I would say the top cuts are probably Hellspark Elemental and Keldon Marauders. Red two drops have just come so far in quality that the ones that function as face burn spells alone don't seem to cut it anymore IMO.
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I'd also cut Hellspark or Marauders. They are both basically sorcery speed player burn spells that sometimes don't do damage as advertised. I never liked hellspark but I used to like Marauders a lot. But Marauders have aged poorly and their stats really aren't good enough anymore to make up for the vanishing IMO. YMMV on both of these cards though depending on how much board clogging happens in your cube. On a clear board, both technically offer very high output for the cost.
Lightning Mauler has combo applications. It can be pretty amazing in the right deck but it's also limp without some synergy. So I can see cutting it depending on what your cube is trying to do.
Third option is to not count Abbot as a 2 drop. Because he sucks as a 2 drop anyway. You really want to cast it later so that the CA isn't wasted. As only a 2/1 prowess for 2, he isn't very good.
I like Lightning Mauler, but I also like Hellspark Elemental for recursion reasons and Marauders for the tiny bit of reach it provides.
Red 2s are pretty bad these days. With the printing of Custodi Lich and Liliana, Death's Majesty, black 5s are starting to get filled in. After that, I think red 2s might be the weakest spot in cube now, other than Simic generally. Kari Zev was a start, but we need like 2-4 more good creatures to fill the big gaps.
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Abrupt Decay is tremendously stronger than Putrefy IMO, but that's not to say Putrefy isn't good. To me though, black can already deal with creatures and green can already disenchant stuff, so to justify the multicolor spot I need extreme efficiency. Just 2 mana and also hitting enchantments makes it key, and that it can't be countered means it basically always gets the job done.
Putrefy is a great budget card, but Abrupt Decay is getting more important with all the 3-cmc walkers running around now, not to mention being able to take out extremely problematic cards like Sulfuric Vortex / Umezawa's Jitte / Swords of X and Y.
The lower your cube's curve the better Abrupt Decay plays. I think it's unquestionably better in a powered cube. Likely unpowered as well, though it might be a little closer there. There were times in my midrange list where I wished Abrupt Decay was something more unconditional, so I honestly don't think it's a slam dunk in every list. Putrefy is a solid card and very playable though. That said, I'd run pernicious deed over it and maelstrom pulse too (assuming cost is not an issue - those are pricy).
Decay is also gaining equity as they make more CMC ≤ 3 'walkers that we need answers for. Kytheon, Jace, Nissa, Nissa, Liliana and Gideon since Decay's printing ...and counting.
I think Alesha is the best of the three. Very playable in rakdos decks too, and even mono red or red/X if you lack a 3 drop or need a defensive body after sideboarding.
I think Alesha is the best of the three. Very playable in rakdos decks too, and even mono red or red/X if you lack a 3 drop or need a defensive body after sideboarding.
I'm not looking for the best of the 3, I'm looking for the worst.
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I was a big big fan of Soulfire when it came out. But it never lived up to expectations. There was maybe one deck it was an all-star in, but that's it. Reckoner never did much. Alesha never lived up to her potential either. So really, I don't like any of those cards. I guess I'd cut Reckoner. At least the other two go in more decks.
I actively want Alesha in almost every red deck, the most obvious exception being Izzet probably. She fits in aggro, aggressive midrange, Jund ValueTown, can come down after a wrath and win you the game. A lot of interactions come up because of how many utility creatures there are in cube, from Angel of Invention to Mulldrifter to you name it
Alesha is amazing and Reckoner is a pile. Soulfire is cool but a bear too often.
Play Alesha in a BR Pox-style deck and watch your opponents weep.
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It's definitely Alesha > Soulfire >>> Reckoner. I've never been impressed by Reckoner (I've never run him, but I've played him in other cubes and he's just meh). SGM is often a bear but the upside is good. And Alesha is freaking ridiculous.
Cool, thanks for all the feedback. I felt pretty good about keeping Alesha over the cow, but I was less certain about SGM. Since most people don't classify the tribrids as guild cards like I do, I hadn't seen any side-by-side comparisons of them before. The cow's going to the slaughterhouse!
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Rank white 5s: Angel of Invention, Archangel Avacyn, Baneslayer Angel, Cloudgoat Ranger, Reveillark . . . and Angel of Sanctions, if you feel you've got a good read on it.
How many would you run at 450, with Sun Titan and Elesh Norn as the only bigger creatures in the color?
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I would say the top cuts are probably Hellspark Elemental and Keldon Marauders. Red two drops have just come so far in quality that the ones that function as face burn spells alone don't seem to cut it anymore IMO.
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The only one that looks cuttable to me is Lightning Mauler. I would definitely keep Hellspark and Marauders.
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I'd also cut Hellspark or Marauders. They are both basically sorcery speed player burn spells that sometimes don't do damage as advertised. I never liked hellspark but I used to like Marauders a lot. But Marauders have aged poorly and their stats really aren't good enough anymore to make up for the vanishing IMO. YMMV on both of these cards though depending on how much board clogging happens in your cube. On a clear board, both technically offer very high output for the cost.
Lightning Mauler has combo applications. It can be pretty amazing in the right deck but it's also limp without some synergy. So I can see cutting it depending on what your cube is trying to do.
Third option is to not count Abbot as a 2 drop. Because he sucks as a 2 drop anyway. You really want to cast it later so that the CA isn't wasted. As only a 2/1 prowess for 2, he isn't very good.
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Red 2s are pretty bad these days. With the printing of Custodi Lich and Liliana, Death's Majesty, black 5s are starting to get filled in. After that, I think red 2s might be the weakest spot in cube now, other than Simic generally. Kari Zev was a start, but we need like 2-4 more good creatures to fill the big gaps.
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Abbot is the only one of those I don't run at 450. I'd cut that or Lighting Mauler.
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I'm not looking for the best of the 3, I'm looking for the worst.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
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Play Alesha in a BR Pox-style deck and watch your opponents weep.
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Pauper: UR Delver
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Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
My Eternal Cube on CubeTutor| |My Reject Rare Cube on CubeTutor| |My Peasant Cube on CubeTutor
I used to write for MTGS, including Cranial Insertion and cube articles. Good on you if you can find those after the upgrade.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
How many would you run at 450, with Sun Titan and Elesh Norn as the only bigger creatures in the color?
EDH: UGEdric
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Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered