Last week, I wrote about the Legacy Cube and how I do not like the direction the updates are going. A couple days later, Ryan Overturf wrote a well-reasoned response, which is worth a read.

Ryan made some good points. Most of the cards being removed from the Legacy Cube list are cards that just weren't very good (with the exception of the major nerfs to red aggro). Replacing a pile of last-picks with a new pile of last-picks probably won't change the format all that much, and if this vampire theme is more viable than it initially looks, then maybe black will even be slightly improved.

Ryan did state an opinion that I disagree with:

Most importantly, what I like about these changes and their explanations are that unlike previous updates to the MTGO Cubes is that it seems that everything is moving in a clear direction without any examples of new cards being added “because they’re new” that I can see.

Don't get me wrong: I don't want to see narrow, fringe cards from new sets added to the Legacy Cube. But frankly, I don't get as many opportunities to play with my paper cards as I do to draft the Legacy Cube, so MTGO becomes my main testing environment for the format. I love the opportunity to test new cards in competitive drafts to see if they're worth adding to my own list, especially when they're pricey and I'm not yet sure if I want to acquire them. Obviously this is an opinion based purely on my personal situation and your mileage may vary, but if anything, I'd like to see more new cards in the Legacy Cube.

I'm still disappointed in these changes. I straight-up disagree with the notion that signets hurt aggro, I like to have powerful equipment available (Stoneforge Mystic is a fringe playable in Legacy Cube. Can you believe that?), and I dislike powering down the winningest archetypes rather than powering up the weaker ones.

However, despite being disappointed, I have to walk back this statement a little bit:

Cube is the only thing that gets me to sign in to my MTGO account. It’s bad that this announcement hasn’t gotten me excited to log on.

Look, I love playing a lot of Magic, and Magic Online is my best option for that these days. Now that I've had a few days to digest these changes, I'm relatively excited to play some Legacy Cube soon. And frankly, my two favorite archetypes (Simic Ramp and Izzet Twin) were not changed at all, so in many ways, I'll be rocking the same decks I always do.

Except for the occasional mono-red build. That nerfing just went too far.