Am I just overstating the effect of the 2nd problem?
I think you're overstating the effect of both problems. There are a ton of good blue tempo cards (creatures and spells both) under 4cc that only have a single blue in their cost. The cheaper cards that are double-blue (the only one I can think of that I really want for my X/U tempo decks is Clique) can easily be excluded most of the time.
And as for the lack of 1/2-drops, it's not really an issue for tempo decks. As I said a few posts up:
Blue doesn't need Isamarus to be good in aggro. Blue is already great in aggro, with all the cards we're already playing. Add in the splashable counters, bounce and the good blue creatures alongside any other color's aggro package and you'll have yourself a beastly tempo deck...
I think raptor is great, but pointless until we hit critical mass of those kinds of cards in blue. Delver is a completely different animal, better in creature-light decks.
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 like Cursecatcher and Judge's Familiar (if you are down to push that into mono-blue....by all means). Sure, they are not pure aggro savannah lions, but they are definitely troublesome for the opponent + help you play the blue-aggro greater strategy. Attack while denying. I think people need to consider these pesky guys in the discussion even if they don't make it past "support" for purists. Judge is the best because it's suntail hawk that sacs itself for a free force spike. That's pretty strong for a 1 drop. From there, you can counter stuff turn 2/3 and bounce things 3/4.
Delver doesn't cut it in unpowered. Maybe powered there's more spells and "stuff' to support him, but he's totally underwhelming. You keep him in praying he dominates like legacy but the draft deck needs a very high level of manipulation to manufacture anything beyond 1/1. I think 3 drops are rather strong for blue. You get the big flyers like S.E, wondergirl V. Clique, and top things off with a very strong protector in Kira. Man-o-War and Aether Adept are also strong picks. They may not be nekrataal in terms of 2-for-1-ing opponents, but the tempo shouldn't be understated.
Honorable mention to the discussion is waterfront bouncer. He can be an x-factor when put into the right deck. Denying them the attacker/blocker is pretty badass.
Question: What do people think of the 2 playable ninjitsu guys: Shinobi and Deep Hours? Worthy of inclusion or gimmicky?
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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.
Question: What do people think of the 2 playable ninjitsu guys: Shinobi and Deep Hours? Worthy of inclusion or gimmicky?
I think those guys are great, but you need to fully support them. You can't just chuck them into your list without overhauling blue to be more creature-centered.
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 currently have ninja of the deep hours and student of sakashima in my cube.
In the lower part of my curve I have invisible stalker and things like looter il kor to help them out. Everyone seems to like them a lot. They perform the best I've seen in UW tempo with the solitaries and all of white and blues great ETB creatures.
I have no urge to cut them. I never really gave shinobi much of a shot though. Maybe I'll throw him in a draft if I can figure out a spot.
Growing up I played a lot of tempo aggro decks like skies and UG madness or fish. So I'm always looking to add more of that into blue when I can.
I think you're overstating the effect of both problems. There are a ton of good blue tempo cards (creatures and spells both) under 4cc that only have a single blue in their cost. The cheaper cards that are double-blue (the only one I can think of that I really want for my X/U tempo decks is Clique) can easily be excluded most of the time.
And as for the lack of 1/2-drops, it's not really an issue for tempo decks. As I said a few posts up:
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!
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Delver doesn't cut it in unpowered. Maybe powered there's more spells and "stuff' to support him, but he's totally underwhelming. You keep him in praying he dominates like legacy but the draft deck needs a very high level of manipulation to manufacture anything beyond 1/1. I think 3 drops are rather strong for blue. You get the big flyers like S.E, wondergirl V. Clique, and top things off with a very strong protector in Kira. Man-o-War and Aether Adept are also strong picks. They may not be nekrataal in terms of 2-for-1-ing opponents, but the tempo shouldn't be understated.
Honorable mention to the discussion is waterfront bouncer. He can be an x-factor when put into the right deck. Denying them the attacker/blocker is pretty badass.
Question: What do people think of the 2 playable ninjitsu guys: Shinobi and Deep Hours? Worthy of inclusion or gimmicky?
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
I think those guys are great, but you need to fully support them. You can't just chuck them into your list without overhauling blue to be more creature-centered.
In the lower part of my curve I have invisible stalker and things like looter il kor to help them out. Everyone seems to like them a lot. They perform the best I've seen in UW tempo with the solitaries and all of white and blues great ETB creatures.
I have no urge to cut them. I never really gave shinobi much of a shot though. Maybe I'll throw him in a draft if I can figure out a spot.
Growing up I played a lot of tempo aggro decks like skies and UG madness or fish. So I'm always looking to add more of that into blue when I can.
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360 Uncommons only Cube!
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
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!