"Three things in life are guaranteed: Death, Taxes, and White Weenie."

Small efficient creatures have been a core of White's identity all the way back to the first printing of Savannah Lions in Alpha. Fast forward a few decades and the tradition is alive and well with cards like Ocelot Pride, Esper Sentinel, and Guide of Souls that beg the question, "How much value are we allowed to print on a 1-drop?" At its core Death and Taxes is a simple, yet effective game plan: control the battlefield and slowly grind down your opponent's resources, all while pressuring them with a flurry of efficient creatures. The archetype's ability to disrupt opponents' plays while still attacking relentlessly makes it an excellent choice in any Cube format, particularly in more powerful Legacy or Vintage Cubes where you can force the unfair decks to play fair.

What is Death and Taxes?

In the context of Cube, Death and Taxes is a White-based aggressive control archetype that thrives on creatures with disruptive abilities and synergistic effects. It relies on low-cost, efficient creatures to pressure opponents while simultaneously leveraging effects that disrupt their mana base, hand, and play patterns.

Key characteristics of the archetype include:

• Efficient creatures: You play cheap creatures that can attack quickly and trade up on the board. Most creatures will have a high power to cmc ratio and can often provide ways to buff themselves or other attackers like Accorder Paladin.
• Disruption: Cards that limit your opponent's ability to interact effectively, such as taxing abilities or artifact and enchantment removal. Splashing into black gives you access to the best spot removal and hand disruption like Fatal Push and Thoughtseize respectively.

In short, Death and Taxes is a perfect example of an archetype that can both disrupt and outvalue opponents, whether you're facing off against ramp decks, midrange decks, or control.

Strengths of Death and Taxes

• Taxing Effects: The archetype excels at playing a value-based game plan, creating board states that opponents struggle to break through. Locking down an opponent's mana with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Elite Spellbinder is often all you need to run away with the game before they can develop their board.
• Silver Bullets: In some matchups, your cards can completely stop an opponent's deck from functioning. Containment Priest is a hard counter to Show and Tell. Archon of Emeria fully stops a "Storm" deck from functioning. Lion Sash and one open mana can't prevent a Reanimate deck from returning anything of value from the graveyard.
• Consistency: The archetype is stocked with creatures that are incredibly powerful for their mana cost. These creatures often trade up or create disproportionate value on the battlefield. Moreover the abundance of creatures with similar stats means that your deck will play out more consistently than midrange or combo strategies that rely on timing.

Weaknesses of Death and Taxes in Legacy Cube

• Vulnerable to sweepers: Death and Taxes decks often rely on a wide board of creatures to apply pressure. Cards like Wrath of God, Toxic Deluge, or even Cyclonic Rift can wipe out your army in a single swoop, making it crucial to play carefully and not overcommit.
• Lack of card advantage: The archetype isn't as efficient at generating card advantage compared to other Cube archetypes like Blue Control or Green Ramp. Many of the cards rely on raw tempo rather than drawing additional cards, meaning that you'll have to rely heavily on synergy and your opponent's mistakes to win games.
• Limited reach: While Death and Taxes can grind out opponents effectively, its reach (particularly in terms of finishing a game) can be limited. It is not uncommon for Death and Taxes to stall out if its aggressive creatures are answered or if its disruptive effects aren't impactful enough.

Creatures you need to Include

Thalia, Guardian of Thraben: A key pillar of the Death and Taxes archetype, Thalia taxes your opponent's spells, making it difficult for them to establish their game plan. She's a disruptive powerhouse that often forces opponents to play at a much slower pace, all while being a solid 2/1 attacker for just two mana.

Stoneforge Mystic: Stoneforge Mystic allows you to search for powerful equipment cards, most notably Batterskull or Sword of Fire and Ice. Stoneforge is a solid creature on its own and brings additional value with its ability to tutor and put these powerful artifacts into play.

Enduring Innocence: While Death and Taxes often struggle to generate card advantage, Enduring Innocence can help alleviate that problem. An upgrade from Mentor of the Meek, this card is resistant to removal and less intensive on your own mana.

Mother of Runes: Spot removal is the most common answer to your most impactful "Hate" pieces. Mother of Runes allows you to fizzle that removal by providing protection to your creatures when needed.

Spirit of the Labyrinth: This card is incredibly effective in taxing opponents' card draw, particularly in decks that rely on drawing multiple cards per turn, like Blue Control or Combo strategies. It's also a 3/1 body that pressures opponents with minimal effort.

Cathar Commando: Artifact and Enchantment removal on a powerful body means that Cathar Commando pulls double duty. The threat of activation can slow down an opponent, and flash means that this creature can be used to break up several important combos during your opponent's turn.

Brutal Cathar // Moonrage Brute: As a creature removal spell with the ability to exile opposing creatures, Brutal Cathar // Moonrage Brute is both efficient and effective in dealing with large threats. The fact that it can be recast from exile gives it a potential recurring threat that your opponent may find difficult to deal with.

Thalia, Heretic Cathar: Yes, we've had first Thalia but what about second Thalia? For three mana you get to ensure that your opponent plays behind for the rest of the game. Blockers enter tapped, fetchlands take an extra turn to activate, and it has first strike.

Adeline, Resplendent Cathar: While not explicitly a Taxes piece, this fourth and final Cathar is a top tier game ender. If you manage to curve out and play this on turn three, and attack with it on turn four. Your opponent will not have a turn five.