This is my 11th 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. I got a lot of positive feedback on the format from the last several articles, so I’m going to keep the “what I like” and “what I don’t like” sections.
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.
KTK is a solid set for most cubes. It has some really high-quality top-end cards, several more that show a lot of promise, and good lands and tri-color cards for larger cubes that run a full suite of shard/wedge cards.
What I Like: Three threats for three mana isn't a bad deal. It creates 6 Purphoros, God of the Forge damage, and works nicely with anthem effects and Battle Cry triggers of all kinds. It exchanges flying on Spectral Procession for a cost more likely to be hit on T3.
What I Don't Like: The vanilla nature of the tokens (no Flying, no Haste) will pigeonhole this card to being played exclusively in token decks. The fact that the creatures don't have any additional abilities slides this in behind Tempt With Vengeance, IMO, despite being 1 mana cheaper.
Verdict: Large cubes with either a Goblin tribal theme or a really heavy red token theme might be happy testing this out.
What I Like: With the Raid trigger live, this guy is a 2-power beater for 2 mana that will net you a card in its resolution. Your opponent gets to choose, but it's still good value to get the body and the card advantage.
What I Don't Like: A lot of my aggressive black decks like to play disruption spells (Duress, etc) as their form of T1 pressure. That may prevent the raid trigger from being "live" on T2 as often as I'd like. The longer I wait into the game, the worse the comparison to Liliana's Specter becomes, since her trigger is always live, and she also has evasion. On turns 2 and 3, I think this card has the potential to be better, but as the game extends, it loses ground in that head-to-head comparison. Which can be an issue for black, because some of the pressure it applies is from non-creature threats.
Verdict: There are several black 2-drops on the bench that I like more than this guy, so I can't see him making the cut at anything smaller than a 630-720 card cube unless there's a massive discard subtheme.
What I Like: Red is always looking for potential aggressive 1-drops. This one is a very solid option for decks that are maybe a bit lighter on creatures and heavier on support spells. It has haste, so it can start getting in early, and makes it a more reasonable late-game topdeck than a lot of the other options in this slot.
What I Don't Like: Our red aggressive decks are typically loaded to the gills with creatures; much more of a swarm aggro strategy than a tempo-type aggro deck. It also can't take full advantage of spells that need (or want) to be played as instants for full value. I don't know how often this creature will spend its time as a 2-power attacker in a deck that's not skewed to take advantage of that ability specifically.
Verdict: In large cubes (630-720) the competition in the red 1cc creature suite is more shallow than most cube managers need it to be. Despite being a less than optimal 2-power 1-drop variant, I think it'll be good enough for those lists. It might make it into smaller lists than that if the Kiln Fiend deck is a thing for you.
What I Like: Instant speed splashable removal without a qualifying target contingency. This can just kill anything. It has a high ceiling in the mid-late game as a removal spell that will be able to axe anything for B or 1B.
What I Don't Like: The inability to hit early game targets can be a big drawback for certain decks. Reactive spells like removal value consistency and reliability above most other factors. And while the effect will be consistent and reliable because the target isn't restricted in any way, the inability to "lock down" a regular casting cost will hurt it quite a bit compared to all the Doom Blade variants that are available now.
Verdict: I think the spell warrants some testing in cubes that are already running the best of the Terror clones and still want some more targeted removal. That would likely make it a 720+ card, but I don't want to say that this would be unplayable at 630 without at least testing it out first.
What I Like: A regular global pump variant that gifts lifelink can be insane in certain board states. It can break board stalls, dig you out of an otherwise losing situation and pull yourself out of burn range without sacrificing pressure. It can also create evasive tokens, even though the ability comes at a high loyalty price.
What I Don't Like: The minus ability is a lot of loyalty to lose for a 2/2 flier at that mana cost. It has a hard time protecting itself with the cost being a -2 instead of a -1. The plus ability can be strong, but it can also whiff depending on the board. The biggest strike against him isn't the Sorin himself, but the competition he's stacked up against. When you evaluate what all the abilities do, this would've been the ideal 4cc mono-black planeswalker we've been waiting for. All of the abilities could've been justified in mono-black, and I don't think it would've been "too good" at 2BB. Oh well.
Verdict: I can't really decide if this is my 6th or 7th favorite Orzhov guild card, so it would fall in the 630-720 range for me.
What I Like: Once a cube elects to support a full suite of tri-color cards, I think it's important to support the shards and wedges with matching fixing lands. They can function as a Coastal Tower for three different color combinations, and help to enable splashes and 4/5-color decks (if you want that). Once the structure of the cube becomes such that 2-colors with a splash or solid shard/wedge decks become a regularity, I'd add this cycle (and the Seaside Citadel cycle) to the cube for the additional fixing and "perfectly matching" lands.
What I Don't Like: Really only two things. While playable as a fixer for 3 different color combinations, it's not a great land unless all three colors of fixing are valuable. Additionally, it adds a lot of fixing to the cube that are ideal lands for 4 and 5-color control decks, which a lot of groups (mine included) are adverse against being an automatically forceable decktype.
Verdict: Once a full suite of 10 3-color cards becomes a thing in the cube, I'd very likely add these 10 fixers in to help aid them in their success. For me personally, that would be at the 540-630 size.
What I Like: I think this Charm happens to fit the wedge perfectly. When we play BUG, we're almost always playing a decktype that's interested in using its graveyard as a resource in one way or another (often enough, a reanimator deck of some kind). My Dimir decks often splash green for Naturalize effects. My Simic decks often splash black for removal. My Golgari decks often splash blue for additional looting effects. So it's really a perfect fit.
What I Don't Like: Charms have historically proven themselves to be really narrow. It's not a card that will make me want to dip into a 3rd color, but something that'll likely be auto-played if I'm already playing Sultai colors.
Verdict: Despite being a natural perfect fit for the decktype, it honestly makes the cut more out of lack of competition. It's a good card, but I don't think it would make the cut on its own merits if it weren't for a desire to complete the Shard/Wedge cycle for my 540-630 sized cube that's looking to run a full suite.
What I Like: This looks to be a powerful creature that fits most every strategy this color combination will be playing. It has a great combination of offensive and defensive abilities that make it a formidable creature. Direct damage and trample help force damage through. Lifegain and 5 toughness protect you and protect the creature. It has good interactions within the color; white can blink it for value, black can reanimate it for value, and green can regrowth it for value. It's in a great color combination to abuse the abilities.
What I Don't Like: Without the ability to abuse the ETB trigger, I don't think this card will really force me to change from a Orzhov deck to a Junk build. It's a great value creature, but I don't think it does enough to justify its 3-color cost unless you can take advantage of the multi-trigger potential some builds will have for it.
Verdict: A good creature, and probably the highest estimated value from any of the cards in this color combination. If you're doing a Shard/Wedge cycle, this will likely be the rep from his respective section. 540-630 for me.
What I Like: This looks like the kind of 3-color card I'd splash for. 5-power and flying for 4 mana with a free sac outlet built-in and three relevant triggers that can help in every potential game state. Haste for the beatdown, lifelink to dig yourself out of burn range and vigilance to win races. Decks with recursive creatures and tokens (a lot of RWB decks can feature these kinds of cards) will be able to take advantage of multiple abilities in the game (and maybe even multiples in a single round!) which will make this guy just a monstrous board presence.
What I Don't Like: The only real strike against this card is the mana cost. It will be limited in the number of decks that can play it, but I'd venture a guess and say that if a deck can cast this creature, it'll want to play it.
Verdict: Hands-down the best Mardu representative, and a good justification for supporting a tri-color section in 540-630 sized cubes.
What I Like: This guy does quite a few different things for you. In a deck designed to sac and recur threats, he can net you quite a bit of card advantage. He can be a surprise face-up flip against your opponent's mass removal spells or attacking/blocking decisions, or he can be played as a 3cc beater as some wrath insurance in a beatdown deck.
What I Don't Like: I really wish that it could either replace itself or interact with tokens. The fact that it can't do either of those things is the only factor that pushes him down to slightly larger cube lists.
Verdict: A great representative for Morph in black, and a good creature at face-value in multiple decks. I'd test him at 540 and play him at 630 for sure. Probably even in smaller cubes if you have even the slightest Morph subtheme supported.
What I Like: The ceiling value on this card is as high as most anything out there. Pretty much any 1-3cc spell in the cube that can reasonably be triplicated by this spell becomes a monstrous play. And certain spells, like Arc Trail and friends become game-ending spells when you can push through 9 dividable damage. Not to mention the really broken instants and sorceries that float around...
What I Don't Like: It has to go into a very specific deck. Control decks don't typically have the creature count to keep the Raid trigger live. Aggro decks don't usually have the mana available to take advantage of a lot of spells you want to triple-up on. So it's forced to be played in midrange decks that have enough creatures to keep Raid live and enough other 1-3cc instants and sorceries that fit with HotH to be copied. Which usually means limiting the number of artifacts, enchantments and planeswalkers in your deck (which midrange decks really don't want to do most of the time). In the right window, it can be an insane spell ...but you need the right deck composition AND the right scenario to crop up in order to pull it off. Because every time it's played as a 3cc sorcery Fork that can't copy your opponent's spells, it's a pretty feel-bad moment.
Verdict: The BCS on this card is high enough to warrant inclusion if you're a fan of high-risk high-reward kinds of cards. But it's a narrow spell that relies on a very specific casting window to be good. After testing this in a small cube, my estimate on the card is somewhere in the 540-630 range. Maybe even further down than that.
What I Like: In comparison to SSS, which is the most apt comparison that can be drawn, this creature has several advantages. First and foremost, it's cheaper to get down to the board. At 6-mana, it does a better job in comparison to its competition than the Swallower does. Green doesn't have a ton of good 6-drops, which makes this guy a good creature to splash for. Additionally, the upgrade from Shroud to Hexproof allows you to equip this guy and bounce him to protect him from Wraths and Edicts. Lastly, the Morph option is really nice on this guy, because he can start attacking for 6 with trample as early as turn 5. So it can be attacking for its 24th point of damage on the same turn that the Swallower is attacking for the first time! I think that easily outweighs the loss of flying for the extra mana.
What I Don't Like: The only real strike against this card is the competition in the guild section. I think Simic has too many powerful spells for this guy to squeeze his way into smaller lists.
Verdict: It think this card stands alone as the 5th best Simic card, so I'd play him in a 540 cube for sure.
What I Like: Instant-speed (near) universal removal is almost non-existent. Compared to Vindicate, it costs 1 more mana and can't hit lands. But it exiles the target and can be cast at instant speed. There are decks (and targets) where this could arguably be better than it's 3cc brother, since the Instant Speed can be so clutch for certain decks, and it's better at dealing with things like Wurmcoil Engine and targets that can be reanimated.
What I Don't Like: 4 mana is a lot for 1-for-1 removal. The card will be playable in a lot of decks, but it won't ever feel like you're doing anything unfair with it.
Verdict: It looks to be either the 4th or 5th best card for Orzhov, so it would fall in the 450-540 range for me.
What I Like: When the raid trigger works, this creature is really savage. 6 power worth of evasive threats, all of which exist outside of burn range thanks to the 4 toughness. And some incidental lifegain to boot. It compares favorably to a lot of the 5cc options in white just because the ceiling on the spell is really high. It can be a game-ending creature in a lot of situations.
What I Don't Like: It resolves in an awkward spot in the curve; right after the opponent has had their key turn to sweep your threats off the board. The card has a really high BCS when the Raid trigger goes off, but has a really rough WCS when it's played without getting the extra token.
Verdict: I think he's outclassed by the typical usual suspects in really small cubes. But I also think it compares favorably with most of the "next tier" 5-drops that see play in medium-sized cubes. I could easily see this card replacing one of those guys and being slotted in for some extended playtime in a 450-540 sized cube.
What I Like: This creature can do a lot of things. It can bash for 2 when you're the beatdown or have a piece of equipment to strap to it. It can bridge the game between the 2 and 4 spot in the curve, giving you early 4-drops (and the fixing to play them too). OR it can be played face-down on T3 and flipped up on T4 alongside your next land drop to give you 6 mana on T4, casting Titans and other monstrosities (and giving you double-colors in all three options too). You can go from no available red sources and no visible ramp cards to a T4 Inferno Titan to surprise your opponent with. Kinda nifty for a ramp creature to have that kind of flexibility and that surprise factor.
What I Don't Like: In testing, the card's value seems to be hinged on how valuable the fixing is to your deck. It plays kinda like a hybrid and creature, and it's really good in the decks where all three colors of mana it produces are valuable. I'd have a much harder time fitting it in as a green card in really small cubes, but in medium-sized cubes or cubes playing a tri-color section, I think it's a great representative for that Wedge.
Verdict: Some 450 cubes will like to play this card in their green sections, but for me, it would be a 540-ish card, and go into its respective tri-color section.
What I Like: This seems to be a nice combination between Stormblood Berserker and Gore-House Chainwalker. It has a worse BCS but better ACS in comparison to the Berserker, and a better BCS but worse ACS in comparison to the Chainwalker. Raid is an easier trigger than Bloodthirst most of the time, so getting this creature to being a 3-power creature for 1R with evasion should be pretty consistent. Additionally, even when it misses the trigger, it's WCS is still better than a Goblin Piker, which means it will always be at least a reasonable worker bee for your red aggro decks.
What I Don't Like: Despite the trigger being more consistent than the Berserker's, the card's ceiling isn't as high. It can still be blocked and killed by bears. However, all of the other 3-power 2-drops have that same contingency, so that's not necessarily a strike against the Aspirant.
Verdict: My experience with the evasion on Hero of Oxid Ridge makes me think that the evasion on this creature will be pretty relevant. I intend to do some extended testing at 360, but I think it's good enough for 450 cubes for sure.
What I Like: The flexibility on this card is off the charts. My experience with casting Phyrexian Metamorph in blue decks for 4 mana has been really positive. That experience aided in the evaluation of this creature. Metamorph is better because it can be played at 3 mana and in non-clue decks, but the Impersonator has the ability to copy enchantments and planeswalkers in addition to artifacts and creatures, and also can't be blown up by artifact removal. There's a lot of value in being able to copy a wide range of targets; you never know when being able to Oblivion Ring your opponent's Oblivion Ring will be the difference between winning and losing a game, because we've never been able to copy effects like that before. In addition to getting your own copy of one of their Planeswalkers, which is of course going to be very powerful.
What I Don't Like: There's really nothing wrong with the card at all, but in testing so far, my only complaint is that at the 4-mana price point, it often feels like a fair card. It can occasionally do some amazing and unique things, but most of the time, it's simply going to be a solid, flexible workhorse that is accomplishing more or less fair plays. It would've been printable at 3U if they really wanted to push it, and it would've been broken at 1UU. This cost is fair for the effect though, and the unique nature of the card warrants extended testing.
