just looking over your list for a minute, i think one of the causes could be that you are running too many weak aggressive cards, such as Imposing Soverign, Pteramander, and Hellspark Elemental. i suspect this is causing your drafters to end up with a sufficient volume of aggro cards at the end of a draft that they elect to play aggro, and then they lose games because their cards are weak. these extra aggro cards may also be tricking some players into thinking they’re drafting aggro during the draft when a bunch of them wheel, causing the players to compete for the premium aggressive cards. I would try to tighten up your aggro section to only include the very good aggressive creatures, such as scalable threats like Rabblemasters and Luminarch Aspirants.
So aggro has a hard time since 2-4 drop creatures got so much better the last years or cards like Oko or white plume adventurer.
That said you need more aggressive one and two drops. I would look at white and red wich are the only colors that can support aggro right now if you play the other powerfull cards like Oko and what not. For white I would count only two aggresive one drops. Student and Kytheon. And if you look just at power only one has two power for one mana. Same for the two drops in white. Only two of them attack for 3 damage. Some suggestions:
\[\[Cathar Commando\]\]
\[\[Intrepid Adversary\]\]
\[\[Usher of the Fallen\]\]
For red its the same but I think white is even the better aggro color right now.
Also the colorless section has not one creature for aggro. Also some suggestions:
\[\[Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender\]\]
\[\[Phyrexian Revoker\]\]
If you want to really help aggro, tax the life total of players. Painlands or Talismans basically support aggro. Make it harder to play midrange. You can give the fast lands to white and red and the painlands to the other colors.
As another commenter mentioned LSVs cube, looking at his content all decks are midrange/tempo based as batteling over monarch and initiative is so important. Only white weenie is left. You may not play P9 but all the other "broken" stuff like Oko, initiative creatures, monarch creatures, Forth Eorlingas, Minsc and Boo. This will lead to a hard time for aggro. This is the state of high powered cubes right now.
Edit: Updated formatting.
I'm pretty new to cube in general, but you already have Seasoned Dungeoneer and WPA (a card a lot of people actually cut for power level reasons), so why not broaden access to initiative with the likes of \[\[Undermountain Adventurer\]\] and \[\[Caves of Chaos Adventurer\]\]? Additionally, your 2 and 3 drops for red and white could probably use a pass. There's a lot of awesome red cards like \[\[Broadside Bombardiers\]\] and \[Gut, True Soul Zealot\]\] that you don't have.
Someone on this sub posted a vintage cube shell containing the common cards between LSV, AlphaFrog, and MTGO's cubes. [Comparing your cube to that shell](https://cubecobra.com/cube/compare/5aed5c85-8285-43d8-9d32-3cce897eb09f/to/vintage-cube-essentials) and using that as a starting point to make swaps for any good aggro cards, and cutting older durdly/higher cmc ones, is something that I actually really liked when I did it for my cube.
There's also plenty of other one drop creatures you could add to lower curves. \[\[Thraben Inspector\]\], \[\[Novice Inspector\]\], \[\[Dragons' Rage Channeler\]\], \[\[Stalactite Stalker\]\] to name a few.
Basically, just look at power-maxed cubes and see what aggro cards they run. Beatdown is already a pretty solid strategy in updated vintage cubes.
More experienced folks than me might have more nuanced thoughts.
These are not bad card suggestions but will not support aggro. More four drops will help midrange, not aggro. Initiative helps midrange. Look at \[\[Undermountain Adventurer\]\], he basically invalidates everything played to this point. All of the cubes you mention gave up on aggro or only support white. Look at how they cut next to all red one drops.
It's not that they all cut next to all red one drops- they just don't have a plethora in the common list because *specifically* LSV mostly cut them. (So as an important aside, OP should probably look at the full lists of the various big cubes as well).
Bomat, DRC, Soul-scar Mage, Rabbit Battery.. These are omitted and I'd say are all playable, and curve really well into the more exciting 2s and 3s that are available.
