Electrolyze is not something you cannot get elsewhere and is not powerful by cube standard. However it is very playable in most Izzet decks. Plus, Izzet is a terrible guild so I think Electrolyze comfortably ranks there at the top 4.
I think Izzet's topshelf is insane with Dack / Ral at #1 and #2 and Izzet Charm being my #3. I think Fire / Ice edges out Izzet Charm for #4, and Izzet Charm / Saheeli are interchangeable for me at #5 and #6.
I run Dack, Saheeli and Izzet Charm. Ral would be my next inclusion (Saheeli got the nod in the slot since we were extremely bored with Ral), then the interchangeable spells like Fire//Ice and Electrolyze if I expanded the cube a lot. Izzet was in a rough place a few years back, but it has a really nice top shelf several cards deep now.
As to Electrolyze, I would say the card has probably gained a lot of value in a vacuum since the R/U spells matter archetype has gained steam, and that is exactly what that pair wants to be doing, particularly the cantripping aspect. However, the competition has got a ton steeper so there's no room for most folks.
I think Izzet's topshelf is insane with Dack / Ral at #1 and #2 and Izzet Charm being my #3. I think Fire / Ice edges out Izzet Charm for #4, and Izzet Charm / Saheeli are interchangeable for me at #5 and #6.
Dack and Fire/Ice are the only two truly good cards in the guild IMO, with only Dack being a high pick, splashworthy card. Electrolyze comes next or Ral, which is also playable but unnecessary. Saheeli has too few homes here, we are disappointed with her. Izzet Charm is worse than the top 4.
I think Izzet's topshelf is insane with Dack / Ral at #1 and #2 and Izzet Charm being my #3. I think Fire / Ice edges out Izzet Charm for #4, and Izzet Charm / Saheeli are interchangeable for me at #5 and #6.
Dack and Fire/Ice are the only two truly good cards in the guild IMO, with only Dack being a high pick, splashworthy card. Electrolyze comes next or Ral, which is also playable but unnecessary. Saheeli has too few homes here, we are disappointed with her. Izzet Charm is worse than the top 4.
Izzet Charm being a good discard outlet on top of having two other useful modes is huge in my cube, that's why I rate it #3. It actually supports archetypes like Reanimator while being good in other control / goodstuff shells. Fire // Ice is good, but it doesn't support anything in particular.
Ral Zarek is powerful, he's huge in my Upheaval / Wildfire decks and is just a good value walker overall. I understand how people find him boring, but he's #2 in my Izzet section and it's not even close.
Electrolyze is great value, but both Izzet Charm and Fire // Ice offer a lot more versatility so they get the nod from me, but it's certainly close. Ral Zarek may not be the most exciting planeswalker ever printed, but it also provides more versatility as well as pure firepower for me to run it over Electrolyze. For anyone who restricts each guild to a maximum of one planeswalker, Electrolyze should definitely make the cut.
Electrolyze is still fantastic in Peasant, and it looks like value trumps efficiency and versatility there, as it crushed its competition in Izzet in the latest Peasant Power Rankings. I'd love to run the extended art edition in my Peasant cube if it weren't so expensive, so I just run the MM2 version.
Do you think WotC will ever print a new artifact that's good enough for cube again?
I love Grafted Wargear. I think it's the best equipment for token decks, and tied with bonesplitter for best aggro equipment. 0 to equip is such a bargain.
It's been on the receiving end of a disproportionate number of begrudging Nature's Claims in my playgroup, almost always accompanied by a sigh. Which is my favorite thing.
Grafted Wargear is my favorite equipment, literally makes anything into a legitimate threat for free. In a hardcore aggro deck, this is better than most swords.
I have a feeling Captain's Claws is going to be the last equipment worth looking at for a while.... Maybe they'll bring back Living Weapon as a mechanic and they'll push at least one card really hard?
I would love to see a cycle of equipment other than weapons, such as rings, masks, or special adornments that alter the game state in new ways. What about a planeswalker equipment card?
I think there is a lot of room for design that would add more flavor to the game and possibilities.
As far as other "equipment", on blogatog a few weeks ago there was some talk about if they finish the swords cycle if the community wants to see them in a supplemental product and on the same power level as the current versions, or weaker but in a standard set. Most of the community voted for same power level. If we are lucky, we will see them in 3-5 years.
I've used grafted wargear a lot in EDH decks, but never moved one into the cube. Probably just by pure negligence. I think I'll move one in and try it out.
I think Crafted Wargear is my favorite equipment in my cube (since I don't run Batterskull, Jitte or the swords). But one should take notice that its oracle wording says "sacrifice that permanent" isntead of "creature". I learned the hard way and lost a manland at the end of turn.
Do you think WotC will ever print a new artifact equipment that's good enough for cube again?