Verdict: I'll be playing this card at 360 for a while, and I expect it to stick around. However, I could see it dropping to 450+ sized cubes in the long run because the effect is "fair" a lot of the time, and bigger cubes will have more insane targets for it to copy than smaller ones do.
What I Like: This card has an incredibly powerful effect. The only time we've seen anything like it was on Ancestral Memories, which had a 2UUU price point and had it at sorcery speed. The most important factors of this card are the cost and the instant speed, so that makes the comparison pretty rough. In the typical scenario, this should cost about 4 mana towards the end of the curve, 5 at the most. We haven't seen a situation arise with this spell (or with Tombstalker, for that matter, in its years of cube life) where it isn't playable on T5 for 5 mana. Even in those situations, this is the best 5cc draw spell available. The instant speed means everything, and in comparison to something like Jace's Ingenuity, the ability to dig for the best two of the top seven is miles ahead of drawing three. The most apt comparison is probably Fact or Fiction despite some obvious differences. FoF can be played earlier in the game off the back of ramp, and can be played with only a single blue source. Those things put FoF ahead of Dig in overall card quality. However, don't let that dissuade you from playing Dig. Dig is a better end-of-curve spell, and in any situation where I could cast either spell, the effect on Dig is significantly more powerful. It goes 7 cards deep, it doesn't reveal any of your draws, and you always get your best two cards (instead of your best card and maybe 1 other spell). At the end of my curve, there's no other blue draw spell I'd rather play or topdeck than Dig Through Time.
What I Don't Like: Not much, really ...the card's been fantastic in testing. But the inability to cast it early and the need for double-blue can be a drawback. I like playing FoF early off a mana rock or mana dork and orchestrating my mid-game with it. Dig only goes in at the end of the curve to set up your late game. But if you lose a game after resolving a Dig, you were probably going to lose that game anyways. It secures your very best draws, and hides the chaff topdecks that could've cost you the game drawing.
Verdict: I'll be playing this card at 360. And probably for a very long time. However, I could see some playgroups being uncomfortable with an additional late-game draw spell if they're in love with their other options, and maybe for those managers it wouldn't find a home until the 450+ size.
What I Like: A 4/4 flying indestructible haste for 5 mana is a good threat. Especially when it's immune to sorcery-speed creature removal too. It can come down at the end of the curve and carve a pretty easy path to victory for you. In addition to being able to kill creatures too! The minus ability can be really strong when your opponent has a lone threat on the table, which will allow Sarkhan to further protect itself as a win condition. And even if your opponent has an answer for his creature form like an Icy Manipulator or a Maze of Ith, you can still run up his loyalty for a quick ultimate, which gives you a double-Grafted Skullcap emblem that will help close out the game in short order. He's also a spectacular win condition for Wildfire decks if that's in your arsenal.
What I Don't Like: Occasionally the 5 mana can be a deal breaker for low-curve aggro decks. But most aggro decks are comfortable running 1 5cc card to help them close out games that cheaper options can't do, and this Sarkhan is a good as any in that role.
Verdict: I think this is a staple 360 card, and the best 5cc noncreature spell in red by a good margin.
What I Like: A 2-power 1-drop in black without a lifeloss drawback that can recur itself with any Raid trigger. Gravecrawler is better when you have a zombie on the board, but in all other situations, this guy's going to be much better/more consistent for you. Great for aggro decks, Pox/Stax decks and anything else that might have a recursion theme.
What I Don't Like: Nothing. I mean, I guess this could've been a zombie for double-trouble with Gravecrawler, but that's not a legitimate criticism at all.
Verdict: It's the best black 1-drop for the cube, so if you play 1cc creatures, this card will be in at every size, probably forever.
Agree with most of your comments on the top cards. Cant wait to get Bloodsoaked with Skullclamp.
Haven't played with Rattleclaw yet but I can see him being good enough at 360. I would test him in place of Wall of Roots. The upside of Rattleclaw seems to outweigh the things wall of roots can do.
Great review as always. The only thing you missed about bloodsoaked champion is how cool the art is in foil.😂
The order of your list is on par with how I feel but overall it feels like a big disappointment for those not eager to add wedges. There wasn't the power or innovation I was hoping to see from morph or tri-color. Oh well I guess I am spoiled by the sets from the last couple of years.
Many of the mythics are solid(sorin, sarkan, wingmate roc, the impersonator) but the all feel really fair to me. Nothing wrong with that and they will do good work in cubes but I see them as replaceable.
The champion is great and I can only assume it is the high water mark for black one drops, but is certainly reclamation sage level of exciting for most. Dig through time is the one card that stands out to me. If it works like I hope it is a truly rare thing for wizards to print.
Probably not. The blue cost is more prohibitive, and Dig Through Time is better in the late game (less mana). If we made this card an instant, they'd be about the same in the mid-game (dig might still have a small advantage), and early game they'd be equal.
As usual, great review, man. I love reading these because they're informative and entertaining and they can sometimes make me look at a new card in a different light. I hadn't planned on trying Sagu Mauler over SSS, but now I might.
The card that stands out as missing from this list for me is Icefeather Aven. We're going to slot this into the Shardless Agent spot. Agent has been decent to good, but it also misses the cut in a good number of Simic decks just on it's whiff potential. If you're running four 2cc counters in your tempo deck, it's just not worth the risk. Aven, on the other hand, is more of a catch-all type of card. It fits nicely into pretty much any Simic deck despite the rest of the contents. I'd rank this at number six or seven for Simic right now.
Any set with definitely 3, and potentially up to 5 360 playables, and that has a solid card like Murderous Cut only 17th in wtwlf's preview article is a good set for Cube (note that I don't disagree with that ranking).
I think Utter End and Howl of the Horde are a bit too high and Grim Haruspex a bit too low, but the one glaring problem with the list is that it's missing Savage Knucleblade. It's much more of a reason to be 3-color than Sultai Charm and Siege Rhino. In fact, provided you have the mana to cast it, I can't think of a better 3-drop to drop on T3, or on T8 for that matter, and that's across all Magic. I think the existence of Maelstrom Wanderer and the option of running Rattleclaw Mystic as a Temur card is unfairly being held against the Knuckleblade. I'd put it in the top-10 for Khans for sure.
Agree with most of your comments on the top cards. Cant wait to get Bloodsoaked with Skullclamp.
Haven't played with Rattleclaw yet but I can see him being good enough at 360. I would test him in place of Wall of Roots. The upside of Rattleclaw seems to outweigh the things wall of roots can do.
Thanks for the article!
You're welcome.
I like Wall of Roots more. It can stave off early pressure, while providing mana on both turns if relevant. The only time I would prefer to have Mystic is when I'm playing RUG.
Not now that Dig Through Time is available, because it's almost strictly better than that proposed card outside of corner-case situations. But even that theoretical card would be the best 5cc blue draw spell available, and Dig is basically that spell--or better.
Great review as always. The only thing you missed about bloodsoaked champion is how cool the art is in foil.😂
The order of your list is on par with how I feel but overall it feels like a big disappointment for those not eager to add wedges. There wasn't the power or innovation I was hoping to see from morph or tri-color. Oh well I guess I am spoiled by the sets from the last couple of years.
Many of the mythics are solid(sorin, sarkan, wingmate roc, the impersonator) but the all feel really fair to me. Nothing wrong with that and they will do good work in cubes but I see them as replaceable.
