Greetings fellow Cubers and welcome back to Unboxed: the weekly article series that shines a spotlight on themes and topics about the best format in Magic: The Gathering! Thank you to everyone who has supported the series and if there is a topic or theme you would like covered, leave your thoughts in the comments below! With that said: Let’s get Cubing!
Happy New Year everyone! I know 2020 was not the greatest year for many of us, but it was another excellent year for Magic and for potential new cards to add to our cubes. Wizards certainly has plenty for us to look forward to with Kaldheim, Strixhaven, a Dungeons & Dragons crossover, and multiple Innistrad sets slated to come out this year and that is just the standard products we are getting in 2021. There will certainly be new Commander decks and plenty of opportunities for reprints, particularly from Time Spiral Remastered, along with some potentially powerful cards coming in Modern Horizons 2. Before we set our sights on the 2021 product line for good, we should look back at the best 2020 had to offer. To celebrate the best Magic had to offer for our cubes in the 2020 calendar year, this week’s article will unveil the 2020 Cube Awards.
Important Notes:White creatures had a pretty good 2020 as Basri’s Lieutenant and Luminous Broodmoth brought even more exciting options to a crowded four mana slot. Luminous Broodmoth wants to be one of the few flyers in your deck so that it can bring all your other creatures back and having four toughness is so important against red burn spells. Basri’s Lieutenant is a large midrange creature that also provides synergy to token and +1/+1 counter strategies while also representing an efficient attacking/blocking threat. Seasoned Hallowblade is an excellent two mana aggressive creature that has resiliency and if you can turn the discard cost into a positive, it gets even better. While these cards were all very good, Skyclave Apparition easily wins this category. It solves any problematic card on the field if it costs four mana or less and while you may give them a creature back, that creature having no abilities is a lot less threatening than whatever you got rid of. This creature is so good and is one of the best creatures White has gotten in a long time. More of this please!
Best White Non-Creature – Elspeth Conquers DeathThe White Non-Creatures cover a wide range of cards from single-target-removal and a board wipe to an aggressive planeswalker and a card that has value no matter which side you play it on. Elspeth Sun’s Nemesis is a worthy inclusion among the other previous incarnations of Elspeth we have received and she has done well for herself since her release last January. Slash the Ranks is a cool new option for five mana Wrath of God effects that also answers planeswalkers, which could be incredibly important depending on how many you run in your cube. Emeria’s Call generates two 4/4 flyers while saving your board in combat and can be also played as a land, which can come up more than you might predict if you have a rough opening hand. While these cards provide interesting options, Elspeth Conquers Death provides excellent value for its mana cost as the first chapter does so much when it enters the battlefield. Providing additional value while also being an insane target to blink and resetting the chapter count makes this a clear winner in this category.
Best Blue Creature - HullbreacherMoving to the most powerful color in plenty of cubes out there, Blue was given some intriguing new cards to consider. Barrin is the fairest card of the nominees as it is a strict upgrade on Aether Adept and there are many cubers that have tried it as a replacement for Man-O’-War with seemingly positive results. Sea Gate Stormcaller and Thieving Skydiver are interesting options and are absolutely at their peak in powered cubes where crazy cheap spells and broken artifacts run rampant. As cool as those cards are, the winner for this category is Hullbreacher. It got removed from the Vintage Magic Online Cube because of how strong it is with Wheel of Fortune-esque effects and even if you can block a straightforward draw spell, like Thirst for Knowledge, it is incredible. Hullbreacher is by no means the greatest blue card I have ever seen, but it’s effect is quite strong if you can successfully use it.
Best Blue Non-Creature – Shark TyphoonThis is usually the category where I have a tough time picking nominees because Blue’s older non-creature spells are some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game. 2020, like many surprises this year, gave us some good cards in this category, but it also contains the card that shattered my expectations when it was first spoiled. The newest Jace is a tough call to compare with Jace Beleren and time will tell which is better, but that does not make the card bad by any means. Thassa’s Intervention is a flexible card draw spell or a useful tool of counter magic while Sublime Epiphany can do a whole lot of things depending on the current board state and the stack. As good as those cards are, Shark Typhoon is a clear winner here. I thought the card would be a fine role-player and see some testing, but this card is crazy strong and it is debatably the best Blue non-creature spell we have gotten in years.
Best Black Creature – Opposition AgentBlack creatures are a category that could use some real support and while we got nothing completely insane in 2020, what we did get were upgrades to make this area of our cubes just a little bit better. Nighthawk Scavenger is a subtle but marked improvement on Vampire Nighthawk, which was a cube staple for many years and Woe Strider gives you a lot of value along with some minor card selection for the low price of three mana. I have been finding a lot of success with Nullpriest of Oblivion as it is a fine card on turn two and even better on turn six when you can reanimate a gigantic creature from your graveyard. As much as I like these cards (Black is my favorite color of the five), Opposition Agent takes this category, but it is closer than you might think. Its effect is even more punishing than Hullbreacher’s if you can pull it off and the prospect of using this effect when your opponent cracks a fetchland or plays Demonic Tutor are insane. Opposition Agent might be one of the best cards to sideboard in after Game 1 if you are not playing it in your maindeck already and its floor is really not all that bad either.
