An often misunderstood powerhouse Upheaval is among the best blue cards in cube. Casting it on curve isn't the most exciting play so we'll be discussing some ways to break this card. The first is to float mana, cast Upheaval, play a land, then play some spells. You are now ahead on board since you have permanents in play and your opponent has nothing. Since Upheaval is already a bit costly at 6 mana the easiest way to accomplish this is with mana rocks and green ramp dorks. These have the added benefit of being able to be cast post Upheaval to put you significantly ahead on mana. Keep in mind that it's best not to play a land for the turn before you cast Upheaval so that you can play a land after you cast it.
Upheaval can also be used defensively if things have simply not been going your way. This isn't the best aspect of the card but it can certainly be handy to be able to bounce everyone's boards and start over. Here's a post by Power Conduit elaborating why even casting Upheaval without floating mana can be a strong play:
Quote from Power Conduit »
Wanted to repost something I said earlier, but this time emphasize the information advantage you get from being the person playing the card. This is a valuable resource which allows you to virtually break the symmetry of Upheaval open, even if you cannot do so on the perceived board state.
"I barely run any mana rocks and have virtually no way to truly abuse Upheaval in my cube and I play almost exclusively Winston. Nevertheless, it just wins so many games when you're ahead and so many games when you're behind. If you can affect the board so drastically while your opponent is unable to plan for it, the information advantage that you have is monumental. Your opponent makes sacrifices to get himself into an advantageous state, spending tutors, life, whatever, and you wipe out all that effort at your whim. That's why Upheaval can win you games although you are behind in terms of tangible development, and even if you can't float much or any mana before resolution -- it's like a Counterspell for the whole game."
Synergies
Floating mana, casting Upheaval then playing spells is Upheaval's bread and butter but that's not the only way to break the symmetry of the card. Following is a list of other powerful interactions:
Greater Gargadon - Gargadon can sac permanents down to 1 counter in response to Upheaval, then drop your land, sac it and bash for 9 damage. Now you have a 9/7 in play vs. nothing. Obviously other cards with Suspend also work well with Upheaval, especially Aeon Chronicler.
Mana Vault - This gets special mention because of how powerful a mana rock this is when paired with Upheaval. It gives you 3 extra mana to ramp into Upheaval and you can replay it very cheap.
Fastbond - A 1 mana spell that lets you play as many lands as you want per turn is pretty good when paired with Upheaval. Exploration is good for similar reasons.
Reanimate/Animate Dead - Cheap reanimation is great because it lets you get a fatty into play for cheap. You can probably even discard the fatty because Upheaval puts so many cards into your hand.
Psychatog - This is about as good of a 3 mana creature as you can get after casting Upheaval. Likely he will simply be able to 1 shot your opponent the next turn. Tarmogoyf is also usually a huge beatstick that you can drop for cheap.
Black Vise - Play Upheaval then play Black Vise. Your opponent now has a lot of cards in hand and no mana to play any of them so they're probably dead.
Shelldock Isle - This is fantastic for 2 reasons. The first is that if you get Upheaval under Shelldock Isle it lets you cast if for essentially 2 mana leaving the rest of your mana free to be floated. Secondly you can play this as your land for the turn after you cast Upheaval and hopefully get a beater under it which you can play the next turn.
Channel - Few cards can generate the amount of mana that Channel can if you've got a lot of extra life. This can help you to both cast Upheaval and a threat post Upheaval.
Game play videos
DerBK posted up this draft video from ChannelFireball. Third video from the top.
Wanted to repost something I said earlier, but this time emphasize the information advantage you get from being the person playing the card. This is a valuable resource which allows you to virtually break the symmetry of Upheaval open, even if you cannot do so on the perceived board state.