The champion is great and I can only assume it is the high water mark for black one drops, but is certainly reclamation sage level of exciting for most. Dig through time is the one card that stands out to me. If it works like I hope it is a truly rare thing for wizards to print.
I like that the effects are powerful but fair and balanced. Usually it seems like we get a couple of mistakes and too many cards that aren't good enough. These mythics seem balanced.
I think that the set was actually really good, considering it was focussed on wedges. I was surprised to get as many playable cards as we did for a smaller cube considering we're not interested in any of the wedge cards.
As usual, great review, man. I love reading these because they're informative and entertaining and they can sometimes make me look at a new card in a different light. I hadn't planned on trying Sagu Mauler over SSS, but now I might.
The card that stands out as missing from this list for me is Icefeather Aven. We're going to slot this into the Shardless Agent spot. Agent has been decent to good, but it also misses the cut in a good number of Simic decks just on it's whiff potential. If you're running four 2cc counters in your tempo deck, it's just not worth the risk. Aven, on the other hand, is more of a catch-all type of card. It fits nicely into pretty much any Simic deck despite the rest of the contents. I'd rank this at number six or seven for Simic right now.
Icefeather Aven seems really bad for regular cubes. I'm not willing to play an Echo Tracer in gold form just because it has flying. And it can't even bounce itself if they target it in Morph form with removal!
Any set with definitely 3, and potentially up to 5 360 playables, and that has a solid card like Murderous Cut only 17th in wtwlf's preview article is a good set for Cube (note that I don't disagree with that ranking).
I think Utter End and Howl of the Horde are a bit too high and Grim Haruspex a bit too low, but the one glaring problem with the list is that it's missing Savage Knucleblade. It's much more of a reason to be 3-color than Sultai Charm and Siege Rhino. In fact, provided you have the mana to cast it, I can't think of a better 3-drop to drop on T3, or on T8 for that matter, and that's across all Magic. I think the existence of Maelstrom Wanderer and the option of running Rattleclaw Mystic as a Temur card is unfairly being held against the Knuckleblade. I'd put it in the top-10 for Khans for sure.
The Knuckleblade is a good card. But the problem is the fit. I'm not interested in cubing it, because I only think it's the 2nd or 3rd best card in its wedge. Even if it's on par with or better than other wedge options, that doesn't really matter in terms of fitting into the cube. This isn't a top 20 Khans article for all of Magic, this is a cube specific preview. And if it won't make the cut in cubes (either because Mystic is more flexible or Wanderer is more fun/bomby) ...there's no reason to include it in the article.
I wasn't clear then, I do consider Knuckleblade Savage a top-10 Cube card in the set and it will certainly get played in mine if I ever go up from 360 and/or start supporting shards/wedges.
But I should probably quit whining about the card so much over multiple threads, hehe.
I know you do. I don't. I like it more than Wanderer, personally, but I'd much rather use the Mystic in that slot. So, the fact that it's not in my top 10 makes sense. It may be better than Sultai Charm, but that doesn't make it a better fit for a cube that has (what I consider to be) better options in the RUG slot. It's kind of all or nothing with the tri-color slots, considering I'd never use more than one of the same 3-color combination in any cube size.
No real disagreement with that list from me. Personally, I would have switched Grim Haruspex and Howl of the Horde, so that the creature was still in the top 10, but that is a minor nitpick. And while Rattleclaw Mystic and War-Name Aspirant are good cards, I am a bit surprised by how high you rank them. Makes me reconsider my choice to not include the Mystic.
In Sultai Charm's entry, you wrote: "My Golgari decks often splash green for additional looting effects." I suppose you wanted to write "blue" instead of "green" there.
I did, and I'll change that, thanks. I would probably switch Howl and Haruspex too, especially for unpowered cubes. But there's the nagging "triple broken spells!" that keeps me from moving it down further in the list where it probably should be.
I think Ainok Bond-Kin is actually pretty good, and maybe worthy of a spot on the lower end of this list. He's a piker, which is eh, but his "level up" ability has him skip one combat to become a 3/2 first strike, which remains relevant a lot longer. Of the Outlast guys, he's probably the most playable. The fact that he gives a bonus to random other +1/+1 counter dudes is nice gravy as well. For larger Cubes looking for additional white two-drops that aren't WW, he's definitely worth considering.
Surrak Dragonclaw is worth mentioning as a strong contender for the RUG spot if your cube is large enough to consider Rattleclaw Mystic a monogreen card.
Disowned Ancestor is another very playable Outlast guy in larger cubes. If you're supporting black control, he does a great job of gumming up the ground early, surviving a lot of your Drown in Sorrow/Toxic Deluge effects, and growing into a sizeable threat late. Playing Mardu aggro at the PR, I hated seeing this guy turn one. I hated even more seeing him turn one when I didn't have early plays, because when this guy is a 2/6 on turn 3, there's not a ton I could do about it.
Necropolis Fiend plays a good Tombstalker impression for any larger cube that loves Tombstalker and wants another. The added removal effect lets him play Grim Lavamancer too which can be neat.
Valley Dasher makes a good stand-in for Ash Zealot if you don't want to run double-colored. 2/2 haste for 2 is strong for aggro.
Those are just some of my thoughts. I'm not sure all of these would make a top 20 list, they're just the things that are in consideration for larger cubes that you didn't mention here.
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/\ /\ /\ Bond-Kin ended up being card #21 simply because we've seen so many playable white 2-drops that I can't really estimate if I'd play it in a huge cube or not at this point.
The rest of those cards don't really interest me at all.
What did you think about Become Immense? It's the only card I'm toying with that's not on the short list.
I never thought of cubing that card. It doesn't look that good to me. I'd much rather have a lower P/T bonus and be able to protect my threat at the same time with something like Vines of Vastwood or even the 3G Split Second one. I can't see this card being good in the cube.
The flying isn't irrelevant, but it doesn't make up for the additional 1 mana, the downgrade from hexproof to shroud, the loss of the morph's flexible casting options (so I can cast and protect the threat with countermagic) OR the fact that I can be attacking for lethal with the Mauler by the time I can turn SSS sideways for the first time. The only time I'd really rather have SSS is when I don't intend on ever casting it (reanimator or Natural Order, for example).
After playtesting Howl, I can't see that card being a 360 card, even if we get more targets. Targets weren't the problem, it was the narrowness.
And I agree on the Aspirant; I think it's going to be a pretty solid 2-drop.
With no other morphs and no tri-color section, Mystic does lose some of its appeal. But it's still a much better card than Golden Hind. Even without other morphs, you can still morph it and flip it face up for a +2 jump and double mana fixing. And the fact that it taps for 3 colors of mana will be relevant in those decks. As I mentioned in the article, the fixing is a big part of its value, and as a mono-green card, I don't think it makes it in.
And Haruspex is certainly playable without a Morph subtheme, but it does add some good value if there's any bluff factor at all to his ability. And I suppose if you have no black mana, you can still make your 3-drop, so there's always at least some minute value to the morph ability.
But at 540, I'd be playing at least 1 morph per color anyways (on merit alone) so the Haruspex would be getting incidental value from them anyways, even without a true "subtheme".
/\ /\ /\ Bond-Kin ended up being card #21 simply because we've seen so many playable white 2-drops that I can't really estimate if I'd play it in a huge cube or not at this point.
The rest of those cards don't really interest me at all.
After playing at the prerelease Bond-Kin ended up being much worse than the other outlast guys. 2 mana for the outlast on a 2 power bod was a tempo killer. Not something that I would add to cube until I need about 15 2 drops. The 2/3 that outlasts for 1 and gets flying was much better but not something I would expect outside of peasant.
