Passible Filler I think for bigger cubes. If he was costed 1RR/1WW then it would have been a different animal all together. Then he would have been a very solid addidion. Now you cannot be sure to cast him as a 3 drop, which means his stats will look a lot less attractive when cast. A 3/3 first striker is ok turn 3, but bad turn 4.
I think the answer to that is dictated by your gold card philosophy. If you want cards that draw players into their color pairing, or as rewards for play said pairing, then this card is pretty good. Power equal to casting cost, plus two relevant abilities is solid, but you aren't splashing this in a 3-5 color control deck, and probably would need to be near mono colored to be putting it in a off color build. I personally don't like cards that you can float around the table knowing no one else but you can use it.
We came up short on playable hybrids otherwise I might try this. By that I mean I wont get two per guild so I am just going to have a gerneric slush spot in my cube for hybrid/split cards and debit their section 1/2 a card. But I can only do this with cards taht could/should be picked in off guid deck. Rakdos Cackler, Kitchen Finks, Life Death are fine.
This guy would have to go in Boros and fight Slyer's Stronghold for a slot. I would rather this guy cost RRW and let the new ball lightning be hybrid. Don't get me worng he is fine but I would end up tucking him in the Ajani sleeve as a freebee for whoever drafts taht.
We came up short on playable hybrids otherwise I might try this. By that I mean I wont get two per guild so I am just going to have a gerneric slush spot in my cube for hybrid/split cards and debit their section 1/2 a card. But I can only do this with cards taht could/should be picked in off guid deck. Rakdos Cackler, Kitchen Finks, Life Death are fine.
This guy would have to go in Boros and fight Slyer's Stronghold for a slot. I would rather this guy cost RRW and let the new ball lightning be hybrid. Don't get me worng he is fine but I would end up tucking him in the Ajani sleeve as a freebee for whoever drafts taht.
If you wanted to include this guy as a hybrid then you could do the same with Figure of Destiny. I personally think this guys needs to be viewed as a gold card due to his CCC casting cost. It's unfortunate he didnt have a colorless in his casting cost, then i would have played him as a hybrid without a second thought.
At the Peasant cubing forum, we love Spitemare. This is a pure upgrade if you're willing to bite the mana cost, so eidolon made pretty much all great points regarding the Reckoner. He stays relevant throughout the game and can be used both offensively and defensively.
It's agressivly costed, does exactly what the guild wants to do, a 3 drop for BOTH white weenie and MonoR (which has a gap in their 3 speed) and set up some occasional fun shenagins with his damage clause.
He's not far off a 3/3 Haste first strike for 3 mana.
Worse against control, but better against midrange and agro.
I prefer this card to Aurelia's fury for cube... (not a better card in general, just not convinced that aurelia's fury is at its best in cube). I'd put him 5th or 6th in boros. Dont have enough experience with slayers stronghold to compare the two.
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.
He's really good. I can let the awkward mana cost slip too as he should have a strong impact whenever he's played. However once again, it's more love for a guild that probably doesn't need it.
Just think about some of the possible situations where you play this card:
1) on curve, you are on the offense
-if you opponent chump blocks, you still deal some damage to them or kill another creature
-if your opponent wants to trade, you an just use the first strike ability
-if your opponent blocks with a big creature, you can typically just kill it or deal 4-6 to your opponent
Even better: The ability makes it less obvious when your goal is to kill the blocking fatty with the combination of burn+the 3 first strike damage
2) On curve, you are on the defense
- while you can't use he FS ability that turn, the creatures in play are also typically smaller anyway
- chump attacking into the Reckoner with multiple small creatures, cost your opponent an additional small creature
- attacking with multiple small creatures and a big creature into Reckoner+ a small creature allows you to block a small creature with BR and the big creature with your other critter to effectively trade your small creature for their biggest threat
3)Later in the game
-The ability to punish your opponent for playing big creatures keeps it relevant even if you don' draw it on curve.
- It also acts as a free burn spell if your opponent tries to wipe the board with one of the red sweeper, that are typically very devastating against aggro.
- It allows you to use creature only burn spells on your own creature to deal the last points of damage (or even better Earthquake).
This is a well thought-out analysis. I like the card a lot, too, in all sorts of decks.
I may try this over lightning helix for my #5 slot in boros, but the top three Ajani V, Figure, and Boros charm are a lot better then this, and i expect Slayers' stronghold and lightning helix are as well.
And Boros needed love before gatecrash it went 1,2,3,4... ew, before.
Don't spend too much time staring at this card, you will feel more and mroe inclined to include it.
I think he's worth a try, and definitely the best of last night's spoilers. At 1 R/W R/W he would be a windmill slam inclusion because of how well he blocks, but at triple hybrid most of the decks he fits in only care about blocking in the mirror.
I understand why they put so many colored mana symbols in the powerful rares of the set, but it really does not help Cube at all.
I should make the point that his mana cost is not too bad considering he will be extremely easy to play in R/W but that he can also get into W/x and R/x decks (where those are obviously the main colours). So he's probably about as narrow as a regular gold card despite all those mana symbols everywhere.
Also, red lacks 3-drop beaters after Chandra's Phoenix, at least in my cube. I think that counts as a plus for him. White is stacked for three drops but I could see trying to squeeze him in, either in Boros slot #4-#7 or even in red if the cube manager is OK with that organisation.
I wish he was a Gruul card.
Quote from simplygdog »
Don't spend too much time staring at this card, you will feel more and mroe inclined to include it.
Just think about some of the possible situations where you play this card:
1) on curve, you are on the offense
-if you opponent chump blocks, you still deal some damage to them or kill another creature
-if your opponent wants to trade, you an just use the first strike ability
-if your opponent blocks with a big creature, you can typically just kill it or deal 4-6 to your opponent
Even better: The ability makes it less obvious when your goal is to kill the blocking fatty with the combination of burn+the 3 first strike damage
2) On curve, you are on the defense
- while you can't use he FS ability that turn, the creatures in play are also typically smaller anyway
- chump attacking into the Reckoner with multiple small creatures, cost your opponent an additional small creature
- attacking with multiple small creatures and a big creature into Reckoner+ a small creature allows you to block a small creature with BR and the big creature with your other critter to effectively trade your small creature for their biggest threat
3)Later in the game
-The ability to punish your opponent for playing big creatures keeps it relevant even if you don' draw it on curve.
- It also acts as a free burn spell if your opponent tries to wipe the board with one of the red sweeper, that are typically very devastating against aggro.
- It allows you to use creature only burn spells on your own creature to deal the last points of damage (or even better Earthquake).
I once farted during the final match for prizes at an FNM. It was a tense moment, everything was quiet, control vs control, I was about to mana leak, thought about it.. and farted. Then mana leaked.
Just to phone home, this guy is testing very well indeed. I didn't expect him to retain my Boros #4 slot but he will for the time being. He just owns combat, and it reminds me of a Phyrexian Crusader that is much better on offense. It's very potent for aggro and against aggro (in particular) and does nasty, nasty things with a clutch of red's global damage cards in particular. I have experience with him mostly in R/b aggro, and he changes a lot when he hits play. He deals with 2x 2/2s a turn on defense which is just unfair. He's a terrific equip outlet too with the built in first strike when needed.
Plus, he's hybrid! The more, the better where cube is concerned.
actually we were testing my unofficial changes the past 2 nights (and some stranger cards just to experiment a bit) I was far more impressed with him than I was with aurelia's fury and I honestly liked him more than helix. this guy represents FAR more than 3 damage, I played him in boros aggro to great effect, and our 4 color zoo aggro deck last night played him against me, which is where I really gained respect for him. he came down turn 4 which definitely proved to me he was still playable outside pure boros.
I certainly like him more than Helix and Fury after testing. Helix has been discussed to death so I won't go into it, but Fury was pretty average for an expensive gold card. Whether he keeps his place over Slayers' Stronghold is another matter. I really like the land a lot. Reckoner is really good though, and hybrids are just a great addition to the cube, even 'trickily' costed ones. It can still go into non-Boros decks.
I will be running this guy, possibly over slayer's stronghold. I know some people here love that card, but my group has a very low percentage of maindecking it. This guy seems like real threat, perhaps even more threatening than Figure over the course of early turns since he doesn't require R/W and then R/W R/W R/W R/W to deal out delicious amounts of damage.
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edit, i'm going to keep stronghold. I'm rearranging my definitions and putting stronghold back under the land column.
I think this guy deserves his own thread.
The positives I see are his ability to screw up board states, chump block the biggest creatures in the cube, and be pretty scary on the offensive.
I think his biggest downside is his casting cost.
What do you guys think? Is he a solid include, passable filler, or complete garbage?
I feel compelled to repeat everything I hear
http://cubetutor.com/cubeblog/993
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/23690
This guy would have to go in Boros and fight Slyer's Stronghold for a slot. I would rather this guy cost RRW and let the new ball lightning be hybrid. Don't get me worng he is fine but I would end up tucking him in the Ajani sleeve as a freebee for whoever drafts taht.
If you wanted to include this guy as a hybrid then you could do the same with Figure of Destiny. I personally think this guys needs to be viewed as a gold card due to his CCC casting cost. It's unfortunate he didnt have a colorless in his casting cost, then i would have played him as a hybrid without a second thought.
So many cards came SO close this set. Oh well.
Cubetutor link - 380 Peasant Cube
It's agressivly costed, does exactly what the guild wants to do, a 3 drop for BOTH white weenie and MonoR (which has a gap in their 3 speed) and set up some occasional fun shenagins with his damage clause.
He's not far off a 3/3 Haste first strike for 3 mana.
Worse against control, but better against midrange and agro.
I prefer this card to Aurelia's fury for cube... (not a better card in general, just not convinced that aurelia's fury is at its best in cube). I'd put him 5th or 6th in boros. Dont have enough experience with slayers stronghold to compare the two.
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This is a well thought-out analysis. I like the card a lot, too, in all sorts of decks.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
And Boros needed love before gatecrash it went 1,2,3,4... ew, before.
Don't spend too much time staring at this card, you will feel more and mroe inclined to include it.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=484979
I understand why they put so many colored mana symbols in the powerful rares of the set, but it really does not help Cube at all.
Also, red lacks 3-drop beaters after Chandra's Phoenix, at least in my cube. I think that counts as a plus for him. White is stacked for three drops but I could see trying to squeeze him in, either in Boros slot #4-#7 or even in red if the cube manager is OK with that organisation.
I wish he was a Gruul card.
I lol'd.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
The Gruul equivalent would be Boggart Ram-Gang.
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
Of course. A card that always feels to me like I should be cubing with it, without ever having any room for it.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
This completely sums up the Reckoner.
Card is ridiculously powerful.
Plus, he's hybrid! The more, the better where cube is concerned.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
actually we were testing my unofficial changes the past 2 nights (and some stranger cards just to experiment a bit) I was far more impressed with him than I was with aurelia's fury and I honestly liked him more than helix. this guy represents FAR more than 3 damage, I played him in boros aggro to great effect, and our 4 color zoo aggro deck last night played him against me, which is where I really gained respect for him. he came down turn 4 which definitely proved to me he was still playable outside pure boros.
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I think there are.
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On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
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edit, i'm going to keep stronghold. I'm rearranging my definitions and putting stronghold back under the land column.
360 Uncommons only Cube!