I've totally forgotten about this card and thought that Sneak Attack and Through the Breach were the only cards with this type of effect. (Well, there are also Shifty Doppelganger and Incandescent Soulstoke, but the former is vulnerable, overcosted and in a completely different color and the latter only works with elementals.)
Is Cauldron Dance good enough if you really want to support this variant of big ramp / reanimator?
I see four drawbacks:
1. It costs 6 mana
2. It is not mono-red.
3. You can only play this during the combat phase.
4. You need a target in your graveyard (and it fizzles if that target gets removed in response).
Are these four drawbacks enough to make this card uncubable? Yes, it costs 6, but you get two creatures onto the battlefield. Sneak Attack for two creatures also costs 6 total (not in one chunk though). Yes, you can't cast it during your opponent's end step to play around counterspells or to use your mana more efficiently, but most of the time, you would cast it on your turn before declaring attackers anyway. (And you can still play it in response to an opponent's attack to create surprise blockers.) Yes you need a target in your graveyard, but you have five full turns to get one creature there, either by discarding a fatty or just playing something smaller, like an utility dude, and letting it die in combat. And instant speed graveyard removal is so rare in cube that your opponent will amost never be able to make the spell fizzle by removing your target in response. The biggest problem is actually the fact that this card is a Rakdos card instead of a mono-red card, since that means that the slots are heavily contested. For deckbuilding itself, this is also a restriction, but Sneak effects are often paired with black anyway, since that effect synergizes so well with reanimation. Plus, you have several turns to get a single black source if you actually splash for this card.
Costing 6 is perfectly fair when compared to Through the Breach. +1 mana to have a Whip of Erebos activation added to it, and the graveyard creature goes to your hand instead of being exiled? Very solid.
Casting only during combat is also a problem as you can't give equipment or Rancor to them, but hey you're cheating two fatties into play already.
If you're OK with running Rakdos cards which are severely underpowered versus other options and you and your play group want this type of effect and the deck that wants this card is drafted a lot, then this card is fine. But that's a lot of "If"s for a card which is only fine. Equipment and enchantments seems largely irrelevant when analyzing this card though, as you're probably using it for fatties and not middle-of-the-road guys. EDIT: After thinking about it, you could play this in a Recurring Nightmare deck to some level of success, and those decks like swords and such though it's not always irrelevant at all.
The high end on this card is pretty absurd, but the setup cost is significant. You have to have:
6 mana
A great creature in the graveyard (either a fatty or a value creature)
A great creature in hand that you haven't already cast (on turn 6 in black/red that's not as often as one might think)
It's a little too much for me to play it over anything at 540.
I admit that this card is just for like one and a half deck types, but in those decks, it looks really strong. Overall, it is similar to Through the Breach, a card that has proven itself over the last few months in my cube. My main concern with Dance is that it is not mono-red.
A great creature in hand that you haven't already cast (on turn 6 in black/red that's not as often as one might think)
That should really not be a problem at all in the decks that want this type of effect. There are enough strong 6+ creatures that love being cheated into play and to attack immediately. And those creatures don't have to black or red at all. The point of cheat effects like Dance, Breach and reanimation is that they circumvent casting costs and care neither about converted mana cost or color. Keep in mind that we aren't talking about fair decks that actually cast their creatures here. No, Dance is primarily for unfair decks.
If this were mono color I would find room for it immediately because it looks really really fun. However being multicolor is stopping me from giving it a try.
I've totally forgotten about this card and thought that Sneak Attack and Through the Breach were the only cards with this type of effect. (Well, there are also Shifty Doppelganger and Incandescent Soulstoke, but the former is vulnerable, overcosted and in a completely different color and the latter only works with elementals.)
Is Cauldron Dance good enough if you really want to support this variant of big ramp / reanimator?
I see four drawbacks:
1. It costs 6 mana
2. It is not mono-red.
3. You can only play this during the combat phase.
4. You need a target in your graveyard (and it fizzles if that target gets removed in response).
Are these four drawbacks enough to make this card uncubable? Yes, it costs 6, but you get two creatures onto the battlefield. Sneak Attack for two creatures also costs 6 total (not in one chunk though). Yes, you can't cast it during your opponent's end step to play around counterspells or to use your mana more efficiently, but most of the time, you would cast it on your turn before declaring attackers anyway. (And you can still play it in response to an opponent's attack to create surprise blockers.) Yes you need a target in your graveyard, but you have five full turns to get one creature there, either by discarding a fatty or just playing something smaller, like an utility dude, and letting it die in combat. And instant speed graveyard removal is so rare in cube that your opponent will amost never be able to make the spell fizzle by removing your target in response. The biggest problem is actually the fact that this card is a Rakdos card instead of a mono-red card, since that means that the slots are heavily contested. For deckbuilding itself, this is also a restriction, but Sneak effects are often paired with black anyway, since that effect synergizes so well with reanimation. Plus, you have several turns to get a single black source if you actually splash for this card.
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!
Casting only during combat is also a problem as you can't give equipment or Rancor to them, but hey you're cheating two fatties into play already.
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1 mana is a lot when you're talking about these kinds of effects.
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!
6 mana
A great creature in the graveyard (either a fatty or a value creature)
A great creature in hand that you haven't already cast (on turn 6 in black/red that's not as often as one might think)
It's a little too much for me to play it over anything at 540.
Here's my cube! Give it a draft!
That should really not be a problem at all in the decks that want this type of effect. There are enough strong 6+ creatures that love being cheated into play and to attack immediately. And those creatures don't have to black or red at all. The point of cheat effects like Dance, Breach and reanimation is that they circumvent casting costs and care neither about converted mana cost or color. Keep in mind that we aren't talking about fair decks that actually cast their creatures here. No, Dance is primarily for unfair decks.
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