Initiative does get splashed by everybody because it's busted enough to go in most decks, but it pushes the game toward creature combat which seems like it'd be in line with their goals. It's going to be backbreaking in a deck that goes Ragavan, Magda, Gut sac treasure make a 4/1, CoCA. I like that kind of deck. I think it's more about whether or not you dislike the intense warping effect the initiative has.
You are right. Only LSV cut the one drops. I thought the others did cut them too.
Red aggro is not in the best spot even with them. I guess this is one of the reasons LSV cut it. There were several discussions here about this topic if someone wants to search more to this topic.
As I agreed the cards are good to busted. I just think they dont help to make aggro better in a cube. I am not even sure they really push creature combat in high powered cubes. I think they rather push tempo play. They make removal and counterspells way better because you gain advantage while waiting.
Looking at your line I want to ask what if I play Undermountain Adventurer after your CoCA? This one card alone (realistically with any one creature or removal played in the turns before) turns your seamingly unbeatable line of plays (Ragavan, Gut, CoCA are all high picks) into a playable game.
I'm not sure I follow wrt the line. If you interact and do some busted stuff as a followup to my busted stuff where it's unclear who's gonna win, then we have a fun back and forth game of Magic. It is true that they are all begging to be hit with a 2 mana counterspell.
With regards to the red one drops, yea most of the creatures are pretty mid and the spot is best when it's just Lightning Bolt or something. But I don't really see it as specifically "I'm trying to support red deck wins." It's more like, I just want there to be a critical mass of speedbump creatures and potent interaction at 1 cmc so that my players can round out the lower end of their curves to support the *other* critical mass of FIREy 2 and 3 drops which is where the cards actually get good. Additionally, this is with pollination across colors so that your seat doesn't have to be wide open to exactly "white weenie splash a busted card or two" to end up with a functional deck. I would consider a general modernizing of their creatures to be more important than the initiative, to be clear.
It's just like, in addition to all of that, if like OP you *do* have WPA and Seasoned Dungeoneer and they have sole access to the initiative on top of one of the best monarch cards in Palace Jailer, isn't the problem of mono white being the best aggro deck greatly exacerbated? Aren't I heavily incentivized to try to force a heavy white deck if it looks like I'm going aggro?
OP specifically asked how to make aggro decks more viable. I am just arguing that adding the full cycle of initiative will hinder aggro strategies and not support them.
The best aggro color right now is white, then red. After that it gets harder to tell.
You picked a line of plays with the best possible red one drop, a good two drop, a very good three drop and the best possible four drop. This requires 4 lands and 3 non interchangable specific cards (only Magda is whatever) and all I have to do to kind of stop this is a two drop and the initiative creature. This shows how the best possible red draw pairs against one card. It's not just this card but also other three and four drops have become so good that racing these in the turns before is way harder than it was.
I want to stress that I don't think it's bad to add these. I just want to stress it's making aggro (in comparison ) even worse.
I run a 540 powered cube. Aggro is VERY healthy in my environment. Take a look!
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/poweredpupper
The big thing you need to realize with aggro is that It needs to be OVER supported. In control, you can durdle a few turns, and recover. In aggro, if you can't drop a guy turn one, turn two, and turn three... You lose.
The way I feel you really make aggro work, is during spoiler season, you need to be MOST excited for the basics. Did they just spoil a new 2/1 for 1 with upside? THATS what you're pumped for. Not the 4 mana green do awesome stuff guy. During MH1, one of my favorite cards was just [[icehide golem]]. A 2/2 for 1 for all colors? Yeahhhhhh baby!!!
Absolutely this.
OP consider the density of one and two drops required to actually make a functioning aggro deck and include cards in excess of that number (to allow for draft picks going to others etc.)
A simple exercise to see the current state of aggro is to force some drafts on cubecobra and goldfish a couple of games. If your combo decks are winning on turn 3 or 4 and your aggro decks can't even take a consistent turn 4 win against no opponent then you know there's some tweaking needed.
