DAREDEVIL #16
DEADPOOL KILLS MARVEL UNIVERSE #1 (OF 4)
DEFENDERS #9
DETECTIVE COMICS #12
DIAL H #4
EARTH 2 #4
FIRST X-MEN #1 (OF 5)
FURY MAX #5
GREEN ARROW #12
HARVEST #1 (OF 5)
HAWKEYE #1
HYPERNATURALS #2
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #522
IZOMBIE #28
JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #12
MIND MGMT #3
MIND THE GAP #3
PETER PARKER SPIDER-MAN #156.1
RED LANTERNS #12
SHADOW #4
SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 #4
SPAWN #222
STORMWATCH #12
SWAMP THING #12
THIEF OF THIEVES #7
THINK TANK #1
TRANSFORMERS REGENERATION ONE #82
ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #13
WORLDS FINEST #4
X-MEN #33

BATMAN NO MANS LAND TP VOL 03
FLASH ARCHIVES HC VOL 06
HITMAN TP VOL 07 CLOSING TIME
HOUSE OF MYSTERY TP VOL 08 DESOLATION
NEW X-MEN OMNIBUS HC NEW PTG
SUPERBOY TP VOL 01 INCUBATION
SUPERMAN ACTION COMICS HC VOL 01

AVENGERS ACADEMY #33
AVENGERS VS X-MEN #8
BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #6
BATWOMAN #11
BEFORE WATCHMEN SILK SPECTRE #2
BIRDS OF PREY #11
BLUE BEETLE #11
CAPTAIN MARVEL #1
CATWOMAN #11
DAREDEVIL #15
DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #11
FABLES #119
FANTASTIC FOUR #608
GLORY #28
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #11
HELLBLAZER #293
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #521
JENNIFER BLOOD ANNUAL #1
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #641
JUSTICE LEAGUE #11
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #11
NEW MUTANTS #46
NIGHTWING #11
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #11
SAGA #5
SECRET SERVICE #3
STAR TREK TNG DOCTOR WHO ASSIMILATION #3
SUPERGIRL #11
THE SPIDER #3
UNCANNY X-MEN #16
UNTOLD TALES OF PUNISHER MAX #2
WOLVERINE #309
WONDER WOMAN #11
X-FACTOR #240
X-MEN #32
X-O MANOWAR (ONGOING) #3

BATWING TP VOL 01 THE LOST KINGDOM
CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BUCKY TP LIFE OF BUCKY BARNES
COUNTER X TP X-FORCE RAGE WAR
FF BY JONATHAN HICKMAN TP VOL 02
GHOST RIDER TP COMPLETE SERIES BY ROB WILLIAMS
HELLRAISER TP VOL 03
SPIDER-MAN COMPLETE BEN REILLY EPIC TP BOOK 05
SPIDER-MAN ENDS OF EARTH HC

New Comics

STAR TREK TNG DOCTOR WHO #2
HYPERNATURALS #1
ALL STAR WESTERN #10
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #688
AMERICAN VAMPIRE #28
ANGEL & FAITH #11
AQUAMAN #10
ATOMIC ROBO FLYING SHE DEVILS O/T PACIFIC #1
ATOMIC ROBO REAL SCIENCE ADV #3
BATMAN INCORPORATED #2
BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #10
BEFORE WATCHMEN NITE OWL #1
BPRD HELL ON EARTH EXORCISM #1
CAPTAIN AMERICA AND IRON MAN #633
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS FORGOTTEN REALMS #2
FATALE #6
FF #19
FLASH #10
FURY OF FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MEN #10
GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #10
HIT-GIRL #1
I VAMPIRE #10
INCREDIBLE HULK #10
JOHN CARTER GODS OF MARS #4
JUSTICE LEAGUE #10
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #10
KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #188
LEGION LOST #10
LOEG III CENTURY #3 2009
MAGIC THE GATHERING SPELL THIEF #1
MANHATTAN PROJECTS #4
MIGHTY THOR #16
MIND THE GAP #2
NEW DEADWARDIANS #4
PREVIEWS #286 JULY 2012
PROPHET #26
SAVAGE DRAGON #180
SAVAGE HAWKMAN #10
SPIDER-MEN #2 (OF 5)
STAR WARS BLOOD TIES BOBA FETT IS DEAD #3
SUPERMAN #10
SUPREME #65
TEEN TITANS #10
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #11
TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS EYE ONGOING #6
ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #12
VOLTRON #6
VOODOO #10
WHISPERS #3
WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #12
X-MEN #31
X-MEN LEGACY #269