'I barely run any mana rocks and have virtually no way to truly abuse Upheaval in my cube and I play almost exclusively Winston. Nevertheless, it just wins so many games when you're ahead and so many games when you're behind. If you can affect the board so drastically while your opponent is unable to plan for it, the information advantage that you have is monumental. Your opponent makes sacrifices to get himself into an advantageous state, spending tutors, life, whatever, and you wipe out all that effort at your whim. That's why Upheaval can win you games although you are behind in terms of tangible development, and even if you can't float much or any mana before resolution -- it's like a Counterspell for the whole game."
Well I gave you plenty of time to start this thread yourself.:p
I'm more of a firefighter than a fire safety class
To be honest, I thought the point of these were to bring up doubts or ask questions not to extoll virtues. If I'm encouraged to soapbox on cards I like? Whooo boy I hope I don't have much free time...
That's their main purpose but I think for cards like Upheaval and Squee, Goblin Nabob it's better to have a forum regular control the first post and update it with relevant information.
EDIT: @Power Conduit: Can you elaborate a little more? Do you mean similar to how Balance is in that you have a huge advantage being the person casting it? I can add in something about how it wipes out everything your opponent has done up to that point which I think is what you mean and is something that should probably be on there.
Sort of. It's a bit like Balance and Wrath in that all these cards equalize the board, but it's different from Balance and Wrath in that it doesn't inherently allow for card advantage (unless they' played something like Lingering Souls). Lets say you cast it for 6 without floating any mana. Everything gets bounced back to the hand - card parity, right?
Well not exactly, since in order for your opponent to get into an advantageous position in the first place, they probably had to expend a number of resources to get there. They may have had to 2-for-1 themselves in order to burn out your blocker. Perhaps they used their copy of demonic tutor to search up their Cloudgoat Ranger. Maybe they used their remands and into the roils to get some tempo advantage. You, as the holder of Upheaval, can just sit there and watch your opponent expend resources. You can play a turn 5 play if you want, or not. When it gets to turn 6, you play Upheaval and all of a sudden your opponent's expenditures are mooted. It's like sort of like overextending into a Wrath, except instead of creatures you're using other resources. When it's over, you keep your hand of carefully-selected goodies -- cards which you've been hoarding since you knew what was coming turn 6 -- while your opponent spent all his "recovery" cards during the first phase of the game.
That's how you can turn something like information advantage into real game advantage, even without having an advantageous board position or even card advantage.
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I should be ok, this thread provides great information.
I've re-added Upheaval to the cube as I do feel even in a 200 card cube there is enough support since I run Venser / Reanimate and Channel - I think there is enough to do it.
That should be fine. Just keep in mind the list above is some of the trickier stuff you can do but Upheaval's bread and butter is mana rocks and mana dorks. That's really all you need. Then try to stall enough until you can Upheaval into a 4cc+ card (this is where you start dropping bombs that your opponent just dies to like most 4cc planeswalkers or even a Blastoderm) or Upheaval into a mana rock/dork or 2 putting yourself several turns ahead of your opponent.
Watch the first game of the first match (third vid from the top) to get a pretty good example of what Upheaval can do and how to get ahead after playing one.
I haven't watched this as I'm at work but if I don't update the OP now I'll likely forget so it has been added.
I've been pondering about if I should add this to my cube or not. I mean, there's no question about its power-level and awesomeness, but could there be a case where this card is just simply too powerful in the cube, or is this just not the case?
Had my best Upheaval play yet last weekend. Opponent had Jace, the Mindsculptor, Geist of St. Traft and Lotus Cobra (maybe something else) to my Tolarian Academy, 2 other lands and Mox Sapphire. In hand my relevant cards are Upheaval, Liliana, Death's Majesty and Gifts Ungiven.
End of his turn I gifts for Hero's Downfall, Dragonlord Silumgar, an off-color Talisman and Hedron Archive. He gives me the mana rocks, not wanting to lose his JTMS. I untap, play a land and cast both rocks. His turn he swings for a bunch of damage. I untap with 10 mana, cast Upheaval floating 4 mana. Play Academy, Mox, Talisman, LDM, make a 2/2.
