Loyal Cathar does't get enough love considering his removal protection. I also run Precinct Captain but will be replacing him soon with the new Protection from Multicolor one drop dude.
Like I said, I'm fine with Behemoth Sledge being a Selesnya card. I have 6 slots for each guild (not counting fixers) and it fits pretty well in my guild composition. We can't say that a reusable Armadillo Cloak doesn't feel it belongs to the Selesnya guild.
It is actually the most played and best card of the three, so I'd need solid arguments against it or in favour of the other two to make the decision of cutting it.
Seeing what your cube makeup, and size, is like (or at least the specific sections where these exist) would really help.
Otherwise, I'm with wtwlf in that you should cut all three.
My argument is the same. It's a guild card, which means that A) it's not going to go into as many decks, and B) it takes a slot away from a good WG card. That makes it worse. It doesn't make up for it by having a ridiculous powerlevel in comparison to Warhammer, so it goes from worse to much worse.
As far as arguing merits of the cards, you want your equipment to speed up the clock against your opponent. Warhammer does this better than Sledge. Collar doesn't do this at all.
Really, all three cards are pretty bad, and they're all very cuttable. Sledge is the worst of the three because it can only go into 10% of the 2-color decks instead of 100%. That makes it FAR worse. Not to mention that it steals a slot away from a Selesnya card that's actually good, which is the worst part. I don't think it would crack my top 15 list for WG cards, better yet my top 6.
As far as outside-the-box equipment goes, I like Shuko and Bonehoard better than all three of those equipment cards. I probably wouldn't run either at 450 (assuming your cube is that size) anyway. Running a singleton Fireslinger is not reason enough to pack the Basilisk Collar.
A little behind on some things about which I'd like to comment:
- Behemoth Sledge suffers from being a card that is in possibly the best 2-color combination in Cube. There are over a dozen cards that are non-embarrassing to use in WG sections, and I think Sledge is at the bottom end of that list.
- Unless you have a lot of ways to abuse it, Basilisk Collar is pretty meh. If your Cube contains a lot of 'pingers' like Fireslinger, Spikeshot Elder, Gelectrode, Cunning Sparkmage, or the holiest-of-holies Goblin Sharpshooter, then go ahead and run it. Otherwise, you can leave it on the bench.
- I like Warhammer just fine, and that card warped limited formats for years in addition to having constructed impact. Those of us old enough remember Whammer at uncommon in draft o.O
----
WW dudes: The WW shadow guys are pretty solid, Knight of Meadowgrain is a favorite around these parts (even though I don't dig it), and I've wanted to try Precinct Captain once I get enough human/token support; but I would be remiss in not briefly mentioning my favorite of the bunch that is oft-maligned: Eight-and-a-Half-Tails. There aren't many other 2-drops that have such late-game impact (Kargan Dragonlord comes to mind), and it seems like every time someone is dubious about its inclusion in my Cube, they promptly lose a game/match to it sometime that draft. Yes, it can be 'mana-intensive', but I'm OK with that if it is winning the game, especially when the body is still reasonable.
I loves me some 3-mana counterspells, apparently, running Exclude, Complicate and Forbid. I am now tempted by Dissolve . Which should I cut for it? Or should I run all four, and cut the awful Delver of Secrets?
Oh, and I agree with Grand Coliseum as the pick above.
Sylvan Caryatid, because it's much more flexible than the Sage:
- can cast any spell (or ability)
- can block a good portion of creatures in the Cube
- much harder to remove
- cheaper (duh)
4 mana is the most important mana threshold in Cube games (and arguably in all of Magic), so reaching that on turn 3, and being able to cast not only a strong creature, but also a planeswalker or Armageddon, is more important than going up to 6/7 mana on turn 4. How many creatures >6 mana are even in the Cube (not to mention in one deck)?
I think the blocking on Caryatid is overrated, because you really should only be doing it for one turn (the turn you cast it). The rest of the turns where it can block and likely not die (turns 3-5 or so) you should be using it to ramp.
Somberwald, otoh, has been really scary here with the new ramp decks showing up. Do you REALLY want to let your opponent have 7+ mana on turn 3-4?
I like Temple of Triumph much more than the Garrison for Boros, one of the purest aggro guilds in cube. Filtering away dead draws is more valuable to aggro than extra mana.
I wouldn't play any of the other choices at 720, but some people have good experiences with Frontline Medic. Fabled Hero's heroic is unlikely to trigger, so it's up to you whether a 2/2 double striker for 3 is worth more.