I just started writing an argument against War-Name Aspirant in favor of Borderland Marauder and ended up convincing myself that War-Name is better...lol. I thought about it's utility against the 0/4 walls (also I run wall of denial) and against mana elves or token strategies and now I'm thinking that even if you don't always get the raid trigger on average it is going to be just a little better.
The promotion of Aspirant here has caused me to try both, and the chainwalker. So far so good. My red decks love having 5 power on the board after turn two and then just clear the road. I figure my other two drops weren't so good so I am giving torch fiend and friends a rest to see if consistency wins. It is funny, I thought I was all set in 2 drops for white, but with the muscle red is getting I feel that white could get some love.
Ya, the Bond-Kin didn't seem great in its respective limited format. But hitting the threshold where you need 15+ 2-drops isn't that hard for larger cubes, so I could see him getting a trial run in bigger lists.
Seems like this set has a lot of debatable cards, because there were a lot of very powerful but narrow cards.
Can tell you take into consideration narrowness a lot when rating these cards, as well how they would play in your cube.
Totally respect that, and under that criteria , as always, think your ratings are great.
I've been getting a lot of 8 mans these days in my cube, and am feeling a lot more comfortable adding archetype specific cards than I used to when we were playing 4-6 man. It has changed my evaluation of certain cards a lot.
Fwiw, after playing with it a few times, I believe sultai charm is a high pick in BUg or BGu re-animator strategies. Id estimate that deck comes up about 3/4 drafts for us.
It also is a playable in GUx or GBx midrange that can splash blue.
But you are right, good fixing is important for it to work and would never include it in a cube that is being played 4 man a lot.
Great review!
PS Dig through time has been awesome in my testing as well
And ya, Sultai Charm seemed to be a good fit for pretty much every BUG deck that the cube produces. It's good as a role-player for the archetypes and for shoring up weaknesses with its splash-color effect.
When you put Icefeather Aven in that context, I see your point. What would recommend as Simic card number six for a group that's been unimpressed with Shardless Agent?
Simic Sky Swallower would be my current #6. I'd rather run both it and the new Sagu Mauler (despite the redundancies) than run a mid-tier Simic card you don't like.
This is my 11th 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. I got a lot of positive feedback on the format from the last several articles, so I’m going to keep the “what I like” and “what I don’t like” sections.
KTK is a solid set for most cubes. It has some really high-quality top-end cards, several more that show a lot of promise, and good lands and tri-color cards for larger cubes that run a full suite of shard/wedge cards.
Hope you enjoy!
Hordeling Outburst
A red token support card.
What I Like: Three threats for three mana isn't a bad deal. It creates 6 Purphoros, God of the Forge damage, and works nicely with anthem effects and Battle Cry triggers of all kinds. It exchanges flying on Spectral Procession for a cost more likely to be hit on T3.
What I Don't Like: The vanilla nature of the tokens (no Flying, no Haste) will pigeonhole this card to being played exclusively in token decks. The fact that the creatures don't have any additional abilities slides this in behind Tempt With Vengeance, IMO, despite being 1 mana cheaper.
Verdict: Large cubes with either a Goblin tribal theme or a really heavy red token theme might be happy testing this out.
Mardu Skullhunter
An aggressive Ravenous Rats.
What I Like: With the Raid trigger live, this guy is a 2-power beater for 2 mana that will net you a card in its resolution. Your opponent gets to choose, but it's still good value to get the body and the card advantage.
What I Don't Like: A lot of my aggressive black decks like to play disruption spells (Duress, etc) as their form of T1 pressure. That may prevent the raid trigger from being "live" on T2 as often as I'd like. The longer I wait into the game, the worse the comparison to Liliana's Specter becomes, since her trigger is always live, and she also has evasion. On turns 2 and 3, I think this card has the potential to be better, but as the game extends, it loses ground in that head-to-head comparison. Which can be an issue for black, because some of the pressure it applies is from non-creature threats.
Verdict: There are several black 2-drops on the bench that I like more than this guy, so I can't see him making the cut at anything smaller than a 630-720 card cube unless there's a massive discard subtheme.
Monastery Swiftspear
Step aside ...Raging Goblin?
What I Like: Red is always looking for potential aggressive 1-drops. This one is a very solid option for decks that are maybe a bit lighter on creatures and heavier on support spells. It has haste, so it can start getting in early, and makes it a more reasonable late-game topdeck than a lot of the other options in this slot.
What I Don't Like: Our red aggressive decks are typically loaded to the gills with creatures; much more of a swarm aggro strategy than a tempo-type aggro deck. It also can't take full advantage of spells that need (or want) to be played as instants for full value. I don't know how often this creature will spend its time as a 2-power attacker in a deck that's not skewed to take advantage of that ability specifically.
Verdict: In large cubes (630-720) the competition in the red 1cc creature suite is more shallow than most cube managers need it to be. Despite being a less than optimal 2-power 1-drop variant, I think it'll be good enough for those lists. It might make it into smaller lists than that if the Kiln Fiend deck is a thing for you.
Murderous Cut
A splashable Murder variant.
What I Like: Instant speed splashable removal without a qualifying target contingency. This can just kill anything. It has a high ceiling in the mid-late game as a removal spell that will be able to axe anything for B or 1B.
What I Don't Like: The inability to hit early game targets can be a big drawback for certain decks. Reactive spells like removal value consistency and reliability above most other factors. And while the effect will be consistent and reliable because the target isn't restricted in any way, the inability to "lock down" a regular casting cost will hurt it quite a bit compared to all the Doom Blade variants that are available now.
Verdict: I think the spell warrants some testing in cubes that are already running the best of the Terror clones and still want some more targeted removal. That would likely make it a 720+ card, but I don't want to say that this would be unplayable at 630 without at least testing it out first.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Another 4cc WB planeswalker.
What I Like: A regular global pump variant that gifts lifelink can be insane in certain board states. It can break board stalls, dig you out of an otherwise losing situation and pull yourself out of burn range without sacrificing pressure. It can also create evasive tokens, even though the ability comes at a high loyalty price.
What I Don't Like: The minus ability is a lot of loyalty to lose for a 2/2 flier at that mana cost. It has a hard time protecting itself with the cost being a -2 instead of a -1. The plus ability can be strong, but it can also whiff depending on the board. The biggest strike against him isn't the Sorin himself, but the competition he's stacked up against. When you evaluate what all the abilities do, this would've been the ideal 4cc mono-black planeswalker we've been waiting for. All of the abilities could've been justified in mono-black, and I don't think it would've been "too good" at 2BB. Oh well.
Verdict: I can't really decide if this is my 6th or 7th favorite Orzhov guild card, so it would fall in the 630-720 range for me.
The Mystic Monastery cycle.
Wedge tri-lands!
What I Like: Once a cube elects to support a full suite of tri-color cards, I think it's important to support the shards and wedges with matching fixing lands. They can function as a Coastal Tower for three different color combinations, and help to enable splashes and 4/5-color decks (if you want that). Once the structure of the cube becomes such that 2-colors with a splash or solid shard/wedge decks become a regularity, I'd add this cycle (and the Seaside Citadel cycle) to the cube for the additional fixing and "perfectly matching" lands.
What I Don't Like: Really only two things. While playable as a fixer for 3 different color combinations, it's not a great land unless all three colors of fixing are valuable. Additionally, it adds a lot of fixing to the cube that are ideal lands for 4 and 5-color control decks, which a lot of groups (mine included) are adverse against being an automatically forceable decktype.
