This is my 7th installment of the "top 20" set preview articles.
Just like the previous review, it will be in a spoiled top 20 countdown format, with each section having an image, a brief summary/description, and my verdict on what cubes I think it could potentially see some play in.
Keep in mind (just like the others) that this is a set preview. Similar to draft predictions in professional sports, this list is an educated guess at best. Some cards I value highly in here may turn out to not last long in the cube. Other cards that are lower down on the list (or even missed entirely) could (well, very likely may) turn out to be great cards. Even Tom Brady was drafted in the 6th round! Again, this is not intended to be gospel, set in stone or written as a review for posterity. This is simply written to be an enjoyable guess at cards I like for cubes, and hopefully it'll allow some cube managers to evaluate cards they may have otherwise overlooked and/or put some cards in perspective that may've been overhyped. Nothing more.
Theros was just an amazing set for the cube. All of these 20 cards have a legitimate chance off seeing play in a broad range of cubes of many sizes, and there were several cards left on the outside looking in that are very solid cards that can certainly see some play. So don't fret if some of your favorites didn't make this list; there's just a ton of great stuff for us in this set!
This is probably going to surprise a lot of people that it made the list given the powerlevel of this set, but this card has an extremely high ceiling in the right deck. The reason why it's #20 and not further up is because of the relatively narrow application it has. Aggro is the deck that has the most self-damaging effects, but it's also the archetype that doesn't want to spend 4 mana on a card that's only impact is lifegain. It also isn't looking for a curve-topper that requires multiple additional turns of investments to grind out advantages. So aggro doesn't really want it (outside of potentially boarding it in during the aggro mirror). Control has too few creatures to reliably use either ability, and is typically jammed with 4-drops that are more important to how the deck functions. However, midrange decks can really use this card to break the gamestate. The creatures are the right size (and the right quantity) to take full advantage of both abilities. The lifegain straight wins the midrange mirror match, and the deck is filled to the brim with ETB creatures that give you triple value from the activation (damage + lifegain + trigger). Lastly, this card is a midrange deck's dream against control, because you get double value from all your threats, and it weakens the strength of their removal and countermagic as the game goes on. Players that love midrange and hate how dominant control is in that matchup are always looking for more tools just like this to shore up their weakness.
Verdict: A solid midrange card that shores up a weakness and has a really high ceiling in terms of BCS ...I think this card could see play at 630 for certain, and may even drop into some 540 card cubes for an extended stay.
This is a solid card to get double-value from in the midgame. It works a little bit like Bonehoard did, but it works backwards (which is actually a benefit). It'll get played as a creature pump first, granting maybe +2/+2 or +3/+3 to one of your threats for 4 mana. And in response to removal or a board-wipe or something, it'll fall off and be a bigger threat (probably a 4/4 or 5/5 or so). For a 4-mana investment, getting a black Divine Transformation and a 4/4 creature that can continue to grow is quite the value card. Medium-sized cubes are also jammed up with evasive black 2-3cc creatures, which are typically the best targets for an effect like this, so Vampire Interlopers and Dauthi Marauders can rejoice!
Verdict: A much better 4cc double-threat card, and a decent creature to rip in topdeck mode. I think 630 card cubes will find room, and 540 cards that are looking to add a few Bestow effects for displaying mechanics will find the card to play quite well.
The ceiling on this card is out of this world. In the right deck composition, this'll perform like a god (derp). The only reason I'm not windmill-slamming this card into my own list is because our typical red decks aren't designed to cater to his strengths. We play hard aggro (which is basically looking for a 4-drop that can end the game on the spot), red control (which is super light on creatures and basically just uses red for sweepers and burn spells) and the Wildfire/Big Red shell (which again, is light on creatures and red permanents in general where the two effects don't work well with what the rest of the deck is doing). However, there are folks that play a lot of Boros and Gruul midrange decks that focus on token production, ramp and anthem effects, where this guy can be just disgusting. Depending on how red is used in your cube, this can go from bust to the nutz really quick. In the future, if red decks in my cube start to do a better job of supporting the token/anthem midrangey decks better, this will be the first card I want to include to facilitate that decktype.
Verdict: Depending on your composition, this card could be a staple for you. But for us, the cube would have to grow to 540-630 range, adding in a lot of red's midrangey goodstuff cards and token generators to really get full value from the 4-mana investment.
Instead of being a card that is simply thrown in to existing compositions and being effective, Hammer is a facilitator for a new type of red midrange deck. Thanks to this card, mid-sized cubes can attempt to support a Fires sort of archetype if they wish. We were 1-2 effects short of having this decktype be a reality before, and this card might very well push a lot of cubers (perhaps even myself in the near future) into making that archetype work. With Fires, Sarkhan, Mauler, Greaves, Boots and now the Hammer, there could certainly be a critical mass of effects to get the Gruul midrange Mana Dork -> Fires -> Beater strategy to play out with some consistency. Oh ya, and it also makes hasted threats when you're flooded; forgot to mention.
Verdict: In testing, it simply wasn't delivering on face-value alone. If I expanded my cube to ~540 or so, I'd be pushing the Fires theme, and this card can be an enabler for an entire archetype now.
This is a solid creature for additional support for the Wildfire archetype. It survives the spell itself, and has a built-in similar type of effect that also boosts him up to a 7/8. Red doesn't often get straight-up efficient-sized bodies either, and 5-toughness is a lot for red creatures. In testing in my 450 card cube, he just barely fell short of the efficiency I'm looking for in 4cc cards, and he either needed a 5th power, or ideally a 6cc Monstrous activation instead of 7. If either of those things were the case, he'd still be in for the long haul. But as it is now, he's the first 4cc creature I'd add in if I jumped to 540 again.
Verdict: If the Wildfire decks are falling short of threats that survive the spell, this could squeeze in at 450. I'm thinking more like a 540 card for a permanent slot, but if you don't support Big Red/Wildfire at all, it's a whiff for the cube.
I know that a lot of cubers are really excited about this card, but in testing, I found it to be lacking in a couple of matchups. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very solid creature. But aside from straight housing aggro, it was not a card that I really wanted to draw in my midrange or control matchups at all. The 1/3 body is just nasty against Lions, but Scry 2 was worth a mana, but not a card in my other matchups. Currently, I like the creature quite a bit, and with an expansion to 540 I could see him getting a home. But at 450, I just couldn't find a cut, and didn't want to add in a card that's only real role was putting the kibosh on aggro's plans. Don't let me undersell the card to you if you're interested in the effect though. From a mana investment standpoint, it's quite worthwhile. Scry 2 is worth 1 colorless mana, so for an investment of a lone blue mana, it's basically a 1/3 for one. Not too shabby.
Verdict: I would very likely play this card at 540, but I found it underwhelming in too many matchups to get it into my current list.
This card is a fair investment in both modes, which makes it a very flexible threat. 4 power and flash for 3 mana is good. Instant speed allows it to function as a combat trick that can be quite powerful. In a color pair with evasive threats and a lot of removal, it's easy to get your value back in either mode. The issues we have with it are twofold though. 2-toughness is a big liability and it trades down with so many creatures in the cube. And 5 mana for a combat trick is a lot to ask, especially in a color jammed with just disgusting 5-drops. We decided to pass on it at 450, but we'd have it in for an extended run if our cube was bigger.
Verdict: 540 is the sweet spot for this card, I think. I couldn't find a reasonable cut from 450, but it does have an undeniably high BCS that can play out with some regularity.
I haven't been able to determine weather or not this is my 4th favorite land or 5th favorite land for Simic. The Growth Chamber provides the virtual card advantage by tapping for 2 mana and has some interactions with Kudzu and Cobra. But this new land doesn't have the risk of the potential tempo blowout that occurs when your bounceland is removed, and the Scry 1 is subtly valuable. It can be used to smooth early parts of your curve and give you more information about what your 1st 8 or 9 cards will wind up looking like, and it has cool interactions with top of library manipulation (working with Top, Rack, Library, Brainstorm, Jace and the like to allow you to tuck unneeded cards). And, it can prevent you from drawing your Tinker/Natural Order targets in Simic, which certainly has some value. And in BUG reanimator, it can help you dig for a combo piece in the early game. Also, making a Meloku token every turn and getting a free Scry trigger attached to it is really good. Slower midrange decks and control decks can afford the ETBT drawback, so for me, it'll likely be the 4th or 5th best land for the two enemy U/X lands.
Verdict: I will be testing this out as the #4 guild land in my 450 card cube for Simic, but if it falls short of supplanting the Bounceland, it'll still wind up as a 540 quality card (until we get some better enemy land options :argh:).
I've been looking for a good Glorious Anthem clone that I can cube at 450. There's only a handful of cards in the cube that remove artifacts that can't also remove enchantments, and most of them are red. And token/anthem midrange decks are good against red anyways, so that drawback doesn't matter all that much in the grand scheme of things. What does matter, is how well the Spear shores up the weakness of both the deck that it goes into and the fundamental drawback of the card itself. Token midrange builds are strong, but they can struggle against control. Historically speaking, Anthem effects' biggest weaknesses are that they don't provide any value on an empty board (or after a wrath effect or the like). This card does a great job of combatting the weaknesses that other Anthem effects usually have. After my opponent wraths all my tokens away and wants to use a finisher to grind out a win, the Spear puts a stop to that plan, allowing me to snipe their lonely finishers (and it's really effective against manlands). Old Anthem play against control led to having my board wrathed away and having them kill me with their Creeping Tar Pit while I sit there with my Anthem on board providing no value. Well, not anymore. This removes the biggest weakness that other non-creature Anthems typically have, while simultaneously providing you with a tool for your deck's weakest matchup. I've been pleasantly surprised with its performance in testing so far at 450.
Verdict: I'll be playing this card for a while at 450, because I really like the Token/Anthem midrange archetype where this card settles in so nicely. If you don't push the archetype, it won't be as useful for you and its value could drop it into the 540+ range.
Green removal on a stick is always welcome. This guy resolves as a pretty solid creature on his own, has a Monstrous activation that takes place on curve, and can kill utility creatures and chump blockers alike before crashing in as a 7/7. One of the things we've found from him in testing so far, is that the threat of his activation has value in itself. Even if they don't have a good target for him to shoot on the board already, your opponent may have to hold back playing creatures with 1 or 2 toughness until they remove the threat (which is a 5/5 beatstick for 4 mana, btw). This card had the unfortunate circumstance of being spoiled with a bunch of different wordings; all of which were better than the one that it settled on. If that weren't the case, I think the hype for this guy would be even higher than it is now. Also remember that once you reach 7 mana, he can give you an Arc Lightning (in green!) and transform into an 8/8. Often enough, waiting a turn or two to reach that mana and getting even more value is the right play.
Verdict: I think this card is good enough to see play in 450 card cubes. I don't know if he'll be in there forever, but he's certainly a strong creature that can have a decent board impact and grow to very big sizes. At the very least, 540 card cubes get a 4cc green creature that will be able to stay and play for quite a while.
This is the Elspeth that we always wanted Elspeth Tirel to be. She costs 1 more mana, but it's well worth it. The 5cc version wound up being pigeonholed into token midrange decks for two major reasons. First, the lifegain wasn't wanted in aggro, and wasn't consistent enough for control where the creature count was so low. And Second, the wrath ability telegraphed itself, making it harder to defend herself (or yourself) the turn she resolved. This new one, despite costing more mana, does both of those things better. Growing in size while producing three creatures makes combatting her loyalty a really uphill battle, and being able to use her wrath ability to control a lone threat and leaving the planeswalker body behind is really strong. Against aggro, the three blockers and escalating loyalty make her tough to combat, and against midrange or control, the pseudo 1-sided Wrath effect can prove to be quite powerful and rather asymmetrical. This is the big Elspeth that can go into both midrange and control decks and have success there, unlike the 5cc predecessor.
Verdict: I'll be playing this card at 450, and probably for a while. We like midrange token decks, and this is a great curve-topper for those decks, as well as being a solid finisher for control decks to have too. May fall into 540 range for some players that have other 6+cc cards they are really attached to, but 450 seems like a likely place for her to settle in at.
There are 5 major reasons why Thassa is my favorite god for the cube, and why she's been playing out quite well for our playgroup. 1) She only costs 3 mana. With passive effects that gain in value over time, costing less mana increases the value of those kinds of triggers. 2) Her triggers combine the best with what her color is trying to do in the cube. Blue likes to play slower games that grind out incremental advantages as the game goes on, and both of her effects play perfectly into blue's current identity. The longer the game goes, the more value you'll get from the repeatable scry and the more opportunities you'll have to make the unblockability really matter. 3) Her indestructibility plays better with her abilities than it does for the other gods. Being indestructible doesn't matter as much for the alpha strike effects, but when you're trying to grind out a win, it adds a lot of value to both abilities. It makes the Scry a more consistent ability (which is critical, because you need 3-4 Scry activations to have it really be worth a card) and it also gives the unblockable ability the consistency it needs to reliably push a medium-sized threat through for the win. 4) Her ability actually works with her when she's in creature mode. She can make herself unblockable, and an indestructible, unblockable 5-power threat can close out a game pretty quick on its own. Whereas the white god doesn't give itself vigilance, and the green one doesn't give itself trample; this one can make itself unblockable. 5) Blue has a high concentration of double-blue permanents, which means that she has the ability to activate pretty easily (the permanent count is lower, but you're more likely to trigger her or re-activate her with less overall permanents). It's not unlikely to be able to give her a "surprise activation" by dropping something like a Control Magic to accompany a Baby Jace and then all the sudden she's bashing for 5.
Verdict: She's been a very solid investment time after time in our 450 cube (in testing). She won't often be the back-breaking spell that your opponent simply loses the game to, but she has two abilities that are very relevant to what blue wants to do, and the indestructibility ensures those triggers happen turn after turn. If your blue section struggles to find a cut for her at 450, she'll still slide into a 540 card with no problem at all.
This card is boring and it's a reprint, but it's good. We all know by now how Incinerate and Searing Spear perform in the cube, so there's not a real reason to delve deep into how it's used. The bigger the cube gets, the more burn you need to keep the concentration up, and 3 damage for 2 mana at instant speed is just right. Efficient, but lackluster.
Verdict: 360 card cubes won't need Incinerate, Searing Spear and Lightning Strike. In fact, they might not even be playing a second effect like this because of the concentration of more important cards. But 450+ cubes will all benefit from having an additional Searing Spear, so I'm pretty comfortable calling it a shoe-in for cubes at 450 or bigger.
This creature is the perfect fusion between Utopia Tree and Vine Trellis. With Hexproof tacked on for good measure. It can be a solid early-game blocker when it resolves, and can proceed to ramp you and fix your mana for you at the same time. The jump from 2 mana to 4 mana is really helpful (as we all know how critical 4cc cards are to the average cube game) and working well as both ramp and fixing (reliably too because they can't bolt it away) while also being able to block makes this a really good green 2-drop. I can't really think of a recently drafted green deck in my cube (outside of some sort of aggro brew) that wouldn't want to auto-play this creature. I'm excited to see her in continued action in the cube.
Verdict: I don't know if this'll quite make the cut at 360, but it very well could. It's a really good green 2-drop. However, if it can't find a home there, 450+ card cubes will use it for sure.
This is a really flexible removal spell. And makes Murder look silly by comparison. We're really big fans of Dreadbore, because it can simply answer most threatening cards for you, regardless of what they are. And Downfall is comparable to Dreadbore in cost (and obviously in effect) so we expect it to play out like a very solid, easily maindeckable answer to creatures and 'walkers alike. It loses the 2cc, but in exchange, switches to mono-color and gains instant speed for that extra one mana. Seems well worth it.
Verdict: 360 black is really tight (especially if you push archetypes hard) so finding a cut might me really difficult. But it will likely find its way into cubes of that size anyways. If not, it will easily settle into 450 lists.
The Party 'Walker! What a great planeswalker. If I've learned anything from Garruk Relentless, it's that producing free threats every turn on a card that can't be hit by creature removal is really strong. And this guy's threats have haste! It reminds me a bit of Bloodbraid Elf, in that you get a 2/2 haste creature for your 4 mana, and "cascade" into his 'walker body every time. Of course it's a little different than that, but generally speaking, that's kinda how it plays out. Another apt comparison is Garruk Wildspeaker. They both ramp with their + abilities. They both make threats. And they both have game-warping ultimates. It's important to note how bonkers the ramp on Xenagos can really be. With one mana dork in play, you can make eight mana the turn after he resolves. My Gruul decks like to take advantage of all the options he brings to the table, so I can't wit to see him in action time and time again.
Verdict: I would be very surprised if he doesn't end up being one of the top Gruul cards for the cube. I could see some players flip-flopping between him being the 2nd, 3rd or 4th best card in his combination, so he could vary from group to group as a shoe-in for 360 lists or falling down to 450. But in any case, he's just a really insane 'walker.
This is yet another great 2-power 1-drop for black (we've been getting a solid stream of them lately) and regardless of cube size, we should be pretty happy to see it. Outside of rare corner-cases, the Heroic trigger is more or less just a useless ability. But being a 2/1 with no lifeloss drawback makes it a top contender for black aggro creatures in the cube anyways. Even if you don't feel like you need more black aggro creatures, this will likely be the 3rd best black aggro creature anyways, so even the smallest lists can find room for him. Hurray for more aggro dudes!
Verdict: I would play this at 360 for certain. Probably in addition to the existing suite, but even if it's replacing another 1-drop for you, it'll upgrade something.
There's not much more I can say about this card that I haven't already said in the [SCD] thread, but basically, the card is good. It doesn't need to be better than Fact or Fiction to still be an excellent draw spell. To summarize, no you can't get the single best card in the pile anymore. But what you can do, is sculpt piles that have good synergy with each other, you can effectively split the sections so that you're guaranteed to get cards that work with each other; pairing mana and spells together the best they can be, and getting 2-3 cards at instant speed that will consistently increase the overall quality of your hand in a way that regular draw just can't do as consistently as perfectly split piles can. If you want a ton more details about how it's played out, check my information presented in the [SCD], but at the end of the day, the results are that its's a great spell. Now, the main reason why this turns out to be such a valuable card for the cube is that the Izzet section is still an example in mediocrity. Outside of Ral (who is an insane bomb) you just have some slightly improved mono-color card options for the most part. Because of that, this will very likely sit atop the other "average" Izzet spells and be one of the best cards in the section.
Verdict: I think this will likely be the second best Izzet spell for the cube, and thus, will become pretty much an instant 360 staple.
This is pretty simple and straightforward here. Red needs more 2-power 1-drops. Jackal Pup is the second best red aggro-exclusive creature. Jackal Pup is a 360 staple. This is strictly better than Jackal Pup. Therefore, this card has all of those praises applied to it and more.
Verdict: Every cube of every size will play this creature, and will continue to play it for a very, very long time.
What can you say about a card that's strictly better than some of the best aggro creatures ever printed for white? I thought we'd continue to see interesting versions of the Lions clones for a while, often making aggro creatures that are better in some ways and worse in others for the pillar aggro creature design. Every aggro creature in white has revolved around those design criteria for ...well, forever. And now we have it. The strictly better Lion variant. Militant was close, but the ability could be a double-edged sword sometimes. This thing, on the other hand, is just better. It has protection against 30 relevant multicolor cards in my 450 card cube, and will very likely gain a life or two on average over the course of a 3-game series. Boom-sir. Slam dunk.
Verdict: I don't know if there will ever reach a point where there are enough better white aggro creatures so this card won't be an auto-include at every size. Ever.
Thanks for reading! Please leave some comments and let me know what you think!
I'm surprised to see Strombreath Dragon miss the cut entirely. How has he played out in testing?
I won't speak for anyone else, but Enclave Cryptologist has been great for us. She usually plays out as another looter, which is fine, since re-animator is a popular archetype and needs looters. She frequently eats a removal spell as she's about to become an Archivist, but if the opponent is blowing removal spells on your blue one-drops, that's more than OK.
I think this is pretty accurate, although I think you're underestimating boon satyr. We've never really seen a similar card and it's sometimes hard to evaluate a card with so many options. I'm also curious: did you test ashiok at all?
Anyway, excellent job and thanks for another great review!
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
I know it's not quite on topic, but I love the illustration for Steam Augury. Its like Dave Kendall did a homage to two former MtG artists by mixing Harold McNeill's spectral-ethereality with Richard Kane Ferguson's color palette.
Me thinks you have rated Purphoros way too low. Think about all the army generating five drops that now do 8-10 damage to the face and can be pumped by this god. It is splashable and red easily has the best five drop imaginable to pair with it in Siege-Gang Commander.
Similar deal with Omenspeaker. This guy wipes the floor with Enclave cryptologist. It blocks aggro all day, doesn't require a mana comittment just to become a looter, and then even more mana to eventually draw cards (which I have seen maybe once since I've been running this cube).
There is way too much versatility with Boon Satyr to place this so low as well. He also supports aggro well with a flash 4/2 body.
Love the new Elspeth but I only support 2 walkers per color and then multi/colorless walkers. Elspeth 1.0 and Gideon Jura still are my White Walkers.
I don't value Steam Augury nearly as highly as you. It will go in my 450, but 360 could pass I believe. I cut Prophetic Bolt for it but I still like Electrolyze, Izzet Charm, and Fire/Ice (and of course Ral).
Otherwise, I like your list and thanks for taking the time to share. =)
Purphoros has a super high ceiling, but it doesn't go into red decks that we generally build. As is stated in the evaluation, depending on the construction of your red section and what kinds of decks you usually play, it can be insane. But it's not for us (yet).
Omenspeaker was nowhere near as good as Cryptologist. First and foremost, it doesn't feed my graveyard. And second, it's never a CA engine.
Boon Satyr's not as versatile as it looks. 5-mana for a combat trick is really too much, and the 2-toughness prevents it from doing what you want it to do most of the time.
Ya, when you put caps on how many of certain kinds of cards you're allowed to play, it certainly changes your opinion on them.
Steam Augury is a lot better than most people think. After testing it, it's easily the second best Izzet card.
I'm surprised to see Strombreath Dragon miss the cut entirely. How has he played out in testing?
I won't speak for anyone else, but Enclave Cryptologist has been great for us. She usually plays out as another looter, which is fine, since re-animator is a popular archetype and needs looters. She frequently eats a removal spell as she's about to become an Archivist, but if the opponent is blowing removal spells on your blue one-drops, that's more than OK.
Well, I didn't test the Dragon, because I know it won't replace the 5-drops that I'm currently running. I could see it losing out to Zealous Conscripts still, and competing with Kiki for that #5 slot. How big does a cube need to be to need 5 red 5-drops? Probably bigger than the size I have the current #20 card ranked at, so it missed the countdown list, despite being a very cool and very good creature.
I think this is pretty accurate, although I think you're underestimating boon satyr. We've never really seen a similar card and it's sometimes hard to evaluate a card with so many options. I'm also curious: did you test ashiok at all?
Anyway, excellent job and thanks for another great review!
You're welcome! Glad you liked it.
No, we didn't test Ashiok. Our playgroup has absolutely zero interest in it, as we all think it's completely terrible. Even if it turned out to be fringe playable, it's certainly not going to replace any of our current Dimir cards. Our group voted to not play that card at all.
I think you're overestimating Boon Satyr. Have you played it at all? The flash is good for trading with something in combat on defense, but the 2-toughness is terrible, and 5-mana combat tricks are unacceptable.
I know it's not quite on topic, but I love the illustration for Steam Augury. Its like Dave Kendall did a homage to two former MtG artists by mixing Harold McNeill's spectral-ethereality with Richard Kane Ferguson's color palette.
I also love the art on that card. Can't wait to get a foil one in the cube!
I'm glad you added the yet about Purphoros. This guy with Siege Gang Commander or Deranged Hermit, Cloudgoat Ranger, Grave Titan, Token decks, hell even Myr Battlesphere is 8-10 damage to the face just for being there. I get that red is very aggro-centric, but how about players that just want to splash red? This card says "yes you can and should".
I sometimes look back at your past reviews, (all very fun reads btw, thanks for that) and I am amazed how differently we would rank cards in retrospect. I'm thinking our God of the Forge is going to be one of those.
Edit: Just want to add that of course hindsight is 20/20, so I'm not knocking the reviews. Just noting how quickly things change my friend
Absolutely. As I say in the disclaimer. This is a guess at best. I hope for a handful of additional cards that red can use to support the midrange token deck that Purphoros plays so well in. We don't cube those kinds of decks, but (again, as I said in the review) for groups that do, this card is just amazing.
Both the Bestow three drops are coming into my 360, and will last as long as it takes to get a better aggressive three drop. Getting your curve right at 360 often means excluding something better in a vacuum for a more versatile or differently costed creature.
I'm passing on Sylvan Caryatid since I realised that the Wall of Roots that I'm not running may well be the better card, but I'm keen on the idea of perhaps bringing one of the two in for a run over one of the four mana elves.
This review could have easily been 25 cards deep this time round. There are so many cubeable options.
That is a fast turnaround..the set was spoiled less than 24 hours ago! I appreciate the testing insights and the in depth commentary. Thanks for putting in so much effort.
Both the Bestow three drops are coming into my 360, and will last as long as it takes to get a better aggressive three drop. Getting your curve right at 360 often means excluding something better in a vacuum for a more versatile or differently costed creature.
I'm passing on Sylvan Caryatid since I realised that the Wall of Roots that I'm not running may well be the better card, but I'm keen on the idea of perhaps bringing one of the two in for a run over one of the four mana elves.
This review could have easily been 25 cards deep this time round. There are so many cubeable options.
Ya, there are a lot of good cards in the set.
I'm surprised to hear you'd rank Lion so high. It's nowhere close to my 450 card cube.
The bestow guys are flexible, but they aren't great. I don't think they'll stay at 360 for long. We tested the green one more than the Nighthowler, but the 2 toughness is a huge liability.
Caryatid, on the other hand, has a reasonable shot of being 360 material. I think you should test it out.
Thanks a bunch, great review as always. Glad to see Nighthowler get a mention. At what size do you think Read the Bones is cubeable?
Read the Bones is a pretty good card. If you have room in black for random utility spells, this can definitely be one of them. It digs pretty deep. Maybe 630-720? It was on my original countdown until more stuff started to get spoiled.
That is a fast turnaround..the set was spoiled less than 24 hours ago! I appreciate the testing insights and the in depth commentary. Thanks for putting in so much effort.
Hey man, you're very welcome.
It probably doesn't surprise you that I've been keeping an active top 20 list handy, and had notes jotted down about each card (how they tested out, info I wanted to add to the review, etc) so when I read the last of the spoiled cards, saw nothing of real interest, I was able to immediately get cracking on the article.
This is the only problem that the Lion runs into. In addition to the 4 GW cards I run, there's Loam Lion, KotR, Armada Wurm, Wake, Sigarda, and a handful of others waiting in line behind them. Fleecemane Lion has no chance in competition like that.
Caryatid, on the other hand, has a reasonable shot of being 360 material. I think you should test it out.
You might be right. How do you think it compares with the Wall of Roots? I'm not running more than one Wall at 360, but perhaps the hexproof and fixing is more favourable than the ability to tap and block in the same turn.
I think they're pretty close. But it might be worth testing and seeing. The hexproof certainly brings some reliability to the ramp, and the fixing can help hit those devastating off-color 4-drops on turn 3.
My biggest disagreement is a nitpick. Hero's demise is the best it can be in a 360 cube. It gets better there and therefore can easily compete with the competition.
My biggest disagreement is a nitpick. Hero's demise is the best it can be in a 360 cube. It gets better there and therefore can easily compete with the competition.
Well, I think that depends on the cube. Some people run more 'walkers by percentage at 450 than they would at 360. And can also be a higher concentration of hexproof creatures and pro:black and stuff at 360 too. So that's not always the case. Although I do agree that the concentration of high powered 'walkers is enough to probably warrant its inclusion at 360.
There are a lot of cards that would seem to get better the smaller the cube gets that can't fit into super tight lists. I'm not saying this is one of them, but let's just say I wanted to be cautiously optimistic with the evaluation.
I don't run the green walls in my 360 anymore, but if I did, the first I run would be Wall of Blossoms, not Wall of Roots or Sylvan Caryatid. I just simply don't have interest in her.
It's a good list, but I think I ilke Omenspeaker a lot more than you place it.
I don't run the green walls in my 360 anymore, but if I did, the first I run would be Wall of Blossoms, not Wall of Roots or Sylvan Caryatid. I just simply don't have interest in her.
It's a good list, but I think I ilke Omenspeaker a lot more than you place it.
That's the great thing about having a set with a close parity of all solid card options; some folks will like cards more than others. In the OP, I say that there's a good chance that all 20 of these cards will see regular cube play from one list to the next, and I think that's definitely the case.
I would play probably 2 of those 3 walls at 360 if it were up to me. And Caryatid would definitely be up for consideration. Quick 4-drops of any color are just what I aim for whenever possible in cube. 3 toughness + hexproof is awesome on a creature that taps for mana of any color.
Great review, wtwlf. Thanks for putting in the effort for everyone's benefit and reading pleasure.
I want to test Steam Augury in place of Fire/Ice. Fire/Ice is a great utility card but unexciting. 99% of the time Fire is used; I honestly can only remember one time that Ice was used. At 270, I'm trying to remove the utility cards from the guild sections in favor of interesting (but still powerful) options. I've recently taken out Mortify and Terminate on that basis. This would give me:
Great review, wtwlf. Thanks for putting in the effort for everyone's benefit and reading pleasure.
I want to test Steam Augury in place of Fire/Ice. Fire/Ice is a great utility card but unexciting. 99% of the time Fire is used; I honestly can only remember one time that Ice was used. At 270, I'm trying to remove the utility cards from the guild sections in favor of interesting (but still powerful) options. I've recently taken out Mortify and Terminate on that basis. This would give me:
Great list, any disagreements I have are slight, and that is only because there are 30ish cards that people should toy with for cube.
I like read the bones, but don't have room for it, but those who's black section isn't full of pox stuff might be able to fit it.
I didn't think we would get a set this deep after RtR.
I know, I was surprised this set turned out so awesome. There are a ton of cards up for consideration for cubes of all sizes and configurations. Really cool stuff.
That's the great thing about having a set with a close parity of all solid card options; some folks will like cards more than others. In the OP, I say that there's a good chance that all 20 of these cards will see regular cube play from one list to the next, and I think that's definitely the case.
I would play probably 2 of those 3 walls at 360 if it were up to me. And Caryatid would definitely be up for consideration. Quick 4-drops of any color are just what I aim for whenever possible in cube. 3 toughness + hexproof is awesome on a creature that taps for mana of any color.
I run Joraga Treespeaker, 4 mana elf, Bird of Paradise, and Noble Hierarch already. That's 7 slot for 1 mana accelerator, where I only have 50 slot for green card in total. Hitting 4 mana on turn 3 is nice, but I like hitting 3 mana on turn 2 and 4 mana on turn 4 more, even with the risk of getting remove due to lacks of Hexproof.
And on Steam Augury, here's my ranking for Izzet.
1. Ral Zarek
2. Izzet Charm
3. Steam Augury
I'll still need to see Steam Augury do more work until I put it as #2, but it's a very real possibility. But I just see Izzet Charm do so many work right now that it's hard to discredit it as #2 straight away.
And I think you're certainly right. Omenspeaker is great option for everyone that wants cheap blue creature drop that is cubeable. But if someone doesn't look for something like that, she's passable.
Nice set review! In record time too!
Theros has been fantastic for cube.
I want to say that the Fires deck is really making a case for carving a permanent spot in my cube. As I've mentioned in other threads we've been playing it for some weeks now and it's been good... and Theros just makes it even better.
One of my players drafted a monster RG Fires deck today that ran over my UW Control at the end of the night (we were both 2-0 for that draft at that point).
Sorry for the bad picture:
I kept track of the last game so I thought I'd share. My opening hand was Ponder, Journey to Nowhere, Mind Stone, Wrath, 2x Island, Plains:
Turn 1
Him> Forest, Chrome Mox (imprinting LftL), Lightning Greaves
Me> Draw (Plains), Island, Ponder (put Wall of Omens on top, Supreme Verdict middle, Plains in the bottom, draw Wall of Omens)
Turn 2
Him> Mountain
Me> Draw (Supreme Verdict), Plains, Wall of Omens (draw Plains)
Turn 3
Him> Mountain, Ember Swallower, equip Greaves --> swing for 4 (block with Wall)
Me> Draw (Aetherling), Island, Mind Stone
Turn 5
Him> Gemstone Mine, Hammer of Purphoros, make 3/3 golem --> swing for 3
Me> Draw (Arcane Denial), Island
Then I realized, no matter what I do, Hammer is going to kill me... And kill me quick.
I couldn't Journey the golem because it had Greaves on. I could cast Aetherling and block the golem but I knew another one was coming... and if he happened to have something else in his hand it would probably kill me. So I played Wrath and hung on to mana for Arcane.
Turn 6
Him> make a 3/3 golem --> swing for 3, Magma Jet ftw (Arcane Denial!)
Me> Draw (Mox Sapphire /for Arcane, Condescend), Mind Stone to draw a card, drew a dud <<scoop>>
Long story short the deck was just wrecking face all day. I'd describe the archetype as a really aggressive mid-range/ramp deck that's just a tad slower than aggro. The haste lets your guys gets around sorcery speed removal and it ensures your army is able to deal damage before the opponent can even react with mass removal... I think the archetype is amazing and it should be supported even in smaller lists. I mean, what cube doesn't want a mid-range deck that gets around control's strategies? The Hammer makes it more consistent by adding another way to reliably give your creatures haste and even it even provides reach when needed. I would definitely rank it higher on the list.
I also wanted to add that I was planning to take out LftL during my next update... until I saw it feeding Hammer of Purphoros. Now I'm questioning whether I should leave it in or not lol!
I run Joraga Treespeaker, 4 mana elf, Bird of Paradise, and Noble Hierarch already. That's 7 slot for 1 mana accelerator, where I only have 50 slot for green card in total. Hitting 4 mana on turn 3 is nice, but I like hitting 3 mana on turn 2 and 4 mana on turn 4 more, even with the risk of getting remove due to lacks of Hexproof.
And on Steam Augury, here's my ranking for Izzet.
1. Ral Zarek
2. Izzet Charm
3. Steam Augury
I'll still need to see Steam Augury do more work until I put it as #2, but it's a very real possibility. But I just see Izzet Charm do so many work right now that it's hard to discredit it as #2 straight away.
And I think you're certainly right. Omenspeaker is great option for everyone that wants cheap blue creature drop that is cubeable. But if someone doesn't look for something like that, she's passable.
They also lose out on the ability to block. And I wouldn't cut a cubeable 1-mana elf to try out the Caryatid, but there might be another reasonable option to swap for it.
And Omenspeaker was back-breaking against aggro, but against every other matchup, I was much happier with the current suite of 2-drops I use in blue.
Nice set review! In record time too!
Theros has been fantastic for cube.
I want to say that the Fires deck is really making a case for carving a permanent spot in my cube. As I've mentioned in other threads we've been playing it for some weeks now and it's been good... and Theros just makes it even better.
One of my players drafted a monster RG Fires deck today that ran over my UW Control at the end of the night (we were both 2-0 for that draft at that point).
Sorry for the bad picture:
*Fires Stuff*
Long story short the deck was just wrecking face all day. I'd describe the archetype as a really aggressive mid-range/ramp deck that's just a tad slower than aggro. The haste lets your guys gets around sorcery speed removal and it ensures your army is able to deal damage before the opponent can even react with mass removal... I think the archetype is amazing and it should be supported even in smaller lists. I mean, what cube doesn't want a mid-range deck that gets around control's strategies? The Hammer makes it more consistent by adding another way to reliably give your creatures haste and even it even provides reach when needed. I would definitely rank it higher on the list.