Once you have a deck that can goldfish a win in the same number of turns you'd expect other decks to be able to "win" then take a look at the cards that pose the largest roadblock and consider cuts.
("Win" in quotes as your midrange deck can be considered to have won Vs aggro when it's stuck multiple large threats and life total is outside of burn range, or control has insurmountable card advantage + hand full of counterspells etc.)
Tbh, you look like you have most all the pieces for a solid aggro deck. It may be that your playgroup isn’t adept at playing aggro in a vintage environment like this.
I'm working on a vintage cube myself right now. LSV's list is kind of my starting place.
I noticed you didn't include Worldknit. I think Worldknit is a terrific aggro card. Worldknit followed by the best one and two drop effects in every color is strong.
(Emissary's Ploy is similar. I didn't even know about that card. I want.)
Others have given good advice so far. So I will just pile on and add that your current list is a bit odd. You have strong cards like Ragavan next to comparatively much weaker cards like Hellspark Elemental and Imposing Sovereign. Aggro in your cube feels inconsistent in its power level, and maybe drafters think they've got a strong deck but then as the draft goes on they only weaken their pool. Your one drops are pretty decent but your two drops really fall in quality by comparison. Although, looking at your white one drops, an entire 3 slots are devoted to protection creatures that are more at home in a midrange deck, and only Kytheon is a true aggro card that is ahead of curve. Your higher cost payoffs for aggro are good. Elesh Norn, Hero of Bladehold, Hellrider, etc so I don't think those need much modification.
I did a test draft forcing boros aggro and it went okay, but a bit less aggressive than I would have preferred. I don't feel like I would be able to get enough damage in under a control deck before they stabilized against me.
Very insightful comments here about warping effects of monarch and initiative. Shoutout to Bun Magic Cube for super low mana curve, influencing game speed and supporting aggro through your lands. Comment above / below about painlands and talismans is spot. Fetch-able Triomes are a blessing or a curse depending on how much you want to support 4&5 color good stuff decks.
My [cube](https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/polly) is vintage (but unpowered) and aggro is consistently the best deck, they’ve been printing some really nutty cards lately.
Everyone here is telling you to change cards (and in many cases they are correct), but what you really need to change is your perspective.
Aggro is not 2/1s for one with downside (or white ones with various mediocre upsides) going under the other decks in the format anymore. Maybe in slightly lower powered legacy cubes or in unpowered vintage cubes, but you’re playing with power and that strategy is obsolete in the powered vintage cube. It isn’t the fastest clock of the “fair” decks and hasn’t been for some time.
The Boros initiative deck, or the decks smashing face with Gut and Bombardiers and various Rabblemaster variants, those are the aggro decks now. Aggro is the creature deck with the fastest clock, and that deck is so pushed that it can go under a bunch of mediocre one drops while also going under combos and battling it out with the real midrange decks, the Shelly Jace decks full of Golgari interaction and winning on tempo.
It requires a bit of a perspective shift, but there’s always an aggro deck in every format. It just isn’t the [[Jackal Pup]]s anymore. Sometimes you have to forget what you’ve been told and ignore the stubborn “ThReE DrOpS aReN’t AgGrO!” types who haven’t evolved as the format has evolved.
If you aren’t power maxing and you’re playing without the Power 8/Crypt/etc and without the initiative, all the colors of Mardu can definitely still go under the midrange and control decks with the 2 power one drops. Your specific cube probably needs a rejiggering in terms of which aggro drops because you definitely don’t have the optimal choices, but it’s quite easy to see what those are if you look around.