Best Black Non-Creature – Heartless ActBlack non-creature spells usually fall into the category of quality removal spells and this group of cards is certainly no exception. Erebos’s Intervention is a flexible spell that gets around indestructible creatures and an overwhelming amount of graveyard hate if that is something you are looking for. Both Bloodchief’s Thirst and Eat to Extinction can remove a problematic creature or planeswalker while also giving you either some flexibility in the mana cot of the spell or some minor card selection, plus the benefits of instant speed. As much as I personally enjoy a lot of quality black removal spells, Heartless Act has elevated my standards of what a black removal spell can do. The better question to ask instead of “What creatures can this card destroy?” is “What creatures can this card not destroy?” because this is the best two mana black removal spell for creatures ever printed. It is that good and any non-Pauper cube would benefit from playing this card.
Best Red Creature – Terror of the PeaksRed creatures, particularly the lower costed ones, are an area where Wizards has slowly been making improvements for Cube play and 2020 gave us some interesting new options to try out. Heartfire Immolator is a neat twist on Abbot of Keral Keep and serves as a playable two mana creature at any point in the game, especially for decks with a critical mass of non-creature spells. Tectonic Giant and Phoenix of Ash are both cards with solid all-around stats and abilities and depending on the makeup of the rest of your cube, they could be solid role-players or excellent main-stays. The winner of this category, however, is Terror of the Peaks, and while it may not have haste, everything else about this dragon is excellent. If they use a removal spell on it, they will still take some damage as per its effect and it will destroy them rather quickly if you play one or two creatures and take advantage of its other ability.
Best Red Non-Creature – Shatterskull SmashingSimilar to Black, Red’s best non-creature spells usually end up being some form of removal spell and the 2020 additions not only accomplished that, but they tried to diversify the types of removal spells that were released this year. Thundering Rebuke may look like a simple card, but it has been working extremely well in my cube since I have plenty of planeswalkers that need to promptly be destroyed. The Akroan War is a cool design in that you take one of their creatures and the rest of them are probably going to be destroyed in a few turns thanks to the last chapter's effect. Even though your opponent can see it coming, this might be one of the better Act of Treason variants ever released. Purphoros’s Intervention does exactly what you would want a flexible red spell to do in that it either creates a huge creature with trample and haste for maximum damage output in that turn or it destroys a problematic creature or planeswalker. Shatterskull Smashing is this year’s winner, however, as it not only serves as a built-in two-for-one burn spell, it also acts as a land when you have a rough draw and that flexibility can not be overlooked.
Best Green Creature – Elder GargarothGreen creatures are usually an area where strong options are plentiful and 2020 introduced several strong contenders for cubers to try out. Kodama of the East Tree can provide you an incredible amount of value if it can survive for one turn and his ability working with lands along with him having reach makes this an awesome green six mana option. Gemrazer was one of the few standouts with the mutate ability and if you were looking for a Reclamation Sage with bigger stats, this card might fulfill that requirement. I love Kogla and he would have been the winner of this category if his mana cost were 4GG instead of 3GGG, but everything else about this giant ape is great. Elder Gargaroth wins this category as it is comparable to a green Baneslayer Angel through its board presence and ability to put the game out of reach singlehandedly. It also helps that he is one mana cheaper than Kogla while also providing consistent offensive and defensive value.
Best Green Non-Creature – Vivien, Monster’s AdvocateGreen’s non-creature spells have plenty of ramp options, but many of the other choices, especially in 2020, are a smattering of removal spells and interesting other alternatives. The First Iroan Games gives you a 4/4 for essentially two mana that draws you two cards and the flexibility of how all the chapters are used makes this an interesting option to consider. Primal Might is another step into the space of Green’s removal spells being centered around you having a creature in play and this card is a neat and flexible possibility to consider. While Turntimber Symbiosis provides the flexibility of a creature or a land, which is not be underestimated, Vivien is the winner in this category. She provides you card information, a form of card advantage, board presence, and additional value all for the price of five mana. I like this Vivien better than Vivien Reid and have no plans to remove her from my cube any time soon.
Best Gold Creature – Uro, Titan of Nature’s WrathGold creatures have the potential to be some of the strongest individual cards released each year and 2020 had plenty of them. Lurrus and Yorion have performed well in constructed formats and serve as interesting choices to consider for Azorius and Orzhov, even if you are not going to use the companion mechanic. Yorion being able to blink any number of cards on your field can be extremely powerful and Lurrus bringing back a one or two mana permanent during each of your turns is a consistent source of card advantage. Zagras is the card that has me the most excited of these bunch as it seems like it is a good all-around Rakdos card that can see play at some of the highest levels of competition. However, if high level competition is the topic of conversation, it all circles back to Uro, the winner of this category. He has dominated countless constructed formats and while he is not the best Simic card ever made, he is still quite strong and a force to be reckoned with.