Verdict: Once a full suite of 10 3-color cards becomes a thing in the cube, I'd very likely add these 10 fixers in to help aid them in their success. For me personally, that would be at the 540-630 size.
Sultai Charm
My favorite Sultai support card.
What I Like: I think this Charm happens to fit the wedge perfectly. When we play BUG, we're almost always playing a decktype that's interested in using its graveyard as a resource in one way or another (often enough, a reanimator deck of some kind). My Dimir decks often splash green for Naturalize effects. My Simic decks often splash black for removal. My Golgari decks often splash blue for additional looting effects. So it's really a perfect fit.
What I Don't Like: Charms have historically proven themselves to be really narrow. It's not a card that will make me want to dip into a 3rd color, but something that'll likely be auto-played if I'm already playing Sultai colors.
Verdict: Despite being a natural perfect fit for the decktype, it honestly makes the cut more out of lack of competition. It's a good card, but I don't think it would make the cut on its own merits if it weren't for a desire to complete the Shard/Wedge cycle for my 540-630 sized cube that's looking to run a full suite.
Siege Rhino
My favorite Junk card.
What I Like: This looks to be a powerful creature that fits most every strategy this color combination will be playing. It has a great combination of offensive and defensive abilities that make it a formidable creature. Direct damage and trample help force damage through. Lifegain and 5 toughness protect you and protect the creature. It has good interactions within the color; white can blink it for value, black can reanimate it for value, and green can regrowth it for value. It's in a great color combination to abuse the abilities.
What I Don't Like: Without the ability to abuse the ETB trigger, I don't think this card will really force me to change from a Orzhov deck to a Junk build. It's a great value creature, but I don't think it does enough to justify its 3-color cost unless you can take advantage of the multi-trigger potential some builds will have for it.
Verdict: A good creature, and probably the highest estimated value from any of the cards in this color combination. If you're doing a Shard/Wedge cycle, this will likely be the rep from his respective section. 540-630 for me.
Butcher of the Horde
What a creature!
What I Like: This looks like the kind of 3-color card I'd splash for. 5-power and flying for 4 mana with a free sac outlet built-in and three relevant triggers that can help in every potential game state. Haste for the beatdown, lifelink to dig yourself out of burn range and vigilance to win races. Decks with recursive creatures and tokens (a lot of RWB decks can feature these kinds of cards) will be able to take advantage of multiple abilities in the game (and maybe even multiples in a single round!) which will make this guy just a monstrous board presence.
What I Don't Like: The only real strike against this card is the mana cost. It will be limited in the number of decks that can play it, but I'd venture a guess and say that if a deck can cast this creature, it'll want to play it.
Verdict: Hands-down the best Mardu representative, and a good justification for supporting a tri-color section in 540-630 sized cubes.
Grim Haruspex
An excellent utility Morph for black.
What I Like: This guy does quite a few different things for you. In a deck designed to sac and recur threats, he can net you quite a bit of card advantage. He can be a surprise face-up flip against your opponent's mass removal spells or attacking/blocking decisions, or he can be played as a 3cc beater as some wrath insurance in a beatdown deck.
What I Don't Like: I really wish that it could either replace itself or interact with tokens. The fact that it can't do either of those things is the only factor that pushes him down to slightly larger cube lists.
Verdict: A great representative for Morph in black, and a good creature at face-value in multiple decks. I'd test him at 540 and play him at 630 for sure. Probably even in smaller cubes if you have even the slightest Morph subtheme supported.
Howl of the Horde
Who likes to triple-up on their cube spells?
What I Like: The ceiling value on this card is as high as most anything out there. Pretty much any 1-3cc spell in the cube that can reasonably be triplicated by this spell becomes a monstrous play. And certain spells, like Arc Trail and friends become game-ending spells when you can push through 9 dividable damage. Not to mention the really broken instants and sorceries that float around...
What I Don't Like: It has to go into a very specific deck. Control decks don't typically have the creature count to keep the Raid trigger live. Aggro decks don't usually have the mana available to take advantage of a lot of spells you want to triple-up on. So it's forced to be played in midrange decks that have enough creatures to keep Raid live and enough other 1-3cc instants and sorceries that fit with HotH to be copied. Which usually means limiting the number of artifacts, enchantments and planeswalkers in your deck (which midrange decks really don't want to do most of the time). In the right window, it can be an insane spell ...but you need the right deck composition AND the right scenario to crop up in order to pull it off. Because every time it's played as a 3cc sorcery Fork that can't copy your opponent's spells, it's a pretty feel-bad moment.
Verdict: The BCS on this card is high enough to warrant inclusion if you're a fan of high-risk high-reward kinds of cards. But it's a narrow spell that relies on a very specific casting window to be good. After testing this in a small cube, my estimate on the card is somewhere in the 540-630 range. Maybe even further down than that.
Sagu Mauler
A more aggressive Simic Sky Swallower variant.
What I Like: In comparison to SSS, which is the most apt comparison that can be drawn, this creature has several advantages. First and foremost, it's cheaper to get down to the board. At 6-mana, it does a better job in comparison to its competition than the Swallower does. Green doesn't have a ton of good 6-drops, which makes this guy a good creature to splash for. Additionally, the upgrade from Shroud to Hexproof allows you to equip this guy and bounce him to protect him from Wraths and Edicts. Lastly, the Morph option is really nice on this guy, because he can start attacking for 6 with trample as early as turn 5. So it can be attacking for its 24th point of damage on the same turn that the Swallower is attacking for the first time! I think that easily outweighs the loss of flying for the extra mana.
What I Don't Like: The only real strike against this card is the competition in the guild section. I think Simic has too many powerful spells for this guy to squeeze his way into smaller lists.
Verdict: It think this card stands alone as the 5th best Simic card, so I'd play him in a 540 cube for sure.
Utter End
An instant speed exiling Vindicate variant.
What I Like: Instant-speed (near) universal removal is almost non-existent. Compared to Vindicate, it costs 1 more mana and can't hit lands. But it exiles the target and can be cast at instant speed. There are decks (and targets) where this could arguably be better than it's 3cc brother, since the Instant Speed can be so clutch for certain decks, and it's better at dealing with things like Wurmcoil Engine and targets that can be reanimated.
What I Don't Like: 4 mana is a lot for 1-for-1 removal. The card will be playable in a lot of decks, but it won't ever feel like you're doing anything unfair with it.
Verdict: It looks to be either the 4th or 5th best card for Orzhov, so it would fall in the 450-540 range for me.
Wingmate Roc
Another powerful 5cc token-creature in white.
What I Like: When the raid trigger works, this creature is really savage. 6 power worth of evasive threats, all of which exist outside of burn range thanks to the 4 toughness. And some incidental lifegain to boot. It compares favorably to a lot of the 5cc options in white just because the ceiling on the spell is really high. It can be a game-ending creature in a lot of situations.
What I Don't Like: It resolves in an awkward spot in the curve; right after the opponent has had their key turn to sweep your threats off the board. The card has a really high BCS when the Raid trigger goes off, but has a really rough WCS when it's played without getting the extra token.
Verdict: I think he's outclassed by the typical usual suspects in really small cubes. But I also think it compares favorably with most of the "next tier" 5-drops that see play in medium-sized cubes. I could easily see this card replacing one of those guys and being slotted in for some extended playtime in a 450-540 sized cube.
Rattleclaw Mystic
A flexible ramp creature.