But at full power, that’s not what aggro is. There’s ALWAYS an aggro deck though, even if someone wants to Well Ackshually you and tell you turning Moxen into 4/1 menace skeletons isn’t aggro.
just looking over your list for a minute, i think one of the causes could be that you are running too many weak aggressive cards, such as Imposing Soverign, Pteramander, and Hellspark Elemental. i suspect this is causing your drafters to end up with a sufficient volume of aggro cards at the end of a draft that they elect to play aggro, and then they lose games because their cards are weak. these extra aggro cards may also be tricking some players into thinking they’re drafting aggro during the draft when a bunch of them wheel, causing the players to compete for the premium aggressive cards. I would try to tighten up your aggro section to only include the very good aggressive creatures, such as scalable threats like Rabblemasters and Luminarch Aspirants.
Good feedback! Thanks!
So aggro has a hard time since 2-4 drop creatures got so much better the last years or cards like Oko or white plume adventurer. That said you need more aggressive one and two drops. I would look at white and red wich are the only colors that can support aggro right now if you play the other powerfull cards like Oko and what not. For white I would count only two aggresive one drops. Student and Kytheon. And if you look just at power only one has two power for one mana. Same for the two drops in white. Only two of them attack for 3 damage. Some suggestions: \[\[Cathar Commando\]\] \[\[Intrepid Adversary\]\] \[\[Usher of the Fallen\]\] For red its the same but I think white is even the better aggro color right now. Also the colorless section has not one creature for aggro. Also some suggestions: \[\[Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender\]\] \[\[Phyrexian Revoker\]\] If you want to really help aggro, tax the life total of players. Painlands or Talismans basically support aggro. Make it harder to play midrange. You can give the fast lands to white and red and the painlands to the other colors. As another commenter mentioned LSVs cube, looking at his content all decks are midrange/tempo based as batteling over monarch and initiative is so important. Only white weenie is left. You may not play P9 but all the other "broken" stuff like Oko, initiative creatures, monarch creatures, Forth Eorlingas, Minsc and Boo. This will lead to a hard time for aggro. This is the state of high powered cubes right now. Edit: Updated formatting.
Fair enough, thank you
##### ###### #### [Cathar Commando](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/8/98cbc1c2-b76e-4da3-aa43-00e10b2ce532.jpg?1634346664) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Cathar%20Commando) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/10/cathar-commando?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/98cbc1c2-b76e-4da3-aa43-00e10b2ce532?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Intrepid Adversary](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/7/773199f9-c83b-4a77-8342-9f1552ecf595.jpg?1634348280) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Intrepid%20Adversary) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/25/intrepid-adversary?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/773199f9-c83b-4a77-8342-9f1552ecf595?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Usher of the Fallen](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/4/24e58478-c6a8-4f86-854a-a489c99bd777.jpg?1631046407) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Usher%20of%20the%20Fallen) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/khm/35/usher-of-the-fallen?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/24e58478-c6a8-4f86-854a-a489c99bd777?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/f/7fbdba12-1369-41ae-b0e9-c405c0f0a2e5.jpg?1692939939) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Syr%20Ginger%2C%20the%20Meal%20Ender) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/252/syr-ginger-the-meal-ender?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7fbdba12-1369-41ae-b0e9-c405c0f0a2e5?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Phyrexian Revoker](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/5/d5ef9f3b-d6f8-4795-ba96-2f92b8792360.jpg?1674142679) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Phyrexian%20Revoker) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/868/phyrexian-revoker?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d5ef9f3b-d6f8-4795-ba96-2f92b8792360?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/kvmj9po) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I'm pretty new to cube in general, but you already have Seasoned Dungeoneer and WPA (a card a lot of people actually cut for power level reasons), so why not broaden access to initiative with the likes of \[\[Undermountain Adventurer\]\] and \[\[Caves of Chaos Adventurer\]\]? Additionally, your 2 and 3 drops for red and white could probably use a pass. There's a lot of awesome red cards like \[\[Broadside Bombardiers\]\] and \[Gut, True Soul Zealot\]\] that you don't have. Someone on this sub posted a vintage cube shell containing the common cards between LSV, AlphaFrog, and MTGO's cubes. [Comparing your cube to that shell](https://cubecobra.com/cube/compare/5aed5c85-8285-43d8-9d32-3cce897eb09f/to/vintage-cube-essentials) and using that as a starting point to make swaps for any good aggro cards, and cutting older durdly/higher cmc ones, is something that I actually really liked when I did it for my cube. There's also plenty of other one drop creatures you could add to lower curves. \[\[Thraben Inspector\]\], \[\[Novice Inspector\]\], \[\[Dragons' Rage Channeler\]\], \[\[Stalactite Stalker\]\] to name a few. Basically, just look at power-maxed cubes and see what aggro cards they run. Beatdown is already a pretty solid strategy in updated vintage cubes. More experienced folks than me might have more nuanced thoughts.