Graphic Novels

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN MOVIE PRELUDE TP
DEFENDERS BY MATT FRACTION TP VOL 01
CONAN TP VOL 11 ROAD OF KINGS
FATALE TP VOL 01 DEATH CHASES ME
FF BY JONATHAN HICKMAN PREM HC
GAME OF THRONES GN VOL 01
GOON TP VOL 11 DEFORMED BODY & DEVIOUS MIND
GOTHAM CITY SIRENS TP VOL 03 STRANGE FRUIT
SPELLBINDERS SIGNS AND WONDERS TP
GUILD TP VOL 02
MMW UNCANNY X-MEN TP VOL 05
MORNING GLORIES TP VOL 03 P.E.
NICK FURY CLASSIC TP VOL 01 AGENT OF SHIELD
MYSTERY MEN TP
WOLVERINE BEST THERE IS BROKEN QUARANTINE TP
X-MEN LEGACY BACK TO SCHOOL PREM HC
X-MEN SCHISM TP
X-MEN X-CLUB TP

ADVENTURE TIME #5
ASTONISHING X-MEN #51
AVENGERS ACADEMY #32 AVX
AVENGERS VS X-MEN #6 (OF 12)
AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #8
BALTIMORE DR LESKOVARS REMEDY #1 (OF 2)
BATWOMAN #10
BEFORE WATCHMEN COMEDIAN #1 (OF 6)
BIRDS OF PREY #10
BLUE BEETLE #10
BPRD HELL ON EARTH DEVILS ENGINE #2 (OF 3)
CAPTAIN ATOM #10
CATWOMAN #10
CHEW #27 2ND HELPING ED
DAREDEVIL #14
DARK AVENGERS #176
DARK HORSE PRESENTS #13
DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER MAN IN BLACK #1 (OF 5)
DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #10
DOMINIQUE LAVEAU VOODOO CHILD #4
FABLES #118
GLORY #27
GODZILLA ONGOING #2
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #10
HELLBLAZER #292
HULK #54
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #519
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #640
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #10
MARS ATTACKS #1
NEW AVENGERS #27 AVX
NEW MUTANTS #44
NIGHTWING #10
PUNISHER #12
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #10
SAGA #4
SECRET AVENGERS #28 AVX
STAR TREK TNG DOCTOR WHO ASSIMILATION #1 2ND PTG
STAR WARS DARTH VADER GHOST PRISON #2 (OF 5)
STAR WARS DAWN O/T JEDI #5 FORCE STORM
SUPERGIRL #10
UNCANNY X-MEN #14 AVX
VENOM #19
WALKING DEAD #99
WINTER SOLDIER #7
WOLVERINE #308
WONDER WOMAN #10
X-FACTOR #238
YOUNG JUSTICE #17

Graphic Novels:
ANGEL & FAITH TP VOL 01 LIVE THROUGH THIS
BATTLE SCARS TP
FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF SHADE TP VOL 01 WAR MONSTERS
HELLBLAZER TP VOL 03 THE FEAR MACHINE NEW ED
SILVER SURFER REBIRTH OF THANOS TP NEW PTG
SPAWN ORIGINS TP VOL 15

Some of the highlights are Before Watchmen Minutemen #1. Written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke, this looks to be one of the better of the new Watchmen books. Also the second new Valiant book, Harbinger #1 hits this week. X-O Man-o-War was very good and this looks promising as well. We still have X-O #1 available, I would check it out. Earth 2 #2 is rumored to reveal that Alan Scott is homosexual, and has already sold out at DC, just a heads up if you want to get a first printing.

On the graphic novel side, Walking Dead Vol 16 is easily this most anticipated book this week. There is also the first Detective Comics HC written by Tony Daniel.