I also wanted to add that I was planning to take out LftL during my next update... until I saw it feeding Hammer of Purphoros. Now I'm questioning whether I should leave it in or not lol!
Fires is just an insane archetype, and the Hammer is a very good card. I don't think it makes it in on just one of those two merits alone (it just missed after testing in my 540, because I don't have a sweet Fires archetype ...yet... for it to shine in). But I'm familiar with how the archetype works (I played the crap out of it in Standard back in the day) and it's a great deck. I'm personally looking for one more card in the same vein, because I want 6 of 'em, and without the Boots.
As an aside, do you guys cube in top-loaders? Yowza.
...As an aside, do you guys cube in top-loaders? Yowza.
He's got Klug-altered Moxen amongst other goodies.
@List:
Dude, I could read your stuff all day. it's fantastic. Loving this 'draft stock' analysis...good analogy there and I think you have a lot of good calls.
IMHO the white, black, and red 1 drops are my top 3 of the set. Nit-picking here. White I agree is the best (pure upgrade over existing cards). The others are staples. ahead of Izzet's Steam-FoF-esq spell.
I think Xenagos is tricky to rank so high (but def top 10). I'd put Lightning Strike in #5 because I view it as a necessity whereas Xenagos are options. Strike is indeed boring but unquestionably powerful. Nevertheless, I respect your opinions of the Strike (not needed "as much" for smaller cubes).
To come back to RG, I am not sure Xenagos is a top 3 consideration. BBE is still their #1. #2 and #3 all depend on how you build the card. There are a lot of wonderful choices. Huntmaster, Kirds, Boar, Domri...it all depends upon playstyle.
Last, I think Stymied Hopes may sneak into cubes. I can see it at the 540 level because it's force spike and scry 1...which isn't bad. It's not a bomb by any means, but could turn into something people overlook. A card WotC puts in the MTGO cube and make people reconsider perhaps.
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I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
He's got Klug-altered Moxen amongst other goodies.
Even so. I have altered P3K stuff that's super expensive too, but wouldn't want to cube in top-loaders. To each their own, and all that, but it's not for me.
@List:
Dude, I could read your stuff all day. it's fantastic. Loving this 'draft stock' analysis...good analogy there and I think you have a lot of good calls.
IMHO the white, black, and red 1 drops are my top 3 of the set. Nit-picking here. White I agree is the best (pure upgrade over existing cards). The others are staples. ahead of Izzet's Steam-FoF-esq spell.
Well, I don't think cubes should play without any of those 4 cards, and despite the importance of 2-power 1-drops, black has a lot of them already, and Izzet is full of mediocre cards. I actually think Steam Augury is more important to my Izzet section than Tormented Hero is to my black section. But like I said, all 360 cards, so it doesn't really matter.
I think Xenagos is tricky to rank so high (but def top 10). I'd put Lightning Strike in #5 because I view it as a necessity whereas Xenagos are options. Strike is indeed boring but unquestionably powerful. Nevertheless, I respect your opinions of the Strike (not needed "as much" for smaller cubes).
To come back to RG, I am not sure Xenagos is a top 3 consideration. BBE is still their #1. #2 and #3 all depend on how you build the card. There are a lot of wonderful choices. Huntmaster, Kirds, Boar, Domri...it all depends upon playstyle.
No matter what I'm doing in RG, I think Xenagos lands in the top 3-4 cards, and above Boar and Domari in all compositions. I really can't think of a reason why he shouldn't make it into 360 lists.
Xenagos has a better chance of making it into smaller cubes for a longer period of time, so I ranked it higher than Lightning Strike, which I don't think has much of a chance to go into 360 cubes for very long (if it goes in at all).
Last, I think Stymied Hopes may sneak into cubes. I can see it at the 540 level because it's force spike and scry 1...which isn't bad. It's not a bomb by any means, but could turn into something people overlook. A card WotC puts in the MTGO cube and make people reconsider perhaps.
There are at least 6-10 cards from this set that didn't end up making my list that can see play in cubes. It's just an insane set for the cube.
Stymied Hopes just looks so bad in comparison to Condescend that I don't see it making too many small lists, unless they're restricted to modern-legal-only cards, where 2cc countermagic is severely lacking.
This is my 7th installment of the "top 20" set preview articles.
Just like the previous review, it will be in a spoiled top 20 countdown format, with each section having an image, a brief summary/description, and my verdict on what cubes I think it could potentially see some play in.
Theros was just an amazing set for the cube. All of these 20 cards have a legitimate chance off seeing play in a broad range of cubes of many sizes, and there were several cards left on the outside looking in that are very solid cards that can certainly see some play. So don't fret if some of your favorites didn't make this list; there's just a ton of great stuff for us in this set!
Enjoy!
Whip of Erebos
This is probably going to surprise a lot of people that it made the list given the powerlevel of this set, but this card has an extremely high ceiling in the right deck. The reason why it's #20 and not further up is because of the relatively narrow application it has. Aggro is the deck that has the most self-damaging effects, but it's also the archetype that doesn't want to spend 4 mana on a card that's only impact is lifegain. It also isn't looking for a curve-topper that requires multiple additional turns of investments to grind out advantages. So aggro doesn't really want it (outside of potentially boarding it in during the aggro mirror). Control has too few creatures to reliably use either ability, and is typically jammed with 4-drops that are more important to how the deck functions. However, midrange decks can really use this card to break the gamestate. The creatures are the right size (and the right quantity) to take full advantage of both abilities. The lifegain straight wins the midrange mirror match, and the deck is filled to the brim with ETB creatures that give you triple value from the activation (damage + lifegain + trigger). Lastly, this card is a midrange deck's dream against control, because you get double value from all your threats, and it weakens the strength of their removal and countermagic as the game goes on. Players that love midrange and hate how dominant control is in that matchup are always looking for more tools just like this to shore up their weakness.
Verdict: A solid midrange card that shores up a weakness and has a really high ceiling in terms of BCS ...I think this card could see play at 630 for certain, and may even drop into some 540 card cubes for an extended stay.
Nighthowler
This is a solid card to get double-value from in the midgame. It works a little bit like Bonehoard did, but it works backwards (which is actually a benefit). It'll get played as a creature pump first, granting maybe +2/+2 or +3/+3 to one of your threats for 4 mana. And in response to removal or a board-wipe or something, it'll fall off and be a bigger threat (probably a 4/4 or 5/5 or so). For a 4-mana investment, getting a black Divine Transformation and a 4/4 creature that can continue to grow is quite the value card. Medium-sized cubes are also jammed up with evasive black 2-3cc creatures, which are typically the best targets for an effect like this, so Vampire Interlopers and Dauthi Marauders can rejoice!
Verdict: A much better 4cc double-threat card, and a decent creature to rip in topdeck mode. I think 630 card cubes will find room, and 540 cards that are looking to add a few Bestow effects for displaying mechanics will find the card to play quite well.
Purphoros, God of the Forge
The ceiling on this card is out of this world. In the right deck composition, this'll perform like a god (derp). The only reason I'm not windmill-slamming this card into my own list is because our typical red decks aren't designed to cater to his strengths. We play hard aggro (which is basically looking for a 4-drop that can end the game on the spot), red control (which is super light on creatures and basically just uses red for sweepers and burn spells) and the Wildfire/Big Red shell (which again, is light on creatures and red permanents in general where the two effects don't work well with what the rest of the deck is doing). However, there are folks that play a lot of Boros and Gruul midrange decks that focus on token production, ramp and anthem effects, where this guy can be just disgusting. Depending on how red is used in your cube, this can go from bust to the nutz really quick. In the future, if red decks in my cube start to do a better job of supporting the token/anthem midrangey decks better, this will be the first card I want to include to facilitate that decktype.
Verdict: Depending on your composition, this card could be a staple for you. But for us, the cube would have to grow to 540-630 range, adding in a lot of red's midrangey goodstuff cards and token generators to really get full value from the 4-mana investment.
Hammer of Purphoros
Instead of being a card that is simply thrown in to existing compositions and being effective, Hammer is a facilitator for a new type of red midrange deck. Thanks to this card, mid-sized cubes can attempt to support a Fires sort of archetype if they wish. We were 1-2 effects short of having this decktype be a reality before, and this card might very well push a lot of cubers (perhaps even myself in the near future) into making that archetype work. With Fires, Sarkhan, Mauler, Greaves, Boots and now the Hammer, there could certainly be a critical mass of effects to get the Gruul midrange Mana Dork -> Fires -> Beater strategy to play out with some consistency. Oh ya, and it also makes hasted threats when you're flooded; forgot to mention.
Verdict: In testing, it simply wasn't delivering on face-value alone. If I expanded my cube to ~540 or so, I'd be pushing the Fires theme, and this card can be an enabler for an entire archetype now.