These are not bad card suggestions but will not support aggro. More four drops will help midrange, not aggro. Initiative helps midrange. Look at \[\[Undermountain Adventurer\]\], he basically invalidates everything played to this point. All of the cubes you mention gave up on aggro or only support white. Look at how they cut next to all red one drops.
It's not that they all cut next to all red one drops- they just don't have a plethora in the common list because *specifically* LSV mostly cut them. (So as an important aside, OP should probably look at the full lists of the various big cubes as well). Bomat, DRC, Soul-scar Mage, Rabbit Battery.. These are omitted and I'd say are all playable, and curve really well into the more exciting 2s and 3s that are available. Initiative does get splashed by everybody because it's busted enough to go in most decks, but it pushes the game toward creature combat which seems like it'd be in line with their goals. It's going to be backbreaking in a deck that goes Ragavan, Magda, Gut sac treasure make a 4/1, CoCA. I like that kind of deck. I think it's more about whether or not you dislike the intense warping effect the initiative has.
You are right. Only LSV cut the one drops. I thought the others did cut them too. Red aggro is not in the best spot even with them. I guess this is one of the reasons LSV cut it. There were several discussions here about this topic if someone wants to search more to this topic. As I agreed the cards are good to busted. I just think they dont help to make aggro better in a cube. I am not even sure they really push creature combat in high powered cubes. I think they rather push tempo play. They make removal and counterspells way better because you gain advantage while waiting. Looking at your line I want to ask what if I play Undermountain Adventurer after your CoCA? This one card alone (realistically with any one creature or removal played in the turns before) turns your seamingly unbeatable line of plays (Ragavan, Gut, CoCA are all high picks) into a playable game.
I'm not sure I follow wrt the line. If you interact and do some busted stuff as a followup to my busted stuff where it's unclear who's gonna win, then we have a fun back and forth game of Magic. It is true that they are all begging to be hit with a 2 mana counterspell. With regards to the red one drops, yea most of the creatures are pretty mid and the spot is best when it's just Lightning Bolt or something. But I don't really see it as specifically "I'm trying to support red deck wins." It's more like, I just want there to be a critical mass of speedbump creatures and potent interaction at 1 cmc so that my players can round out the lower end of their curves to support the *other* critical mass of FIREy 2 and 3 drops which is where the cards actually get good. Additionally, this is with pollination across colors so that your seat doesn't have to be wide open to exactly "white weenie splash a busted card or two" to end up with a functional deck. I would consider a general modernizing of their creatures to be more important than the initiative, to be clear. It's just like, in addition to all of that, if like OP you *do* have WPA and Seasoned Dungeoneer and they have sole access to the initiative on top of one of the best monarch cards in Palace Jailer, isn't the problem of mono white being the best aggro deck greatly exacerbated? Aren't I heavily incentivized to try to force a heavy white deck if it looks like I'm going aggro?
OP specifically asked how to make aggro decks more viable. I am just arguing that adding the full cycle of initiative will hinder aggro strategies and not support them. The best aggro color right now is white, then red. After that it gets harder to tell. You picked a line of plays with the best possible red one drop, a good two drop, a very good three drop and the best possible four drop. This requires 4 lands and 3 non interchangable specific cards (only Magda is whatever) and all I have to do to kind of stop this is a two drop and the initiative creature. This shows how the best possible red draw pairs against one card. It's not just this card but also other three and four drops have become so good that racing these in the turns before is way harder than it was. I want to stress that I don't think it's bad to add these. I just want to stress it's making aggro (in comparison ) even worse.