Depends on the cube Captain's Claws works well for me. I think anything with Equip 0 or 1 that does more than just give +1/+0 might work in lower powered cubes. But I don't see them print equipment on the levels of Vintage Cube staples again.
It's been a while since I've first picked Grafted Wargear, but when it gets passed to me I start thinking a lot harder about going aggro. I've also used it as a sac outlet for Reveillark, which was great value even if it can't quite go infinite with that as your sac outlet.
The most recent equipment in my cube is from New Phyrexia, and a lot of godawful equipment has come out since in sets that have signaled an equipment theme, so I've been pretty pessimistic about seeing any new quality equipment.
They've ****ed up before, they'll **** up again.
Yeah, the emergency banning of Smuggler's Copter in Standard seems to be proof of that!
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I can't even begin to come up with a pun for this one!
Well keep trying, even if it takes an eternity it's worth it.
Seriously though, I like Brago but not enough to run him. He's pretty stellar when he gets going and is probably the most explosive blink card (or rather, has the highest ceiling), but he suffers from a few problems:
1) He's UW.
2) He costs 4.
3) He takes a bit to get going.
4) He self-punishes when there's a clean board.
That being said, I've seen Brago do some *ridiculously* stupid things, and I think he has a home in large cubes and medium cubes that heavily push blink. I would probably always run him over something like Detention Sphere since I think that's a redundant effect that has plenty of mono colored application, but wouldn't run him over something like Reflector Mage which doesn't necessarily need synergy to be good. (And is clearly incredible with Brago.)
He always seemed a lot more interesting than some of the more useful but less interesting options (Supreme Verdict, Detention Sphere) if Dovin Bann turns out to be bad I might give him a shot.
I don't think I have a "Blink deck", but there is definitely cards to get you value from blinking creatures, usually in a W/U control shell.
Grafted Wargear is a card I love, any token or small creature instantly becomes a genuine threat. I don't like the swords of X & Y so apart from Jitte (one day I'll get one) this is the best equipment in cube.
I hope to get more cube able equipment but it will be few and far between, I think a low equip cost is the key to it being cubeable (i.e. bone splitter and Grafted Wargear) but they seem to know that is the dangerous part. I would even settle for another bone splitter.
Would a 0-cost 0-equip +1/+0 be good enough or printable? (Shuko was almost good enough, but they have problems with 0 cost artefacts)
I don't think Brago is good enough unless your cube is going really deep on the blink theme.
Blink/bounce strategies are better as small interactions within decks rather than going all in with. Like, if I build a WU midrange deck with some decent ETB effects, adding a Mimic Vat and a Crystal Shard to it works well. That can make it function like a blink deck without having to run dedicated cards that are less than optimal in other builds.
Not currently running Brago since blink is a narrow archetype, but even then there are other UW blink cards I'd probably run over him like Venser.
I've always viewed blink as a nice sub-theme to support rather than make it a full-blown archetype. It's better to have a bunch of things that are awesome to blink like Reflector Mage (RIP in standard) than having a bunch of blink enablers but less things to profit off the blinking.
Brago is a bit slow, but in the right deck he's practically unbeatable.
I ultimately cut him because it was a pretty high variance card and I'm not a big fan of that sort of design.
EDIT:
As far as blink being viable? In lower powered rare cubes, you have to go out of your way to make it non-viable. And if you actively support it, it will be tier 1. In powered cube, this is probably not the case since blink needs time to realize value (and there are more broken things you can do).
Brago is in my Multiplayer cube, but I can't say his seat is solid. Blink is not particularly strong as an archetype in my cube.
Do we actually have a Blink Archetype thread somewhere in this subforum? Can't say I've seen one, and I'd be interested to see what makes a "strong blink archetype" as mentioned by many above. If Brago is staying in my cube, I might as well try to soup things up for him...
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
What.
I think Izzet's topshelf is insane with Dack / Ral at #1 and #2 and Izzet Charm being my #3. I think Fire / Ice edges out Izzet Charm for #4, and Izzet Charm / Saheeli are interchangeable for me at #5 and #6.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
As to Electrolyze, I would say the card has probably gained a lot of value in a vacuum since the R/U spells matter archetype has gained steam, and that is exactly what that pair wants to be doing, particularly the cantripping aspect. However, the competition has got a ton steeper so there's no room for most folks.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
Dack and Fire/Ice are the only two truly good cards in the guild IMO, with only Dack being a high pick, splashworthy card. Electrolyze comes next or Ral, which is also playable but unnecessary. Saheeli has too few homes here, we are disappointed with her. Izzet Charm is worse than the top 4.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Izzet Charm being a good discard outlet on top of having two other useful modes is huge in my cube, that's why I rate it #3. It actually supports archetypes like Reanimator while being good in other control / goodstuff shells. Fire // Ice is good, but it doesn't support anything in particular.