Such a good card when you can float mana, play some rocks and cast a big threat in the same turn.
Upheaval came fairly late in the draft and I already had 3-4 rocks (including 2 moxes). I normally like a couple rocks in control (in addition to any moxes I can get) but was prioritizing them even more because I had Tolarian Academy.
Nice! Upheaval is sweet. My favorite is Upheaval + Memory Jar, typically the game ends that turn when they have however many cards they had before hand and nothing on board.
lol. Had to do it. Outside of my play-group the people on this thread are the only ones I know who will be remotely interested. And I just had to share that play!
It is kind of weird to put it in an SCD (but maybe still worth it, especially in cases like Upheaval which many new cubers might not know the applications). Would it be worth it to have an "Epic cube plays/stories" thread? Maybe stickied?
Why this card is awesome
An often misunderstood powerhouse Upheaval is among the best blue cards in cube. Casting it on curve isn't the most exciting play so we'll be discussing some ways to break this card. The first is to float mana, cast Upheaval, play a land, then play some spells. You are now ahead on board since you have permanents in play and your opponent has nothing. Since Upheaval is already a bit costly at 6 mana the easiest way to accomplish this is with mana rocks and green ramp dorks. These have the added benefit of being able to be cast post Upheaval to put you significantly ahead on mana. Keep in mind that it's best not to play a land for the turn before you cast Upheaval so that you can play a land after you cast it.
Upheaval can also be used defensively if things have simply not been going your way. This isn't the best aspect of the card but it can certainly be handy to be able to bounce everyone's boards and start over. Here's a post by Power Conduit elaborating why even casting Upheaval without floating mana can be a strong play:
Synergies
Floating mana, casting Upheaval then playing spells is Upheaval's bread and butter but that's not the only way to break the symmetry of the card. Following is a list of other powerful interactions:
Reveillark - With Reveillark in play you can cast Upheaval and end up with 2 creatures in play.
Greater Gargadon - Gargadon can sac permanents down to 1 counter in response to Upheaval, then drop your land, sac it and bash for 9 damage. Now you have a 9/7 in play vs. nothing. Obviously other cards with Suspend also work well with Upheaval, especially Aeon Chronicler.
Mana Vault - This gets special mention because of how powerful a mana rock this is when paired with Upheaval. It gives you 3 extra mana to ramp into Upheaval and you can replay it very cheap.
Parallax Wave/Oblivion Ring/Journey to Nowhere/etc. - You can use these on your own stuff then cast Upheaval.
Fastbond - A 1 mana spell that lets you play as many lands as you want per turn is pretty good when paired with Upheaval. Exploration is good for similar reasons.
Venser, the Sojourner - He can blink out one of your permanents before you cast Upheaval. It can even be him.
Reanimate/Animate Dead - Cheap reanimation is great because it lets you get a fatty into play for cheap. You can probably even discard the fatty because Upheaval puts so many cards into your hand.
Psychatog - This is about as good of a 3 mana creature as you can get after casting Upheaval. Likely he will simply be able to 1 shot your opponent the next turn. Tarmogoyf is also usually a huge beatstick that you can drop for cheap.
Black Vise - Play Upheaval then play Black Vise. Your opponent now has a lot of cards in hand and no mana to play any of them so they're probably dead.
Shelldock Isle - This is fantastic for 2 reasons. The first is that if you get Upheaval under Shelldock Isle it lets you cast if for essentially 2 mana leaving the rest of your mana free to be floated. Secondly you can play this as your land for the turn after you cast Upheaval and hopefully get a beater under it which you can play the next turn.
Channel - Few cards can generate the amount of mana that Channel can if you've got a lot of extra life. This can help you to both cast Upheaval and a threat post Upheaval.