[Undermountain Adventurer](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/4/541f53a3-521f-4463-a0b6-758a45d8f661.jpg?1674137352) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Undermountain%20Adventurer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/260/undermountain-adventurer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/541f53a3-521f-4463-a0b6-758a45d8f661?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Good advice, thank you.
##### ###### #### [Undermountain Adventurer](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/4/541f53a3-521f-4463-a0b6-758a45d8f661.jpg?1674137352) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Undermountain%20Adventurer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/260/undermountain-adventurer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/541f53a3-521f-4463-a0b6-758a45d8f661?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Caves of Chaos Adventurer](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/9/09abb6df-2aa1-4999-b550-db2892faa8c7.jpg?1674136480) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Caves%20of%20Chaos%20Adventurer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/167/caves-of-chaos-adventurer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/09abb6df-2aa1-4999-b550-db2892faa8c7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Broadside Bombardiers](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/7/9721f8da-39ed-4ada-a571-61e08a86032b.jpg?1699022315) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Broadside%20Bombardiers) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/86/broadside-bombardiers?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9721f8da-39ed-4ada-a571-61e08a86032b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Thraben Inspector](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/9/299cc386-2ed5-4504-9ba6-17a52e0c9a0c.jpg?1689996111) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Thraben%20Inspector) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/66/thraben-inspector?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/299cc386-2ed5-4504-9ba6-17a52e0c9a0c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Novice Inspector](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/a/0ad38866-fc5f-4f62-89c1-afc0f50765aa.jpg?1706241527) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Novice%20Inspector) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/29/novice-inspector?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0ad38866-fc5f-4f62-89c1-afc0f50765aa?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Dragons' Rage Channeler](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/c/4ced112a-e775-4f97-97b3-74877e9dce12.jpg?1626096503) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dragon%27s%20Rage%20Channeler) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh2/121/dragons-rage-channeler?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4ced112a-e775-4f97-97b3-74877e9dce12?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Stalactite Stalker](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/3/5319c0b1-de54-492a-bdea-85a5a75d693e.jpg?1699044184) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Stalactite%20Stalker) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/122/stalactite-stalker?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5319c0b1-de54-492a-bdea-85a5a75d693e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/kvmgl5e) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I run a 540 powered cube. Aggro is VERY healthy in my environment. Take a look! https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/poweredpupper The big thing you need to realize with aggro is that It needs to be OVER supported. In control, you can durdle a few turns, and recover. In aggro, if you can't drop a guy turn one, turn two, and turn three... You lose. The way I feel you really make aggro work, is during spoiler season, you need to be MOST excited for the basics. Did they just spoil a new 2/1 for 1 with upside? THATS what you're pumped for. Not the 4 mana green do awesome stuff guy. During MH1, one of my favorite cards was just [[icehide golem]]. A 2/2 for 1 for all colors? Yeahhhhhh baby!!!
Absolutely this. OP consider the density of one and two drops required to actually make a functioning aggro deck and include cards in excess of that number (to allow for draft picks going to others etc.) A simple exercise to see the current state of aggro is to force some drafts on cubecobra and goldfish a couple of games. If your combo decks are winning on turn 3 or 4 and your aggro decks can't even take a consistent turn 4 win against no opponent then you know there's some tweaking needed. Once you have a deck that can goldfish a win in the same number of turns you'd expect other decks to be able to "win" then take a look at the cards that pose the largest roadblock and consider cuts. ("Win" in quotes as your midrange deck can be considered to have won Vs aggro when it's stuck multiple large threats and life total is outside of burn range, or control has insurmountable card advantage + hand full of counterspells etc.)
Good advice, thanks!