What I Like: This creature can do a lot of things. It can bash for 2 when you're the beatdown or have a piece of equipment to strap to it. It can bridge the game between the 2 and 4 spot in the curve, giving you early 4-drops (and the fixing to play them too). OR it can be played face-down on T3 and flipped up on T4 alongside your next land drop to give you 6 mana on T4, casting Titans and other monstrosities (and giving you double-colors in all three options too). You can go from no available red sources and no visible ramp cards to a T4 Inferno Titan to surprise your opponent with. Kinda nifty for a ramp creature to have that kind of flexibility and that surprise factor.
What I Don't Like: In testing, the card's value seems to be hinged on how valuable the fixing is to your deck. It plays kinda like a hybrid and creature, and it's really good in the decks where all three colors of mana it produces are valuable. I'd have a much harder time fitting it in as a green card in really small cubes, but in medium-sized cubes or cubes playing a tri-color section, I think it's a great representative for that Wedge.
Verdict: Some 450 cubes will like to play this card in their green sections, but for me, it would be a 540-ish card, and go into its respective tri-color section.
War-Name Aspirant
Another good 1R creature.
What I Like: This seems to be a nice combination between Stormblood Berserker and Gore-House Chainwalker. It has a worse BCS but better ACS in comparison to the Berserker, and a better BCS but worse ACS in comparison to the Chainwalker. Raid is an easier trigger than Bloodthirst most of the time, so getting this creature to being a 3-power creature for 1R with evasion should be pretty consistent. Additionally, even when it misses the trigger, it's WCS is still better than a Goblin Piker, which means it will always be at least a reasonable worker bee for your red aggro decks.
What I Don't Like: Despite the trigger being more consistent than the Berserker's, the card's ceiling isn't as high. It can still be blocked and killed by bears. However, all of the other 3-power 2-drops have that same contingency, so that's not necessarily a strike against the Aspirant.
Verdict: My experience with the evasion on Hero of Oxid Ridge makes me think that the evasion on this creature will be pretty relevant. I intend to do some extended testing at 360, but I think it's good enough for 450 cubes for sure.
Clever Impersonator
A really cool Clone effect.
What I Like: The flexibility on this card is off the charts. My experience with casting Phyrexian Metamorph in blue decks for 4 mana has been really positive. That experience aided in the evaluation of this creature. Metamorph is better because it can be played at 3 mana and in non-clue decks, but the Impersonator has the ability to copy enchantments and planeswalkers in addition to artifacts and creatures, and also can't be blown up by artifact removal. There's a lot of value in being able to copy a wide range of targets; you never know when being able to Oblivion Ring your opponent's Oblivion Ring will be the difference between winning and losing a game, because we've never been able to copy effects like that before. In addition to getting your own copy of one of their Planeswalkers, which is of course going to be very powerful.
What I Don't Like: There's really nothing wrong with the card at all, but in testing so far, my only complaint is that at the 4-mana price point, it often feels like a fair card. It can occasionally do some amazing and unique things, but most of the time, it's simply going to be a solid, flexible workhorse that is accomplishing more or less fair plays. It would've been printable at 3U if they really wanted to push it, and it would've been broken at 1UU. This cost is fair for the effect though, and the unique nature of the card warrants extended testing.
Verdict: I'll be playing this card at 360 for a while, and I expect it to stick around. However, I could see it dropping to 450+ sized cubes in the long run because the effect is "fair" a lot of the time, and bigger cubes will have more insane targets for it to copy than smaller ones do.
Dig Through Time
A great end-of-curve draw spell.
What I Like: This card has an incredibly powerful effect. The only time we've seen anything like it was on Ancestral Memories, which had a 2UUU price point and had it at sorcery speed. The most important factors of this card are the cost and the instant speed, so that makes the comparison pretty rough. In the typical scenario, this should cost about 4 mana towards the end of the curve, 5 at the most. We haven't seen a situation arise with this spell (or with Tombstalker, for that matter, in its years of cube life) where it isn't playable on T5 for 5 mana. Even in those situations, this is the best 5cc draw spell available. The instant speed means everything, and in comparison to something like Jace's Ingenuity, the ability to dig for the best two of the top seven is miles ahead of drawing three. The most apt comparison is probably Fact or Fiction despite some obvious differences. FoF can be played earlier in the game off the back of ramp, and can be played with only a single blue source. Those things put FoF ahead of Dig in overall card quality. However, don't let that dissuade you from playing Dig. Dig is a better end-of-curve spell, and in any situation where I could cast either spell, the effect on Dig is significantly more powerful. It goes 7 cards deep, it doesn't reveal any of your draws, and you always get your best two cards (instead of your best card and maybe 1 other spell). At the end of my curve, there's no other blue draw spell I'd rather play or topdeck than Dig Through Time.
What I Don't Like: Not much, really ...the card's been fantastic in testing. But the inability to cast it early and the need for double-blue can be a drawback. I like playing FoF early off a mana rock or mana dork and orchestrating my mid-game with it. Dig only goes in at the end of the curve to set up your late game. But if you lose a game after resolving a Dig, you were probably going to lose that game anyways. It secures your very best draws, and hides the chaff topdecks that could've cost you the game drawing.
Verdict: I'll be playing this card at 360. And probably for a very long time. However, I could see some playgroups being uncomfortable with an additional late-game draw spell if they're in love with their other options, and maybe for those managers it wouldn't find a home until the 450+ size.
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
A really powerful 5cc red planeswalker.
What I Like: A 4/4 flying indestructible haste for 5 mana is a good threat. Especially when it's immune to sorcery-speed creature removal too. It can come down at the end of the curve and carve a pretty easy path to victory for you. In addition to being able to kill creatures too! The minus ability can be really strong when your opponent has a lone threat on the table, which will allow Sarkhan to further protect itself as a win condition. And even if your opponent has an answer for his creature form like an Icy Manipulator or a Maze of Ith, you can still run up his loyalty for a quick ultimate, which gives you a double-Grafted Skullcap emblem that will help close out the game in short order. He's also a spectacular win condition for Wildfire decks if that's in your arsenal.
What I Don't Like: Occasionally the 5 mana can be a deal breaker for low-curve aggro decks. But most aggro decks are comfortable running 1 5cc card to help them close out games that cheaper options can't do, and this Sarkhan is a good as any in that role.
Verdict: I think this is a staple 360 card, and the best 5cc noncreature spell in red by a good margin.
Bloodsoaked Champion
The best black 1-drop.
What I Like: A 2-power 1-drop in black without a lifeloss drawback that can recur itself with any Raid trigger. Gravecrawler is better when you have a zombie on the board, but in all other situations, this guy's going to be much better/more consistent for you. Great for aggro decks, Pox/Stax decks and anything else that might have a recursion theme.
What I Don't Like: Nothing. I mean, I guess this could've been a zombie for double-trouble with Gravecrawler, but that's not a legitimate criticism at all.
Verdict: It's the best black 1-drop for the cube, so if you play 1cc creatures, this card will be in at every size, probably forever.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
Haven't played with Rattleclaw yet but I can see him being good enough at 360. I would test him in place of Wall of Roots. The upside of Rattleclaw seems to outweigh the things wall of roots can do.
Thanks for the article!
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
The order of your list is on par with how I feel but overall it feels like a big disappointment for those not eager to add wedges. There wasn't the power or innovation I was hoping to see from morph or tri-color. Oh well I guess I am spoiled by the sets from the last couple of years.
Many of the mythics are solid(sorin, sarkan, wingmate roc, the impersonator) but the all feel really fair to me. Nothing wrong with that and they will do good work in cubes but I see them as replaceable.
The champion is great and I can only assume it is the high water mark for black one drops, but is certainly reclamation sage level of exciting for most. Dig through time is the one card that stands out to me. If it works like I hope it is a truly rare thing for wizards to print.
Probably not. The blue cost is more prohibitive, and Dig Through Time is better in the late game (less mana). If we made this card an instant, they'd be about the same in the mid-game (dig might still have a small advantage), and early game they'd be equal.
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The card that stands out as missing from this list for me is Icefeather Aven. We're going to slot this into the Shardless Agent spot. Agent has been decent to good, but it also misses the cut in a good number of Simic decks just on it's whiff potential. If you're running four 2cc counters in your tempo deck, it's just not worth the risk. Aven, on the other hand, is more of a catch-all type of card. It fits nicely into pretty much any Simic deck despite the rest of the contents. I'd rank this at number six or seven for Simic right now.
We heavily considered Wingmate Roc, but ultimately didn't like it more than current 5cc options (Archangel of Thune, Baneslayer Angel, Cloudgoat Ranger, Reveillark, Elspeth Tirel, and Gideon Jura). It might be on par or slightly better than Elspeth Tirel, but I didn't see a need to add in another 5cc white creature.
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Any set with definitely 3, and potentially up to 5 360 playables, and that has a solid card like Murderous Cut only 17th in wtwlf's preview article is a good set for Cube (note that I don't disagree with that ranking).
I think Utter End and Howl of the Horde are a bit too high and Grim Haruspex a bit too low, but the one glaring problem with the list is that it's missing Savage Knucleblade. It's much more of a reason to be 3-color than Sultai Charm and Siege Rhino. In fact, provided you have the mana to cast it, I can't think of a better 3-drop to drop on T3, or on T8 for that matter, and that's across all Magic. I think the existence of Maelstrom Wanderer and the option of running Rattleclaw Mystic as a Temur card is unfairly being held against the Knuckleblade. I'd put it in the top-10 for Khans for sure.
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I like Wall of Roots more. It can stave off early pressure, while providing mana on both turns if relevant. The only time I would prefer to have Mystic is when I'm playing RUG.
Not now that Dig Through Time is available, because it's almost strictly better than that proposed card outside of corner-case situations. But even that theoretical card would be the best 5cc blue draw spell available, and Dig is basically that spell--or better.
I like that the effects are powerful but fair and balanced. Usually it seems like we get a couple of mistakes and too many cards that aren't good enough. These mythics seem balanced.
I think that the set was actually really good, considering it was focussed on wedges. I was surprised to get as many playable cards as we did for a smaller cube considering we're not interested in any of the wedge cards.
Icefeather Aven seems really bad for regular cubes. I'm not willing to play an Echo Tracer in gold form just because it has flying. And it can't even bounce itself if they target it in Morph form with removal!
I think the Mauler will be a hard-hitter.
The Knuckleblade is a good card. But the problem is the fit. I'm not interested in cubing it, because I only think it's the 2nd or 3rd best card in its wedge. Even if it's on par with or better than other wedge options, that doesn't really matter in terms of fitting into the cube. This isn't a top 20 Khans article for all of Magic, this is a cube specific preview. And if it won't make the cut in cubes (either because Mystic is more flexible or Wanderer is more fun/bomby) ...there's no reason to include it in the article.
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But I should probably quit whining about the card so much over multiple threads, hehe.
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No real disagreement with that list from me. Personally, I would have switched Grim Haruspex and Howl of the Horde, so that the creature was still in the top 10, but that is a minor nitpick. And while Rattleclaw Mystic and War-Name Aspirant are good cards, I am a bit surprised by how high you rank them. Makes me reconsider my choice to not include the Mystic.
In Sultai Charm's entry, you wrote: "My Golgari decks often splash green for additional looting effects." I suppose you wanted to write "blue" instead of "green" there.
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Surrak Dragonclaw is worth mentioning as a strong contender for the RUG spot if your cube is large enough to consider Rattleclaw Mystic a monogreen card.
Treasure Cruise may not be a strong as Dig Through Time, but it still offers the possibility of being an Ancestral Recall. Even casting it for 2U is a ton of value.
Disowned Ancestor is another very playable Outlast guy in larger cubes. If you're supporting black control, he does a great job of gumming up the ground early, surviving a lot of your Drown in Sorrow/Toxic Deluge effects, and growing into a sizeable threat late. Playing Mardu aggro at the PR, I hated seeing this guy turn one. I hated even more seeing him turn one when I didn't have early plays, because when this guy is a 2/6 on turn 3, there's not a ton I could do about it.
Necropolis Fiend plays a good Tombstalker impression for any larger cube that loves Tombstalker and wants another. The added removal effect lets him play Grim Lavamancer too which can be neat.
Valley Dasher makes a good stand-in for Ash Zealot if you don't want to run double-colored. 2/2 haste for 2 is strong for aggro.
Those are just some of my thoughts. I'm not sure all of these would make a top 20 list, they're just the things that are in consideration for larger cubes that you didn't mention here.
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The rest of those cards don't really interest me at all.
I never thought of cubing that card. It doesn't look that good to me. I'd much rather have a lower P/T bonus and be able to protect my threat at the same time with something like Vines of Vastwood or even the 3G Split Second one. I can't see this card being good in the cube.
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After playtesting Howl, I can't see that card being a 360 card, even if we get more targets. Targets weren't the problem, it was the narrowness.
And I agree on the Aspirant; I think it's going to be a pretty solid 2-drop.
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And Haruspex is certainly playable without a Morph subtheme, but it does add some good value if there's any bluff factor at all to his ability. And I suppose if you have no black mana, you can still make your 3-drop, so there's always at least some minute value to the morph ability.
But at 540, I'd be playing at least 1 morph per color anyways (on merit alone) so the Haruspex would be getting incidental value from them anyways, even without a true "subtheme".
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After playing at the prerelease Bond-Kin ended up being much worse than the other outlast guys. 2 mana for the outlast on a 2 power bod was a tempo killer. Not something that I would add to cube until I need about 15 2 drops. The 2/3 that outlasts for 1 and gets flying was much better but not something I would expect outside of peasant.
The promotion of Aspirant here has caused me to try both, and the chainwalker. So far so good. My red decks love having 5 power on the board after turn two and then just clear the road. I figure my other two drops weren't so good so I am giving torch fiend and friends a rest to see if consistency wins. It is funny, I thought I was all set in 2 drops for white, but with the muscle red is getting I feel that white could get some love.
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Can tell you take into consideration narrowness a lot when rating these cards, as well how they would play in your cube.
Totally respect that, and under that criteria , as always, think your ratings are great.
I've been getting a lot of 8 mans these days in my cube, and am feeling a lot more comfortable adding archetype specific cards than I used to when we were playing 4-6 man. It has changed my evaluation of certain cards a lot.
Fwiw, after playing with it a few times, I believe sultai charm is a high pick in BUg or BGu re-animator strategies. Id estimate that deck comes up about 3/4 drafts for us.
It also is a playable in GUx or GBx midrange that can splash blue.
But you are right, good fixing is important for it to work and would never include it in a cube that is being played 4 man a lot.
Great review!
PS Dig through time has been awesome in my testing as well
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And ya, Sultai Charm seemed to be a good fit for pretty much every BUG deck that the cube produces. It's good as a role-player for the archetypes and for shoring up weaknesses with its splash-color effect.
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