Dear Voldaren Epicure, 

<3

I love you. For years I have sad that red aggressive decks in Magic Online Vintage cube became a scam. Red Deck Wins was a staple in Power Cube for many years, from when I first started playing Power Cube back in 2008 until fire design in 2019. In those days seeing a turn one Goblin Guide told you the fun police were there to seal your doom. But after fire design the creature cards got better and better and we saw a shift away from red aggressive one drops in Power cubes. In 2024 we hit the low point when there were a total five one mana aggressive creatures in the Magic Online Vintage cube. I will list the five for you:

• Blazing Rootwalla
• Dragon’s Rage Channeler
• Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer 
• Voldaren Epicure
• Figure of Destiny

Five cards on 540 cards means on average 3.33 red aggressive one mana creatures in a draft. In 2024 I thought, red aggro is dead in Power Cube. 

At the time of writing this, in 2026, there are nine aggressive one mana creatures available to red in the MTGO Vintage cube. Still not enough for mono red aggro, but it is a testament to the aggro players that they still have a place in Power Cube. Especially in Boros. Because after the 2025 release of Power Cube to Magic The Gathering Arena, 17lands data proved that Boros aggro was by far the best performing strategy in that version of Power Cube. Red aggro was alive and how!

And even though in that data you don’t show up as one of the higher win percentage cards, I do think that red aggro reclaiming a top spot in Power cube is thanks to cards like you. Because you are so much more than a red aggressive one drop. So much more than Goblin Guide could ever be. You provide an artifact for the Blue and Red Tolarian Academy decks. You provide a discard outlet for Black and Red reanimator decks. And you are a good enough way to start applying the pressure when playing a red aggressive deck. I love that red aggro cards have evolved away from singular cards like Goblin Guide into such much deeper cards from a design perspective like you, Voldaren Epicure. And I love you for that. 

And personally, when I get to draft you in a Power cube, you take me back to those sweet old days of doing what I love doing: being the fun police. 

With love,

Hanjo