ACTION COMICS #10
AGE OF APOCALYPSE #4
AMERICAS GOT POWERS #1 (OF 6) VAR CVR 2ND PTG
ANIMAL MAN #10
AVENGERS ACADEMY #31
AVENGERS VS X-MEN #5 (OF 12)
BATWING #10
BEFORE WATCHMEN MINUTEMEN #1 (OF 6)
BOYS #67
CREATOR OWNED HEROES #1
CROSSED BADLANDS #7
DARK AVENGERS #175
DEFENDERS #7
DETECTIVE COMICS #10
DIAL H #2
EARTH 2 #2
FAIREST #4
FURY MAX #3
GI COMBAT #2
GREEN ARROW #10
HARBINGER #1
HULK #53
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #518
IZOMBIE #26
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #639
JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #10
KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #187
MIGHTY THOR ANNUAL #1
MORNING GLORIES #19
RED LANTERNS #10
SECRET #2
SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 #2
SPAWN #220
STORMWATCH #10
SWAMP THING #10
THIEF OF THIEVES #5
ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #11
UNCANNY X-MEN #13
WINTER SOLDIER #6
WORLDS FINEST #2
X-FACTOR #237
X-O MANOWAR (ONGOING) #2

BATMAN DETECTIVE COMICS HC VOL 01 FACES OF DEATH
BOYS TP VOL 11 OVER THE HILL
DEADPOOL TP VOL 09 INSTITUTIONALIZED
DMZ TP VOL 12 THE FIVE NATIONS OF NEW YORK
GREEN LANTERN CORPS REVOLT OF ALPHA LANTERNS TP
MOON KNIGHT BY BENDIS AND MALEEV TP VOL 01
RED LANTERNS TP VOL 01 BLOOD AND RAGE
WALKING DEAD TP VOL 16 A LARGER WORLD

There is so much raw power in a deck like this. One of the best creatures in the format, Delver of Secrets, gets to pair up with some of the sweetest spells in the format, including the newly released Thunderous Wrath. How is this not the most exciting? Well we have 60 cards to  put together so let’s start!

First off, the obvious creatures are Delver of Secrets and Snapcaster Mage. I would like 4 of each, please! These will form the backbone of the deck. Since both of these guys interact with spells and our spells are part of our win condition, our actual spell suite will have to be much more diverse than regular Blue/White Delver or Spirit Delver.

We obviously want to set up our Delver to flip, so Ponder is an automatic inclusion. When you use ponder on turn 2, assuming you didn’t just flip your turn one Delver, don’t be afraid to just go ahead and shuffle away a set of cards that doesn’t line up with your plan. I get that flipping Delver is “The Plan” but this deck actually has enough ways to interact with your opponent outside this Lightning Bolt on wings that you don’t have to try and get there 3 at a time. Ponder is especially important because it will hide the Thunderous Wrath until we have Red mana to actually hit them for 5.

Since Thunderous Wrath interacts so poorly with Snapcaster, we aren’t running a full 4 of these bad boys. Instead 3 will be enough and we will supplement the numbers with Noxious Revival. This card does work well with Snapcaster and adds a real level of versatility to your deck that continues to be surprising.

The other spell that really brings the heat is Brimstone Volley. This card is no joke in a format that runs rampant with Zombies that go morbid ever turn and Lingering Souls which offers about a trillion chump blockers. 3 of these fit the bill nicely, giving this deck even more reach.

The plus side to Volley is that you won’t often find yourself in a place where you have to cast it for 3 damage because the ground should stay clear with 2 Arc Trails and 3 Incinerates.  Of course there will be the ever present 4 Vapor Snags so your burn spells won’t have to do all the work.

With 3 Miracles in the deck, drawing on your opponents turn will help get in extra points of damage. Besides the singleton Desolate Lighthouse, 3 Thought Scour will assist in this. The ability to mill our opponent or ourselves does two things. We can clear the chaff from Ponder, which is not the best use of the card, or we can destabilize our opponents’ Ponders, which is way better.

Getting a miracle stuck in your hand, especially one that costs 6, is not the best. 2 Faithless Lootings actually handle that problem nicely and give us some filtering to find the spells we need to maintain our dominant position.

With 5 cards remaining in the list, I have to suggest adding some control elements to the deck. With Cavern of Souls, Mana Leak becomes less good. That is fine for us as we actually don’t care about many creatures. Instead Negate is going to do some serious leg-work in this list. 3 of them plus Snapcaster protect us from board wipes, enemy plainswalkers, and Unburial Rites for Elesh Norn.