Best Gold Non-Creature – Ashiok, Nightmare MuseThe Gold non-creature spells are also an excellent opportunity for Wizards to introduce powerful cards for any/all of the ten guilds or other color combinations. The 2020 releases, while not much in the way of archetype pushes, introduced more powerful creature options along with interesting non-creature spells ranging from removal to value-oriented spells. Back for More and Dire Tactics are both interesting options to consider and while Golgari and Orzhov have plenty of excellent non-creature spells, these are certainly ones to keep in mind, especially at the Peasant power level. While Nissa serves as another excellent Golgari planeswalker with her interesting reanimation ability, the winner of this category is Ashiok, Nightmare Muse. Ashiok is a very strong card for Dimir and even though Dimir doesn’t really need a card as powerful as this, it is still the most powerful Gold non-creature card we received this year.
Best Artifact - ShadowspearArtifacts are a great opportunity to make cards that can be used by either a wide variety of decks or help to strengthen particular archetypes. Skyclave Relic is a strict upgrade on Darksteel Ingot and can serve as both a way to have artifacts in play and generate additional mana to be used on later turns. Crystaline Giant may not be for everyone since he relies on a degree of randomness, but he can certainly become a problematic creature for your opponent if it gets hexproof on the first instance of his triggered ability. Myriad Construct compares to Hangarback Walker in that it provides with 1/1 tokens based on its power and while Hangarback is still a better card, Myriad Construct is not that much worse and can potentially provide more tokens than Hangarback ever could. These artifacts are interesting, but Shadowspear is one of the best equipment options we have seen in quite some time and is worth considering if you support equipment in any capacity or just want a good piece of equipment for your aggressive creatures. Shadowspear turns any of your creatures into a legitimate threat if they weren’t one already and is hopefully a sign that more good equipment options are on the way.
Best Land (Cycle) – The TriomesIn a year where Ikoria was released along with another trip back to Zendikar, it seemed likely that we would get some exciting lands to use. While the best lands released this year were on the backs of spells featured in Zendikar Rising, the standalone lands along with the land cycles that were released are quite strong as well. The Battlebond lands are best used in multiplayer Magic and if you have a Two Headed Giant Cube or Commander Cube, these are probably must-haves for you. Crawling Barrens is a cool addition to the “Manlands” category of lands that can turn into creatures and while it is by no means better than the ten manlands from previous Zendikar visits, it is still a cool card and fits right in when played alongside them. As much as I love the design of the Pathway lands, I do not think these are incredible options for cubes since the ability to choose between your colors on a given turn is much better than having a one-time choice. The winner of this category is the Ikoria Triomes, which are excellent tools for cubes that support three color strategies, but they also work in any style of play due to their cycling ability and that they are fetchable.
Best Card of 2020 - Skyclave ApparitionAll four of these cards are excellent and choosing from among these is so difficult, but one card must be the winner. I love Heartless Act and think it is an incredible removal spell, but the improvement of this card compared to the worst black two mana kill spell you ran is probably not that much. Uro crushes all constructed formats he is legal in, but in cube, his power level is diminished enough that he might even be the third or fourth best Simic card available. As much as I love the flexibility that Shark Typhoon brings, I am inclined to give the honor to areas that get a good card when they need it and White creatures could use some more help. Skyclave Apparition is an excellent example of a great card for cubes in that it is powerful, not game-breaking, and affordable enough where anyone can get a copy for a relatively low price tag. This card just does so much by answering a ludicrous number of unbelievable cards your opponent may play and it still provides you a 2/2 for three mana. Skyclave Apparition is my pick for the 2020 Cube Card of the Year and hopefully Wizards will keep giving us cards like this into the 2021 release schedule.
Story Time of the Week (Reprints of 2020): There were some excellent reprints this year in a variety of products. Jumpstart had a wide variety of options from Craterhoof Behemoth and Oracle of Mul Daya to Sheoldred, Whispering One and Kira Great-Glass Spinner. Commander Legends also had some excellent high-end reprints including Mana Drain and Vampiric Tutor. Standard products also got some good reprints in Ugin, Scavenging Ooze, Containment Priest, Solemn Simulacrum, Fabled Passage, and Lotus Cobra. The set that had the best reprints of the year though, to no one’s surprise, was Double Masters, where the reprints came at a breakneck pace. Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Mana Crypt, Thoughtseize, Wurmcoil Engine, and Blightsteel Colossus were some of the many reprints found in this set and Double Masters will rival other masters sets as a great place to start building a cube from, especially if you are looking to play with some of the best cards the game has ever seen.
And that is the list for this week! I hope you enjoyed a look at the best 2020 had to offer for Cubes. Even if not every card mentioned in the 2020 Awards makes your list, there are still plenty of options and strategies to consider thanks to the new additions from this past year. While some colors and color combinations need more help than others, I am excited for what 2021 has to offer!
Join me when Kaldheim previews conclude where we get the chance to play with brand new cards and until then, may you enjoy the best 2020 has to offer your Cube!
Special thanks to Cube Cobra for letting me contribute to the best Cube resource around, Gary Thompson for compiling the bulk of the data used for this article, and Maegan for being the best editor a writer can ask for!