Ember Swallower
This is a solid creature for additional support for the Wildfire archetype. It survives the spell itself, and has a built-in similar type of effect that also boosts him up to a 7/8. Red doesn't often get straight-up efficient-sized bodies either, and 5-toughness is a lot for red creatures. In testing in my 450 card cube, he just barely fell short of the efficiency I'm looking for in 4cc cards, and he either needed a 5th power, or ideally a 6cc Monstrous activation instead of 7. If either of those things were the case, he'd still be in for the long haul. But as it is now, he's the first 4cc creature I'd add in if I jumped to 540 again.
Verdict: If the Wildfire decks are falling short of threats that survive the spell, this could squeeze in at 450. I'm thinking more like a 540 card for a permanent slot, but if you don't support Big Red/Wildfire at all, it's a whiff for the cube.
Omenspeaker
I know that a lot of cubers are really excited about this card, but in testing, I found it to be lacking in a couple of matchups. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very solid creature. But aside from straight housing aggro, it was not a card that I really wanted to draw in my midrange or control matchups at all. The 1/3 body is just nasty against Lions, but Scry 2 was worth a mana, but not a card in my other matchups. Currently, I like the creature quite a bit, and with an expansion to 540 I could see him getting a home. But at 450, I just couldn't find a cut, and didn't want to add in a card that's only real role was putting the kibosh on aggro's plans. Don't let me undersell the card to you if you're interested in the effect though. From a mana investment standpoint, it's quite worthwhile. Scry 2 is worth 1 colorless mana, so for an investment of a lone blue mana, it's basically a 1/3 for one. Not too shabby.
Verdict: I would very likely play this card at 540, but I found it underwhelming in too many matchups to get it into my current list.
Boon Satyr
This card is a fair investment in both modes, which makes it a very flexible threat. 4 power and flash for 3 mana is good. Instant speed allows it to function as a combat trick that can be quite powerful. In a color pair with evasive threats and a lot of removal, it's easy to get your value back in either mode. The issues we have with it are twofold though. 2-toughness is a big liability and it trades down with so many creatures in the cube. And 5 mana for a combat trick is a lot to ask, especially in a color jammed with just disgusting 5-drops. We decided to pass on it at 450, but we'd have it in for an extended run if our cube was bigger.
Verdict: 540 is the sweet spot for this card, I think. I couldn't find a reasonable cut from 450, but it does have an undeniably high BCS that can play out with some regularity.
Temple of Mystery
I haven't been able to determine weather or not this is my 4th favorite land or 5th favorite land for Simic. The Growth Chamber provides the virtual card advantage by tapping for 2 mana and has some interactions with Kudzu and Cobra. But this new land doesn't have the risk of the potential tempo blowout that occurs when your bounceland is removed, and the Scry 1 is subtly valuable. It can be used to smooth early parts of your curve and give you more information about what your 1st 8 or 9 cards will wind up looking like, and it has cool interactions with top of library manipulation (working with Top, Rack, Library, Brainstorm, Jace and the like to allow you to tuck unneeded cards). And, it can prevent you from drawing your Tinker/Natural Order targets in Simic, which certainly has some value. And in BUG reanimator, it can help you dig for a combo piece in the early game. Also, making a Meloku token every turn and getting a free Scry trigger attached to it is really good. Slower midrange decks and control decks can afford the ETBT drawback, so for me, it'll likely be the 4th or 5th best land for the two enemy U/X lands.
Verdict: I will be testing this out as the #4 guild land in my 450 card cube for Simic, but if it falls short of supplanting the Bounceland, it'll still wind up as a 540 quality card (until we get some better enemy land options :argh:).
Spear of the Heliod
I've been looking for a good Glorious Anthem clone that I can cube at 450. There's only a handful of cards in the cube that remove artifacts that can't also remove enchantments, and most of them are red. And token/anthem midrange decks are good against red anyways, so that drawback doesn't matter all that much in the grand scheme of things. What does matter, is how well the Spear shores up the weakness of both the deck that it goes into and the fundamental drawback of the card itself. Token midrange builds are strong, but they can struggle against control. Historically speaking, Anthem effects' biggest weaknesses are that they don't provide any value on an empty board (or after a wrath effect or the like). This card does a great job of combatting the weaknesses that other Anthem effects usually have. After my opponent wraths all my tokens away and wants to use a finisher to grind out a win, the Spear puts a stop to that plan, allowing me to snipe their lonely finishers (and it's really effective against manlands). Old Anthem play against control led to having my board wrathed away and having them kill me with their Creeping Tar Pit while I sit there with my Anthem on board providing no value. Well, not anymore. This removes the biggest weakness that other non-creature Anthems typically have, while simultaneously providing you with a tool for your deck's weakest matchup. I've been pleasantly surprised with its performance in testing so far at 450.
Verdict: I'll be playing this card for a while at 450, because I really like the Token/Anthem midrange archetype where this card settles in so nicely. If you don't push the archetype, it won't be as useful for you and its value could drop it into the 540+ range.
Polukranos, World Eater
Green removal on a stick is always welcome. This guy resolves as a pretty solid creature on his own, has a Monstrous activation that takes place on curve, and can kill utility creatures and chump blockers alike before crashing in as a 7/7. One of the things we've found from him in testing so far, is that the threat of his activation has value in itself. Even if they don't have a good target for him to shoot on the board already, your opponent may have to hold back playing creatures with 1 or 2 toughness until they remove the threat (which is a 5/5 beatstick for 4 mana, btw). This card had the unfortunate circumstance of being spoiled with a bunch of different wordings; all of which were better than the one that it settled on. If that weren't the case, I think the hype for this guy would be even higher than it is now. Also remember that once you reach 7 mana, he can give you an Arc Lightning (in green!) and transform into an 8/8. Often enough, waiting a turn or two to reach that mana and getting even more value is the right play.
Verdict: I think this card is good enough to see play in 450 card cubes. I don't know if he'll be in there forever, but he's certainly a strong creature that can have a decent board impact and grow to very big sizes. At the very least, 540 card cubes get a 4cc green creature that will be able to stay and play for quite a while.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion
This is the Elspeth that we always wanted Elspeth Tirel to be. She costs 1 more mana, but it's well worth it. The 5cc version wound up being pigeonholed into token midrange decks for two major reasons. First, the lifegain wasn't wanted in aggro, and wasn't consistent enough for control where the creature count was so low. And Second, the wrath ability telegraphed itself, making it harder to defend herself (or yourself) the turn she resolved. This new one, despite costing more mana, does both of those things better. Growing in size while producing three creatures makes combatting her loyalty a really uphill battle, and being able to use her wrath ability to control a lone threat and leaving the planeswalker body behind is really strong. Against aggro, the three blockers and escalating loyalty make her tough to combat, and against midrange or control, the pseudo 1-sided Wrath effect can prove to be quite powerful and rather asymmetrical. This is the big Elspeth that can go into both midrange and control decks and have success there, unlike the 5cc predecessor.
Verdict: I'll be playing this card at 450, and probably for a while. We like midrange token decks, and this is a great curve-topper for those decks, as well as being a solid finisher for control decks to have too. May fall into 540 range for some players that have other 6+cc cards they are really attached to, but 450 seems like a likely place for her to settle in at.
Thassa, God of the Sea
There are 5 major reasons why Thassa is my favorite god for the cube, and why she's been playing out quite well for our playgroup. 1) She only costs 3 mana. With passive effects that gain in value over time, costing less mana increases the value of those kinds of triggers. 2) Her triggers combine the best with what her color is trying to do in the cube. Blue likes to play slower games that grind out incremental advantages as the game goes on, and both of her effects play perfectly into blue's current identity. The longer the game goes, the more value you'll get from the repeatable scry and the more opportunities you'll have to make the unblockability really matter. 3) Her indestructibility plays better with her abilities than it does for the other gods. Being indestructible doesn't matter as much for the alpha strike effects, but when you're trying to grind out a win, it adds a lot of value to both abilities. It makes the Scry a more consistent ability (which is critical, because you need 3-4 Scry activations to have it really be worth a card) and it also gives the unblockable ability the consistency it needs to reliably push a medium-sized threat through for the win. 4) Her ability actually works with her when she's in creature mode. She can make herself unblockable, and an indestructible, unblockable 5-power threat can close out a game pretty quick on its own. Whereas the white god doesn't give itself vigilance, and the green one doesn't give itself trample; this one can make itself unblockable. 5) Blue has a high concentration of double-blue permanents, which means that she has the ability to activate pretty easily (the permanent count is lower, but you're more likely to trigger her or re-activate her with less overall permanents). It's not unlikely to be able to give her a "surprise activation" by dropping something like a Control Magic to accompany a Baby Jace and then all the sudden she's bashing for 5.
Verdict: She's been a very solid investment time after time in our 450 cube (in testing). She won't often be the back-breaking spell that your opponent simply loses the game to, but she has two abilities that are very relevant to what blue wants to do, and the indestructibility ensures those triggers happen turn after turn. If your blue section struggles to find a cut for her at 450, she'll still slide into a 540 card with no problem at all.
Lightning Strike
This card is boring and it's a reprint, but it's good. We all know by now how Incinerate and Searing Spear perform in the cube, so there's not a real reason to delve deep into how it's used. The bigger the cube gets, the more burn you need to keep the concentration up, and 3 damage for 2 mana at instant speed is just right. Efficient, but lackluster.