2 Soltari Priest
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4 Leonin Relic-Warder
5 Precinct Captain
In an unpowered cube, I'd swap 4 and 5 around. At 450, I'd run the top 3.
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1. Soltari Monk
2. Soltari Priest
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4. Loyal Cathar
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Loyal Cathar does't get enough love considering his removal protection. I also run Precinct Captain but will be replacing him soon with the new Protection from Multicolor one drop dude.
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2. Soltari Monk
3. Knight of Meadowgrain
I played a multiplayer game last week and Auriok Champion was just absolutely insane (+ Archangel of Thune anyone?).
Actually, I'd cut all three and just bring in something else.
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Seeing what your cube makeup, and size, is like (or at least the specific sections where these exist) would really help.
Otherwise, I'm with wtwlf in that you should cut all three.
As far as arguing merits of the cards, you want your equipment to speed up the clock against your opponent. Warhammer does this better than Sledge. Collar doesn't do this at all.
Really, all three cards are pretty bad, and they're all very cuttable. Sledge is the worst of the three because it can only go into 10% of the 2-color decks instead of 100%. That makes it FAR worse. Not to mention that it steals a slot away from a Selesnya card that's actually good, which is the worst part. I don't think it would crack my top 15 list for WG cards, better yet my top 6.
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On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
- Behemoth Sledge suffers from being a card that is in possibly the best 2-color combination in Cube. There are over a dozen cards that are non-embarrassing to use in WG sections, and I think Sledge is at the bottom end of that list.
- Unless you have a lot of ways to abuse it, Basilisk Collar is pretty meh. If your Cube contains a lot of 'pingers' like Fireslinger, Spikeshot Elder, Gelectrode, Cunning Sparkmage, or the holiest-of-holies Goblin Sharpshooter, then go ahead and run it. Otherwise, you can leave it on the bench.
- I like Warhammer just fine, and that card warped limited formats for years in addition to having constructed impact. Those of us old enough remember Whammer at uncommon in draft o.O
----
WW dudes: The WW shadow guys are pretty solid, Knight of Meadowgrain is a favorite around these parts (even though I don't dig it), and I've wanted to try Precinct Captain once I get enough human/token support; but I would be remiss in not briefly mentioning my favorite of the bunch that is oft-maligned: Eight-and-a-Half-Tails. There aren't many other 2-drops that have such late-game impact (Kargan Dragonlord comes to mind), and it seems like every time someone is dubious about its inclusion in my Cube, they promptly lose a game/match to it sometime that draft. Yes, it can be 'mana-intensive', but I'm OK with that if it is winning the game, especially when the body is still reasonable.
-AA
Champion of 8.5 Tails and Upheaval
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Or
Grand Coliseum?
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Never tried Sphere of the Suns.
Those two cards play totally different roles. One takes room in your deck, the other is a mana rock.
There is little competition for Grand Coliseum in its niche, and there are quite a number of mana rocks I would play over Sphere of the Sun.
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Oh, and I agree with Grand Coliseum as the pick above.
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- can cast any spell (or ability)
- can block a good portion of creatures in the Cube
- much harder to remove
- cheaper (duh)
4 mana is the most important mana threshold in Cube games (and arguably in all of Magic), so reaching that on turn 3, and being able to cast not only a strong creature, but also a planeswalker or Armageddon, is more important than going up to 6/7 mana on turn 4. How many creatures >6 mana are even in the Cube (not to mention in one deck)?
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Somberwald, otoh, has been really scary here with the new ramp decks showing up. Do you REALLY want to let your opponent have 7+ mana on turn 3-4?
-AA
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I like the Caryatid a lot more.
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-AA
I use descriptive language. Assume that I'm being nice and respectful. (I'll tell you when I'm not.)
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That's what I suspected, thanks.
Firefist Striker or Emberwilde Augur?
EDIT: Oh, and by the way, Frontline Medic or Fabled Hero?
EDIT2: While we're at it, Temple of Triumph or Boros Garrison?
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I wouldn't play any of the other choices at 720, but some people have good experiences with Frontline Medic. Fabled Hero's heroic is unlikely to trigger, so it's up to you whether a 2/2 double striker for 3 is worth more.
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Emberwilde for me, as battalion is difficult to enable, unless you have some sort of tokens subtheme.
Frontline medic.
Temple of triumph.
And for my question:
Blastoderm or Chameleon Colossus?
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