The Cube, latest iteration

372 total

46 Red:
lava spike
genju of the spire
burst lightning
tarfire
lightning bolt
magma jet
incinerate
lash out
smash to smithereens
ancient grudge
arc lightning
staggershock
threaten
pillage
manabarbs
incindiary command
wildfire
fireblast
chandra nalaar
banefire
kaervek's torch

gorilla shaman
grim lavamancer
kird ape
magus of the scroll
spikeshot elder

keldon marauders
hearth kami
blood knight
tin-street hooligan
dwarven blastminer
hellspark elemental

sulfur elemental
ball lightning
taurean mauler
jaya ballard
fire imp
cunning sparkmage

avalanche riders
flame-tongue kavu
obsidian fireheart
goblin ruinblaster

hunted dragon
siege-gang commander

flameblast dragon

greater gargadon


45 Green:
naturalize
rancor
giant growth
sprout swarm
moment's peace
edge of autumn
sylvan library
call of the herd
elephant guide
krosan grip
gift of the gargantuan
moldervine cloak
stonewood invocation
mwonvuli acid moss
harmonize
garruk
primal command
roar of the wurm
momentous fall
summoning trap

basking rootwalla
birds of paradise
llanowar elves
scattershot archer

sakura-tribe elder
silhana ledgewalker
tarmogoyf
thornweald archer
vinelasher kudzu
wild mongrel

carven caryatid
dosan the falling leaf
eternal witness
sex monkeys
yavimaya elder

blastoderm
chameleon colussus
phantom centaur

indrik stomphowler
kodama of the north tree
acidic slime

cloudthresher
nacatl war pride

pelakka wurm
krosan tusker


46 White:
condemn
swords to plowshares
tithe
path to exile
orim's chant
momentary blink
temporal isolation
disenchant
balance
sacred mesa
oblivion ring
griffin guide
spectral procession
faith's fetters
worship
armaggedon
wrath of god
ajani goldmane
martial coup

akrasan squire
burrenton forge-tender
goldmeadow harrier
isamaru
soul warden
suntail hawk

kami of ancient law
knight of meadowgrain
silver knight
white knight
stoneforge mystic wall of omens

aven riftwatcher
cloudchaser kestrel
descendant of kiyomaro
pianna, nomad captain
kor sanctifiers

academy rector
ranger of eos
calciderm
voice of all

cloudgoat ranger
mageta the lion
reveillark
baneslayer angel

reya dawnbringer
akroma, angel of wrath


46 Blue:
brainstorm
ponder
mystical tutor
stifle
counterspell
daze
remove soul
impulse
into the roil
negate
standstill
frantic search
capsize
oona's grace
circular logic
tinker
psionic blast
jace beleren
forbid
cryptic command
fact or fiction
mystical teachings
gush
force of will
mind control
upheaval
confiscate
future sight
recall


aquameoba
thought courier
waterfront bouncer

man-o-war
serendib efreet
trinket mage
vendillion clique
sea gate oracle

ninja of the deep hours
thieving magpie
venser, shaper savant

aeon chronicler
ethersworn adjudicator
mulldrifter

guile
palinchron

inkwell leviathan


44 Black:
slaughter pact
dark ritual
duress
entomb
executioner's capsule
bitterblossom
demonic tutor
diabolic edict
exhume
smother
animate dead
nameless inversion
hymn to tourach
sudden death
dead reckoning
phyrexian arena
makeshift mannequin
vigor mortis
damnation
hatred
liliana vess
mind twist
profane command


vampire lacerator
guul draz vampire

black knight
dark confidant
order of the ebon hand
mesmeric fiend
oona's prowler
withered wretch
bloodthrone vampire
vampire hexmage

faerie macabre
hypnotic specter
stinkweed imp
vampire nighthawk

faceless butcher
grinning demon
mirri, the cursed
nekrataal

puppeteer clique
evil eye of urborg
malakir bloodwitch
shriekmaw

dread

avatar of woe


31 Gold:
r/g:
rumbling slum
fires of yavimaya
bloodbraid elf

g/w:
armadillo cloak
loxodon hierarch
quasali pridemage

w/u:
iridescent angel
kiss of the amesha
teferi's moat

u/b:
agony warp
psychatog

b/r:
blightning
goblin outlander
terminate

r/w:
ajani vengeant
lightning helix

w/b:
desolation angel
tidehollow sculler
pillory of the sleepless

b/g:
maelstrom pulse
spiritmonger

g/u:
mystic snake
trygon predator
simic sky swallower

u/r:
fire/ice
gelectrode
invoke the firemind

3-color:
rhox war monk
dromar's charm
wooly thoctar
cruel ultimatum


10 hybrid:
r/g: vexing shusher
g/w: kitchen finks
w/u: mirrorweave
u/b: sygg, river cutthroat
b/r: murderous redcap
r/w: figure of destiny
w/b: unmake
b/g: sapling of colfener
g/u: snakeform
u/r: nucklavee


47 artifacts:
mana:
lotus bloom
lotus petal
mana vault
sol ring
*grim monolith
mind stone
10 signets

equipment:
bonesplitter
skullclamp
basilisk collar
umezawa's jitte
loxodon warhammer
5 swords
sigil of distinction

utility:
relic of progenitus
sensei's divining top
aether vial
isochron scepter
crystal shard
oblivion stone
tumble magnet
mindslaver

creatures:
5 mana myr
epochrasite
bottle gnomes
masticore
triskelion
wurmcoil engine
triskelavus
darksteel colossus


55 Lands:
10 duals
10 fetchs
academy ruins
city of brass
faerie conclave
ghitu encampment
mutavault
pendelhaven
rishadan port
strip mine
treetop village
volrath's stronghold
5 karoos (enemy colors)
5 allied color man-lands
5 vivids
5 tri-lands
5 artifacts

Some strange and rambling thoughts on Thoreau and the UFC

In what is surely a sign of a deeply diseased mind, one of my first thoughts upon reading the opening chapter of Walden was to compare Henry David Thoreau (unfavorably) with Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight Roy Nelson. Roy Nelson is what MMA fans call an "ambassador for the sport." He may be fat and (at least as far as professional fighters go) pretty bad at fighting. But people root for him b/c he comes across in interviews as intelligent and humble, and he spends a lot of his time helping underprivileged kids in Las Vegas. Contrast w/ Henry David Thoreau, who is widely regarded as one of the great American writers. Yet in Economy, the first chapter of Walden, he delivers blanket insults to anyone who didn't choose his style of deliberate living, and frankly (imho) comes off as kind of a dick. Maybe the reason so many people still lead "lives of quiet desperation" is that there have been too few ambassadors for the "sport" of alternative, examined, deliberate lifestyles. I am sure that there are better ways to live than the regular [go to college -> get a job w/ two weeks off /year -> get married -> retire] template that so many take for granted. But surely we don't need to insult the people who are living that life in order to demonstrate that there are better (or at least different) ways to do things.

Additional thoughts on the UFC, not wrt anything else: The Ultimate Fighting Championship is in a strange place right now. Its marquee divisions (welterweight, middleweight, and light heavy) all seem like competitions for second place. Georges St-Pierre has cleaned out the 170 lb. division to such an extent that challengers are being ported in from Strikeforce (his fight w/ Shields wasn't particularly close, and I don't see any reason to think Diaz will fare any better.) Anderson Silva has had exactly one close fight since he won the Middleweight belt in 2006, and he has looked like a monster* in his last two fights. It might be too early to say that Jon Jones will be as dominant as GSP or Silva, but after the way he destroyed Rua, I predict that he will be wearing that belt for a good long time. Full disclosure: I have been on this bandwagon since I watched him suplex Stephan Bonnar at UFC 94. But even when I try to think objectively about it, I just don't see anyone in the division with the tools to beat this guy with his 85" reach and his varied (and ridiculously unorthodox) skill set.


*Here is a great clip of Forrest Griffin talking about their 2009 fight at light heavyweight: "Every fight I go into, no matter what happens- it couldn't be worse than Anderson Silva."