Ral Zarek is powerful, he's huge in my Upheaval / Wildfire decks and is just a good value walker overall. I understand how people find him boring, but he's #2 in my Izzet section and it's not even close.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
Electrolyze is still fantastic in Peasant, and it looks like value trumps efficiency and versatility there, as it crushed its competition in Izzet in the latest Peasant Power Rankings. I'd love to run the extended art edition in my Peasant cube if it weren't so expensive, so I just run the MM2 version.
I'd love to see Stabbing Pain as a cantrip.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
BONUS QUESTION
Do you think WotC will ever print a new
artifactequipment that's good enough for cube again?450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I love Grafted Wargear. I think it's the best equipment for token decks, and tied with bonesplitter for best aggro equipment. 0 to equip is such a bargain.
It's been on the receiving end of a disproportionate number of begrudging Nature's Claims in my playgroup, almost always accompanied by a sigh. Which is my favorite thing.
Here's my cube! Give it a draft!
I have a feeling Captain's Claws is going to be the last equipment worth looking at for a while.... Maybe they'll bring back Living Weapon as a mechanic and they'll push at least one card really hard?
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
They've ****ed up before, they'll **** up again.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
Do you mean equipment?
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!
I think there is a lot of room for design that would add more flavor to the game and possibilities.
As far as other "equipment", on blogatog a few weeks ago there was some talk about if they finish the swords cycle if the community wants to see them in a supplemental product and on the same power level as the current versions, or weaker but in a standard set. Most of the community voted for same power level. If we are lucky, we will see them in 3-5 years.
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/63569
Oops, I meant equipment.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
This is exactly how another OP equipment will be printed. By complete fustercluck.
Depends on the cube
Captain's Claws works well for me. I think anything with Equip 0 or 1 that does more than just give +1/+0 might work in lower powered cubes. But I don't see them print equipment on the levels of Vintage Cube staples again.
The most recent equipment in my cube is from New Phyrexia, and a lot of godawful equipment has come out since in sets that have signaled an equipment theme, so I've been pretty pessimistic about seeing any new quality equipment.
Yeah, the emergency banning of Smuggler's Copter in Standard seems to be proof of that!
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Brago, King Eternal
BONUS QUESTION
Is a "blink" deck viable in your cube?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Well keep trying, even if it takes an eternity it's worth it.
Seriously though, I like Brago but not enough to run him. He's pretty stellar when he gets going and is probably the most explosive blink card (or rather, has the highest ceiling), but he suffers from a few problems:
1) He's UW.
2) He costs 4.
3) He takes a bit to get going.
4) He self-punishes when there's a clean board.
That being said, I've seen Brago do some *ridiculously* stupid things, and I think he has a home in large cubes and medium cubes that heavily push blink. I would probably always run him over something like Detention Sphere since I think that's a redundant effect that has plenty of mono colored application, but wouldn't run him over something like Reflector Mage which doesn't necessarily need synergy to be good. (And is clearly incredible with Brago.)
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
I don't think I have a "Blink deck", but there is definitely cards to get you value from blinking creatures, usually in a W/U control shell.
Grafted Wargear is a card I love, any token or small creature instantly becomes a genuine threat. I don't like the swords of X & Y so apart from Jitte (one day I'll get one) this is the best equipment in cube.
I hope to get more cube able equipment but it will be few and far between, I think a low equip cost is the key to it being cubeable (i.e. bone splitter and Grafted Wargear) but they seem to know that is the dangerous part. I would even settle for another bone splitter.
Would a 0-cost 0-equip +1/+0 be good enough or printable? (Shuko was almost good enough, but they have problems with 0 cost artefacts)
Blink/bounce strategies are better as small interactions within decks rather than going all in with. Like, if I build a WU midrange deck with some decent ETB effects, adding a Mimic Vat and a Crystal Shard to it works well. That can make it function like a blink deck without having to run dedicated cards that are less than optimal in other builds.
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!
I've always viewed blink as a nice sub-theme to support rather than make it a full-blown archetype. It's better to have a bunch of things that are awesome to blink like Reflector Mage (RIP in standard) than having a bunch of blink enablers but less things to profit off the blinking.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
I ultimately cut him because it was a pretty high variance card and I'm not a big fan of that sort of design.
EDIT:
As far as blink being viable? In lower powered rare cubes, you have to go out of your way to make it non-viable. And if you actively support it, it will be tier 1. In powered cube, this is probably not the case since blink needs time to realize value (and there are more broken things you can do).
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/modular-cube-5-colors.800/
Retro combo cube thread
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/retro-combo-cube.1454/
Do we actually have a Blink Archetype thread somewhere in this subforum? Can't say I've seen one, and I'd be interested to see what makes a "strong blink archetype" as mentioned by many above. If Brago is staying in my cube, I might as well try to soup things up for him...
My Stupidly Large Number of Current Decks
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