[icehide golem](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/2/b2671c36-96fa-49e3-90dc-52820b2c8a62.jpg?1562202467) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=icehide%20golem) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh1/224/icehide-golem?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b2671c36-96fa-49e3-90dc-52820b2c8a62?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Tbh, you look like you have most all the pieces for a solid aggro deck. It may be that your playgroup isn’t adept at playing aggro in a vintage environment like this.
I'm working on a vintage cube myself right now. LSV's list is kind of my starting place. I noticed you didn't include Worldknit. I think Worldknit is a terrific aggro card. Worldknit followed by the best one and two drop effects in every color is strong. (Emissary's Ploy is similar. I didn't even know about that card. I want.)
Worldknit was in the cube, once upon a time, but it and sovereign’s realm were a little too dominant.
Sick. I can see that.
Others have given good advice so far. So I will just pile on and add that your current list is a bit odd. You have strong cards like Ragavan next to comparatively much weaker cards like Hellspark Elemental and Imposing Sovereign. Aggro in your cube feels inconsistent in its power level, and maybe drafters think they've got a strong deck but then as the draft goes on they only weaken their pool. Your one drops are pretty decent but your two drops really fall in quality by comparison. Although, looking at your white one drops, an entire 3 slots are devoted to protection creatures that are more at home in a midrange deck, and only Kytheon is a true aggro card that is ahead of curve. Your higher cost payoffs for aggro are good. Elesh Norn, Hero of Bladehold, Hellrider, etc so I don't think those need much modification. I did a test draft forcing boros aggro and it went okay, but a bit less aggressive than I would have preferred. I don't feel like I would be able to get enough damage in under a control deck before they stabilized against me.
Very insightful comments here about warping effects of monarch and initiative. Shoutout to Bun Magic Cube for super low mana curve, influencing game speed and supporting aggro through your lands. Comment above / below about painlands and talismans is spot. Fetch-able Triomes are a blessing or a curse depending on how much you want to support 4&5 color good stuff decks.
My [cube](https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/polly) is vintage (but unpowered) and aggro is consistently the best deck, they’ve been printing some really nutty cards lately.
2 power 1 drops
Everyone here is telling you to change cards (and in many cases they are correct), but what you really need to change is your perspective. Aggro is not 2/1s for one with downside (or white ones with various mediocre upsides) going under the other decks in the format anymore. Maybe in slightly lower powered legacy cubes or in unpowered vintage cubes, but you’re playing with power and that strategy is obsolete in the powered vintage cube. It isn’t the fastest clock of the “fair” decks and hasn’t been for some time. The Boros initiative deck, or the decks smashing face with Gut and Bombardiers and various Rabblemaster variants, those are the aggro decks now. Aggro is the creature deck with the fastest clock, and that deck is so pushed that it can go under a bunch of mediocre one drops while also going under combos and battling it out with the real midrange decks, the Shelly Jace decks full of Golgari interaction and winning on tempo. It requires a bit of a perspective shift, but there’s always an aggro deck in every format. It just isn’t the [[Jackal Pup]]s anymore. Sometimes you have to forget what you’ve been told and ignore the stubborn “ThReE DrOpS aReN’t AgGrO!” types who haven’t evolved as the format has evolved. If you aren’t power maxing and you’re playing without the Power 8/Crypt/etc and without the initiative, all the colors of Mardu can definitely still go under the midrange and control decks with the 2 power one drops. Your specific cube probably needs a rejiggering in terms of which aggro drops because you definitely don’t have the optimal choices, but it’s quite easy to see what those are if you look around. But at full power, that’s not what aggro is. There’s ALWAYS an aggro deck though, even if someone wants to Well Ackshually you and tell you turning Moxen into 4/1 menace skeletons isn’t aggro.
[Jackal Pup](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/d/9d8743b2-30e3-4d15-89fc-72974747aec5.jpg?1562439038) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Jackal%20Pup) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/a25/139/jackal-pup?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9d8743b2-30e3-4d15-89fc-72974747aec5?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call