The last two spots fall to Grim Lavamancer! While the Lava-man does eat up out graveyard, he is death to opposing Delvers, gives us a lot of consistency with our damage, and can occasionally distract choice removal from our Delvers. The EOT synergy with Thought Scour doesn’t hurt either.

Our final list should look like this:

Creatures: 10

4 Delver of Secrets
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Grim Lavamancer

Instants: 21

3 Thunderous Wrath
2 Noxious Revival
3 Brimstone Volley
3 Incinerate
4 Vapor Snag
3 Thought Scour
3 Negate

Sorcerys: 8

4 Ponder
2 Arc Trail
2 Faithless Looting

Lands: 21

4 Sulfur Falls
1 Desolate Lighthouse
3 Evolving Wilds
7 Island
6 Mountain

I don’t know about you, but I get a warm feeling inside seeing an absolutely devastating removal package that happens to double as damage to the face for a final kill. For this deck, 10 is easily doable in one turn and if the games turn grindy, the reach that all the burn adds can quickly allow you to break away from your opponent.

If you have questions about the deck, or magic in general, feel free to talk to me on Twitter @samdavisboyhero, or leave me a comment below. If you have time to listen to a podcast, Planeswalker Asylum is up on MTGCast and our full archives can be found on Couch Pirate Radio, if you have some catching up to do. As always, thanks for reading!

Until next time, keep your sleeves clean and your miracles on top.

Origins of the Cube
Magic Cubing originated in Canada in the early 2000′s. Early cubes consisted of the best 50 cards of each color, lands, artifacts and multi-color cards. The goal was to just take powerful cards, shuffle them up, get 8 friends together and draft. It is a singleton format, so only one of each card is in the cube. This was the standard design for years, as it was thought that cube design is a uniform process. Cube design has grown as rapidly as Magic card design. Sizes range from 120 two-player “stacks” to 1000 card cubes. There are pauper, or all common cubes, aggro cubes, tribal cubes, and even custom cubes such as the “split-card” cube.

My Cube Design
The modern traditional cube size is 360 cards, which is the minimum number of cards needed to have an 8-person draft. Mine is currently around 550 cards. I have found smaller lists to restrictive, with well over 10,000 different cards printed, there are too many great cards to restrict it to such a small number. It is hard to cut cards, and there are so many interesting interactions that 360 was too small for my tastes. You will need to take into account how many players will be drafting your cube. If you have 2-4 a smaller cube will be best, as some archetypes will be hard to draft if you are only seeing 180 of 1000 cards each draft. I initially had approximately 650 cards in mine. It was fully powered, which means I had all of the “Power 9″. After playing for a few months I was dissatisfied with how games played out. The games needed to be more interactive, and cards like Black Lotus, Sol Ring and Mana Drain led to more turn 2 blowouts than interesting games.

So out came the power nine. Mana Drain, Sol Ring, Mana Crypt and the like also got the boot. I decided to actually become a designer, and approach it like I was designing a Magic Expansion. The goal was to create an interesting limited environment, where aggro, mid-range, combo and control could thrive. The focus went to emphasizing the strengths of each color. This has been a difficult, and a seemingly never ending process. The goal is not for a certain archetype to win a match every now and then, but to consistently be viable and a threat to win the draft. Not only do I want archetypes like Red Deck Wins and 5 color control, but enough build around me cards like Metalworker and Splinter Twin to make every draft interesting and different from the last.

Future columns will focus on each color and my thought process behind the card choices, as well as my analysis of Avacyn Restored’s impact on cubing. Ill leave you with a link to my cube, and any comments or questions are always welcome. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AooXN9CGDYS4dGt1UHJQMjYtZEJnaHE5RURwVl9aS0E

You can follow me on twitter @wizardsnorman or Torgo on MTGO.

The contents of the Helvault are unknown, but there are enough prizes in it for 54 players. We will have a Helvault for the Saturday prerelease and the Sunday Two-headed Giant tournament. We will limit each of these events to 54 players so everyone will get a prize from the Helvault. A second prerelease tournament will be held on Saturday afternoon, but it will not be a Helvault event.

Preregistration begins April 2 for both Helvault events. You must either come by in person to prepay or pay over the phone. Entry is $25 for Saturday and $35/team for Sunday.