Verdict: 360 card cubes won't need Incinerate, Searing Spear and Lightning Strike. In fact, they might not even be playing a second effect like this because of the concentration of more important cards. But 450+ cubes will all benefit from having an additional Searing Spear, so I'm pretty comfortable calling it a shoe-in for cubes at 450 or bigger.
Sylvan Caryatid
This creature is the perfect fusion between Utopia Tree and Vine Trellis. With Hexproof tacked on for good measure. It can be a solid early-game blocker when it resolves, and can proceed to ramp you and fix your mana for you at the same time. The jump from 2 mana to 4 mana is really helpful (as we all know how critical 4cc cards are to the average cube game) and working well as both ramp and fixing (reliably too because they can't bolt it away) while also being able to block makes this a really good green 2-drop. I can't really think of a recently drafted green deck in my cube (outside of some sort of aggro brew) that wouldn't want to auto-play this creature. I'm excited to see her in continued action in the cube.
Verdict: I don't know if this'll quite make the cut at 360, but it very well could. It's a really good green 2-drop. However, if it can't find a home there, 450+ card cubes will use it for sure.
Hero's Downfall
This is a really flexible removal spell. And makes Murder look silly by comparison. We're really big fans of Dreadbore, because it can simply answer most threatening cards for you, regardless of what they are. And Downfall is comparable to Dreadbore in cost (and obviously in effect) so we expect it to play out like a very solid, easily maindeckable answer to creatures and 'walkers alike. It loses the 2cc, but in exchange, switches to mono-color and gains instant speed for that extra one mana. Seems well worth it.
Verdict: 360 black is really tight (especially if you push archetypes hard) so finding a cut might me really difficult. But it will likely find its way into cubes of that size anyways. If not, it will easily settle into 450 lists.
Xenagos, the Reveler
The Party 'Walker! What a great planeswalker. If I've learned anything from Garruk Relentless, it's that producing free threats every turn on a card that can't be hit by creature removal is really strong. And this guy's threats have haste! It reminds me a bit of Bloodbraid Elf, in that you get a 2/2 haste creature for your 4 mana, and "cascade" into his 'walker body every time. Of course it's a little different than that, but generally speaking, that's kinda how it plays out. Another apt comparison is Garruk Wildspeaker. They both ramp with their + abilities. They both make threats. And they both have game-warping ultimates. It's important to note how bonkers the ramp on Xenagos can really be. With one mana dork in play, you can make eight mana the turn after he resolves. My Gruul decks like to take advantage of all the options he brings to the table, so I can't wit to see him in action time and time again.
Verdict: I would be very surprised if he doesn't end up being one of the top Gruul cards for the cube. I could see some players flip-flopping between him being the 2nd, 3rd or 4th best card in his combination, so he could vary from group to group as a shoe-in for 360 lists or falling down to 450. But in any case, he's just a really insane 'walker.
Tormented Hero
This is yet another great 2-power 1-drop for black (we've been getting a solid stream of them lately) and regardless of cube size, we should be pretty happy to see it. Outside of rare corner-cases, the Heroic trigger is more or less just a useless ability. But being a 2/1 with no lifeloss drawback makes it a top contender for black aggro creatures in the cube anyways. Even if you don't feel like you need more black aggro creatures, this will likely be the 3rd best black aggro creature anyways, so even the smallest lists can find room for him. Hurray for more aggro dudes!
Verdict: I would play this at 360 for certain. Probably in addition to the existing suite, but even if it's replacing another 1-drop for you, it'll upgrade something.
Steam Augury
There's not much more I can say about this card that I haven't already said in the [SCD] thread, but basically, the card is good. It doesn't need to be better than Fact or Fiction to still be an excellent draw spell. To summarize, no you can't get the single best card in the pile anymore. But what you can do, is sculpt piles that have good synergy with each other, you can effectively split the sections so that you're guaranteed to get cards that work with each other; pairing mana and spells together the best they can be, and getting 2-3 cards at instant speed that will consistently increase the overall quality of your hand in a way that regular draw just can't do as consistently as perfectly split piles can. If you want a ton more details about how it's played out, check my information presented in the [SCD], but at the end of the day, the results are that its's a great spell. Now, the main reason why this turns out to be such a valuable card for the cube is that the Izzet section is still an example in mediocrity. Outside of Ral (who is an insane bomb) you just have some slightly improved mono-color card options for the most part. Because of that, this will very likely sit atop the other "average" Izzet spells and be one of the best cards in the section.
Verdict: I think this will likely be the second best Izzet spell for the cube, and thus, will become pretty much an instant 360 staple.
Firedrinker Satyr
This is pretty simple and straightforward here. Red needs more 2-power 1-drops. Jackal Pup is the second best red aggro-exclusive creature. Jackal Pup is a 360 staple. This is strictly better than Jackal Pup. Therefore, this card has all of those praises applied to it and more.
Verdict: Every cube of every size will play this creature, and will continue to play it for a very, very long time.
Soldier of the Pantheon
What can you say about a card that's strictly better than some of the best aggro creatures ever printed for white? I thought we'd continue to see interesting versions of the Lions clones for a while, often making aggro creatures that are better in some ways and worse in others for the pillar aggro creature design. Every aggro creature in white has revolved around those design criteria for ...well, forever. And now we have it. The strictly better Lion variant. Militant was close, but the ability could be a double-edged sword sometimes. This thing, on the other hand, is just better. It has protection against 30 relevant multicolor cards in my 450 card cube, and will very likely gain a life or two on average over the course of a 3-game series. Boom-sir. Slam dunk.
Verdict: I don't know if there will ever reach a point where there are enough better white aggro creatures so this card won't be an auto-include at every size. Ever.
Thanks for reading! Please leave some comments and let me know what you think!
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I won't speak for anyone else, but Enclave Cryptologist has been great for us. She usually plays out as another looter, which is fine, since re-animator is a popular archetype and needs looters. She frequently eats a removal spell as she's about to become an Archivist, but if the opponent is blowing removal spells on your blue one-drops, that's more than OK.
Anyway, excellent job and thanks for another great review!
Purphoros has a super high ceiling, but it doesn't go into red decks that we generally build. As is stated in the evaluation, depending on the construction of your red section and what kinds of decks you usually play, it can be insane. But it's not for us (yet).
Omenspeaker was nowhere near as good as Cryptologist. First and foremost, it doesn't feed my graveyard. And second, it's never a CA engine.
Boon Satyr's not as versatile as it looks. 5-mana for a combat trick is really too much, and the 2-toughness prevents it from doing what you want it to do most of the time.
Ya, when you put caps on how many of certain kinds of cards you're allowed to play, it certainly changes your opinion on them.
Steam Augury is a lot better than most people think. After testing it, it's easily the second best Izzet card.
Thanks for the comments.
Well, I didn't test the Dragon, because I know it won't replace the 5-drops that I'm currently running. I could see it losing out to Zealous Conscripts still, and competing with Kiki for that #5 slot. How big does a cube need to be to need 5 red 5-drops? Probably bigger than the size I have the current #20 card ranked at, so it missed the countdown list, despite being a very cool and very good creature.
You're welcome! Glad you liked it.
No, we didn't test Ashiok. Our playgroup has absolutely zero interest in it, as we all think it's completely terrible. Even if it turned out to be fringe playable, it's certainly not going to replace any of our current Dimir cards. Our group voted to not play that card at all.
I think you're overestimating Boon Satyr. Have you played it at all? The flash is good for trading with something in combat on defense, but the 2-toughness is terrible, and 5-mana combat tricks are unacceptable.
I also love the art on that card. Can't wait to get a foil one in the cube!
..........
Thanks for the comments everybody.
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Absolutely. As I say in the disclaimer. This is a guess at best. I hope for a handful of additional cards that red can use to support the midrange token deck that Purphoros plays so well in. We don't cube those kinds of decks, but (again, as I said in the review) for groups that do, this card is just amazing.
This whole set is just fantastic, really.
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Both the Bestow three drops are coming into my 360, and will last as long as it takes to get a better aggressive three drop. Getting your curve right at 360 often means excluding something better in a vacuum for a more versatile or differently costed creature.
I'm passing on Sylvan Caryatid since I realised that the Wall of Roots that I'm not running may well be the better card, but I'm keen on the idea of perhaps bringing one of the two in for a run over one of the four mana elves.
This review could have easily been 25 cards deep this time round. There are so many cubeable options.
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Well, GW is completely stacked. The cube would have to be pretty big before it would have a legit shot of cracking into the section.
Ya, there are a lot of good cards in the set.
I'm surprised to hear you'd rank Lion so high. It's nowhere close to my 450 card cube.
The bestow guys are flexible, but they aren't great. I don't think they'll stay at 360 for long. We tested the green one more than the Nighthowler, but the 2 toughness is a huge liability.
Caryatid, on the other hand, has a reasonable shot of being 360 material. I think you should test it out.
Read the Bones is a pretty good card. If you have room in black for random utility spells, this can definitely be one of them. It digs pretty deep. Maybe 630-720? It was on my original countdown until more stuff started to get spoiled.
Hey man, you're very welcome.
It probably doesn't surprise you that I've been keeping an active top 20 list handy, and had notes jotted down about each card (how they tested out, info I wanted to add to the review, etc) so when I read the last of the spoiled cards, saw nothing of real interest, I was able to immediately get cracking on the article.
Glad you enjoyed it!
This is the only problem that the Lion runs into. In addition to the 4 GW cards I run, there's Loam Lion, KotR, Armada Wurm, Wake, Sigarda, and a handful of others waiting in line behind them. Fleecemane Lion has no chance in competition like that.
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You might be right. How do you think it compares with the Wall of Roots? I'm not running more than one Wall at 360, but perhaps the hexproof and fixing is more favourable than the ability to tap and block in the same turn.
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http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=484979
Well, I think that depends on the cube. Some people run more 'walkers by percentage at 450 than they would at 360. And can also be a higher concentration of hexproof creatures and pro:black and stuff at 360 too. So that's not always the case. Although I do agree that the concentration of high powered 'walkers is enough to probably warrant its inclusion at 360.
There are a lot of cards that would seem to get better the smaller the cube gets that can't fit into super tight lists. I'm not saying this is one of them, but let's just say I wanted to be cautiously optimistic with the evaluation.
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It's a good list, but I think I ilke Omenspeaker a lot more than you place it.
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That's the great thing about having a set with a close parity of all solid card options; some folks will like cards more than others. In the OP, I say that there's a good chance that all 20 of these cards will see regular cube play from one list to the next, and I think that's definitely the case.
I would play probably 2 of those 3 walls at 360 if it were up to me. And Caryatid would definitely be up for consideration. Quick 4-drops of any color are just what I aim for whenever possible in cube. 3 toughness + hexproof is awesome on a creature that taps for mana of any color.
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I want to test Steam Augury in place of Fire/Ice. Fire/Ice is a great utility card but unexciting. 99% of the time Fire is used; I honestly can only remember one time that Ice was used. At 270, I'm trying to remove the utility cards from the guild sections in favor of interesting (but still powerful) options. I've recently taken out Mortify and Terminate on that basis. This would give me:
in that guild. Thoughts?
I like read the bones, but don't have room for it, but those who's black section isn't full of pox stuff might be able to fit it.
I didn't think we would get a set this deep after RtR.
I agree that Steam Augury should probably go in, but I'd have it in alongside Ral Zarek and Izzet Charm as my other two choices.
I know, I was surprised this set turned out so awesome. There are a ton of cards up for consideration for cubes of all sizes and configurations. Really cool stuff.
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I run Joraga Treespeaker, 4 mana elf, Bird of Paradise, and Noble Hierarch already. That's 7 slot for 1 mana accelerator, where I only have 50 slot for green card in total. Hitting 4 mana on turn 3 is nice, but I like hitting 3 mana on turn 2 and 4 mana on turn 4 more, even with the risk of getting remove due to lacks of Hexproof.
And on Steam Augury, here's my ranking for Izzet.
1. Ral Zarek
2. Izzet Charm
3. Steam Augury
I'll still need to see Steam Augury do more work until I put it as #2, but it's a very real possibility. But I just see Izzet Charm do so many work right now that it's hard to discredit it as #2 straight away.
And I think you're certainly right. Omenspeaker is great option for everyone that wants cheap blue creature drop that is cubeable. But if someone doesn't look for something like that, she's passable.
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Theros has been fantastic for cube.
I want to say that the Fires deck is really making a case for carving a permanent spot in my cube. As I've mentioned in other threads we've been playing it for some weeks now and it's been good... and Theros just makes it even better.
One of my players drafted a monster RG Fires deck today that ran over my UW Control at the end of the night (we were both 2-0 for that draft at that point).
I kept track of the last game so I thought I'd share. My opening hand was Ponder, Journey to Nowhere, Mind Stone, Wrath, 2x Island, Plains:
Turn 1
Him> Forest, Chrome Mox (imprinting LftL), Lightning Greaves
Me> Draw (Plains), Island, Ponder (put Wall of Omens on top, Supreme Verdict middle, Plains in the bottom, draw Wall of Omens)
Turn 2
Him> Mountain
Me> Draw (Supreme Verdict), Plains, Wall of Omens (draw Plains)
Turn 3
Him> Mountain, Ember Swallower, equip Greaves --> swing for 4 (block with Wall)
Me> Draw (Aetherling), Island, Mind Stone
Turn 4
Him> Forest, Kalonian Hydra, equip Greaves --> swing for 4 + 8
Me> Draw (Island), Plains, Supreme Verdict
Turn 5
Him> Gemstone Mine, Hammer of Purphoros, make 3/3 golem --> swing for 3
Me> Draw (Arcane Denial), Island
Then I realized, no matter what I do, Hammer is going to kill me... And kill me quick.
I couldn't Journey the golem because it had Greaves on. I could cast Aetherling and block the golem but I knew another one was coming... and if he happened to have something else in his hand it would probably kill me. So I played Wrath and hung on to mana for Arcane.
Turn 6
Him> make a 3/3 golem --> swing for 3, Magma Jet ftw (Arcane Denial!)
Me> Draw (Mox Sapphire /for Arcane, Condescend), Mind Stone to draw a card, drew a dud <<scoop>>
Long story short the deck was just wrecking face all day. I'd describe the archetype as a really aggressive mid-range/ramp deck that's just a tad slower than aggro. The haste lets your guys gets around sorcery speed removal and it ensures your army is able to deal damage before the opponent can even react with mass removal... I think the archetype is amazing and it should be supported even in smaller lists. I mean, what cube doesn't want a mid-range deck that gets around control's strategies? The Hammer makes it more consistent by adding another way to reliably give your creatures haste and even it even provides reach when needed. I would definitely rank it higher on the list.
I also wanted to add that I was planning to take out LftL during my next update... until I saw it feeding Hammer of Purphoros. Now I'm questioning whether I should leave it in or not lol!
They also lose out on the ability to block. And I wouldn't cut a cubeable 1-mana elf to try out the Caryatid, but there might be another reasonable option to swap for it.
And Omenspeaker was back-breaking against aggro, but against every other matchup, I was much happier with the current suite of 2-drops I use in blue.
Fires is just an insane archetype, and the Hammer is a very good card. I don't think it makes it in on just one of those two merits alone (it just missed after testing in my 540, because I don't have a sweet Fires archetype ...yet... for it to shine in). But I'm familiar with how the archetype works (I played the crap out of it in Standard back in the day) and it's a great deck. I'm personally looking for one more card in the same vein, because I want 6 of 'em, and without the Boots.
As an aside, do you guys cube in top-loaders? Yowza.
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He's got Klug-altered Moxen amongst other goodies.
@List:
Dude, I could read your stuff all day. it's fantastic. Loving this 'draft stock' analysis...good analogy there and I think you have a lot of good calls.
IMHO the white, black, and red 1 drops are my top 3 of the set. Nit-picking here. White I agree is the best (pure upgrade over existing cards). The others are staples. ahead of Izzet's Steam-FoF-esq spell.
I think Xenagos is tricky to rank so high (but def top 10). I'd put Lightning Strike in #5 because I view it as a necessity whereas Xenagos are options. Strike is indeed boring but unquestionably powerful. Nevertheless, I respect your opinions of the Strike (not needed "as much" for smaller cubes).
To come back to RG, I am not sure Xenagos is a top 3 consideration. BBE is still their #1. #2 and #3 all depend on how you build the card. There are a lot of wonderful choices. Huntmaster, Kirds, Boar, Domri...it all depends upon playstyle.
Last, I think Stymied Hopes may sneak into cubes. I can see it at the 540 level because it's force spike and scry 1...which isn't bad. It's not a bomb by any means, but could turn into something people overlook. A card WotC puts in the MTGO cube and make people reconsider perhaps.
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Even so. I have altered P3K stuff that's super expensive too, but wouldn't want to cube in top-loaders. To each their own, and all that, but it's not for me.
Thanks man! Glad you enjoyed it.
Well, I don't think cubes should play without any of those 4 cards, and despite the importance of 2-power 1-drops, black has a lot of them already, and Izzet is full of mediocre cards. I actually think Steam Augury is more important to my Izzet section than Tormented Hero is to my black section. But like I said, all 360 cards, so it doesn't really matter.
No matter what I'm doing in RG, I think Xenagos lands in the top 3-4 cards, and above Boar and Domari in all compositions. I really can't think of a reason why he shouldn't make it into 360 lists.
Xenagos has a better chance of making it into smaller cubes for a longer period of time, so I ranked it higher than Lightning Strike, which I don't think has much of a chance to go into 360 cubes for very long (if it goes in at all).
There are at least 6-10 cards from this set that didn't end up making my list that can see play in cubes. It's just an insane set for the cube.
Stymied Hopes just looks so bad in comparison to Condescend that I don't see it making too many small lists, unless they're restricted to modern-legal-only cards, where 2cc countermagic is severely lacking.
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