Game play videos
DerBK posted up this draft video from ChannelFireball. Third video from the top.
http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/channel-tsg-cube-draft-11/
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Well I gave you plenty of time to start this thread yourself.:p
'I barely run any mana rocks and have virtually no way to truly abuse Upheaval in my cube and I play almost exclusively Winston. Nevertheless, it just wins so many games when you're ahead and so many games when you're behind. If you can affect the board so drastically while your opponent is unable to plan for it, the information advantage that you have is monumental. Your opponent makes sacrifices to get himself into an advantageous state, spending tutors, life, whatever, and you wipe out all that effort at your whim. That's why Upheaval can win you games although you are behind in terms of tangible development, and even if you can't float much or any mana before resolution -- it's like a Counterspell for the whole game."
I'm more of a firefighter than a fire safety class
To be honest, I thought the point of these were to bring up doubts or ask questions not to extoll virtues. If I'm encouraged to soapbox on cards I like? Whooo boy I hope I don't have much free time...
-AA
I use descriptive language. Assume that I'm being nice and respectful. (I'll tell you when I'm not.)
My Cube: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/9029
EDIT: @Power Conduit: Can you elaborate a little more? Do you mean similar to how Balance is in that you have a huge advantage being the person casting it? I can add in something about how it wipes out everything your opponent has done up to that point which I think is what you mean and is something that should probably be on there.
Well not exactly, since in order for your opponent to get into an advantageous position in the first place, they probably had to expend a number of resources to get there. They may have had to 2-for-1 themselves in order to burn out your blocker. Perhaps they used their copy of demonic tutor to search up their Cloudgoat Ranger. Maybe they used their remands and into the roils to get some tempo advantage. You, as the holder of Upheaval, can just sit there and watch your opponent expend resources. You can play a turn 5 play if you want, or not. When it gets to turn 6, you play Upheaval and all of a sudden your opponent's expenditures are mooted. It's like sort of like overextending into a Wrath, except instead of creatures you're using other resources. When it's over, you keep your hand of carefully-selected goodies -- cards which you've been hoarding since you knew what was coming turn 6 -- while your opponent spent all his "recovery" cards during the first phase of the game.
That's how you can turn something like information advantage into real game advantage, even without having an advantageous board position or even card advantage.
Beat you to it
also: Merged with prior Upheaval thread
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That should be fine. Just keep in mind the list above is some of the trickier stuff you can do but Upheaval's bread and butter is mana rocks and mana dorks. That's really all you need. Then try to stall enough until you can Upheaval into a 4cc+ card (this is where you start dropping bombs that your opponent just dies to like most 4cc planeswalkers or even a Blastoderm) or Upheaval into a mana rock/dork or 2 putting yourself several turns ahead of your opponent.
I haven't watched this as I'm at work but if I don't update the OP now I'll likely forget so it has been added.
I've been pondering about if I should add this to my cube or not. I mean, there's no question about its power-level and awesomeness, but could there be a case where this card is just simply too powerful in the cube, or is this just not the case?
End of his turn I gifts for Hero's Downfall, Dragonlord Silumgar, an off-color Talisman and Hedron Archive. He gives me the mana rocks, not wanting to lose his JTMS. I untap, play a land and cast both rocks. His turn he swings for a bunch of damage. I untap with 10 mana, cast Upheaval floating 4 mana. Play Academy, Mox, Talisman, LDM, make a 2/2.
Such a good card when you can float mana, play some rocks and cast a big threat in the same turn.
Upheaval came fairly late in the draft and I already had 3-4 rocks (including 2 moxes). I normally like a couple rocks in control (in addition to any moxes I can get) but was prioritizing them even more because I had Tolarian Academy.
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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!
lol. Had to do it. Outside of my play-group the people on this thread are the only ones I know who will be remotely interested. And I just had to share that play!
It is kind of weird to put it in an SCD (but maybe still worth it, especially in cases like Upheaval which many new cubers might not know the applications). Would it be worth it to have an "Epic cube plays/stories" thread? Maybe stickied?
Here