The weakest Sword is still much sgronger than thw next best equipment, so I don't see it getting reaced anytime soon. It does have the highest ceiling for damage output, so for more aggressive decks it's probably better than Feast and Famine or Light and Shadow.
The longest novel I've ever read was probably Shogun by James Clavell, an epic story about a British sailor marooned in ceudal Japan.
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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.
The weakest Sword is still much stronger than the next best equipment, so I don't see it getting replaced anytime soon. It does have the highest ceiling for damage output, so for more aggressive decks it's probably better than Feast and Famine or Light and Shadow.
The longest novel I've ever read was probably Shogun by James Clavell, an epic story about a British sailor marooned in feudal Japan.
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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.
Swords are insane and this one fits the bill too. I actually cut them because of the protection from colors. Too many non-interactive games because you just happened to be in the wrong color combo.
My longest novel is one of the 10 books (a few are 1200+ pages) in the Malazan book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. Highly recommend this fantasy series. Easily my favorite.
I run Silverheart at 450. It may be dumb fat, but dropping 12 power for 5 mana is really good. Especially when you can throw it onto something that will be swinging the turn you drop him.
I like green midrange, but I'm not really fond of R/G in the cube as much as I am outside of it. More liable to play B/G or W/G while cubing.
I like Wolfir; I can understand not running it as it seems like we have more good green 5s than what are necessary, but Silverheart certainly provides a beating when needed. There are very few cards that provide as much P/T in relation to the card's cost, and it's one of the nicer curve-toppers if your curve tops off at 5.
I like green decks a lot. Playing massive creatures is like my favorite thing to do in magic, and no one does it better than green so Im all for that.
Silverheart is sweet but was recently replaced by Kalonian Hydra, which fills largely the same role, plus has cool synergies with counters and as a 0/0 for Lark and Recruiter.
I don't really like midrange decks, but if I get Hydra and Plow Under, I'm liable to do it anyway. I like attacking.
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I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Very fun and swingy card, but has massive competition in the more consistent Kalonain Hydra / Verdurous Gearhulk. Wolfir Silverheart is capable of causing massive blowouts but it's also very vulnerable to getting blown out itself, especially with all the great removal spells most cubes play. Soulbond is a mechanic I would like to see more of, but the only one I'm playing at the moment is Lightning Mauler.
I love green midrange, so many shenanigans to be had.
silverheart is kind of a pet card for me. I was really tempted to cut him when the green gearhulk came out but i couldn't do it. always enjoyed the soulbond mechanic!
We still regard Silverheart highly here. Having immediate board impact is a huge plus. We like it more than Kalonian Hydra, but Verdurous Gearhulk is the better version.
I like green decks, but we have certain players that absolutely love the color and force it quite heavily, making it difficult to draft.
I ran Wolfir Siverheart in the early days of my cube, and when the opponent doesn't have an answer 12 points of power and toughness for 5 mana - 4 of it effectively hasted - ends games really fast. However, it's just not consistent enough compared to other options in this slot, so it's been replaced.
Some people don't like green in cube?
Green ramp decks are quite popular in my playgroups, but green midrange tends to be underdrafted. A lot of the guys I draft with really seem focused on "unfair" combo-based strategies. I've always been more of a limited player at heart, though, so I'm very happy to grab a bunch of dinosaurs and removal from whatever other color happens to be open and smash away.
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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.
Green ramp decks are quite popular in my playgroups, but green midrange tends to be underdrafted. A lot of the guys I draft with really seem focused on "unfair" combo-based strategies. I've always been more of a limited player at heart, though, so I'm very happy to grab a bunch of dinosaurs and removal from whatever other color happens to be open and smash away.
I've found this, too, although with my group it's more about people trying to do reanimator or superfriends or whatever, and then I get Mom and Thalia and poke them to death. Or better yet: they undervalue 1 drops in any color and also the 1U counterspells, so you just draft Ux tempo and kill them that way.
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I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Pretty underrated card overall. There are certain cards it doesn't hit, but for the most part there are few cards that save you as much time (i.e. damage) then Maze if that's what you're looking for.
Happiest is Library of Alexandria, followed by Strip Mine and Wasteland.
I like maze a lot and run it in my 360 unpowered. it's a unique effect that has saved my bacon many times.
I also started talking to a coworker recently who had a whole bunch of older magic cards. One of which is maze from the dark so I replaced my ema version with it.
Maze of Ith is a really unique card that we likely won't see again for a while - a land that doesn't tap for mana and just stops a creature outright. It's going to be a strange day when I end up cutting it from my cube (and let's be honest, it likely isn't going to happen.) Unlike a lot of older cards, I don't think its stock in terms of card power has really increased or dropped, but I'm tempted to say slightly increased due to better creature power levels and them helping to defend planeswalkers for free in slower matchups, or in matchups where the opponent just has one giant idiot swinging in (although it's pretty mediocre vs the Titan cycle, and Frost Titan just laughs at it.)
I'd say that Shelldock Isle is my favorite non-mana fixing land to have. Not just a high ceiling but generally don't have a hard time getting it active (and sideboard it out in matchups where it is.) It usually just casts some random thing EOT once the game's drawn out and even if it's just a Ponder, it's still nice.)
If you have one, you run it, no ith, andth, or buttth.
I normally prefer original arts, especially with original frames, but I cracked a foily Maze of Ith in my eternal master's box, so I run it instead.
Non-fixing lands I like are Maze of Ith, Windbrisk Heights is sometimes a hilarious combo piece to drop some huge fatty super fast, and Strip Mine is brutal.
I can't imagine us ever getting a better or more efficient option for colorless spot removal, so Maze of Ith will likely never be replace. The cost of a land drop is a real cost, but since locking down the best creature on the field will usually buy control decks enough time to make enough land drops to take over the game. All in all, a great card and a good reason to make sure to have some land destruction effects are in your cube.
although it's pretty mediocre vs the Titan cycle, and Frost Titan just laughs at it
True, although Maze does answer things that few other things can, like Aetherling or even a Sword that happens to hose both of the colors you're playing.
I'm running the From the Vault edition, not only because it's a foil, but I also prefer it to the original art because it actually looks like a maze. I do, however, run the original The Dark edition in my Peasant cube (where it's on my watchlist for being potentially too oppressive) because it's the only one without a gold symbol.
I'm a simple man with an unpowered cube, so I tend to pick Strip Mine very highly.
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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.
Maze of Ith is an exceptional card and especially good in control decks. There is a happy marriage between that archetype and Maze as both cover the weaknesses of the other well. Maze of Ith is one of the best answers to many things control is usually soft against:
1) Manlands. Celestial Collonade? I don't mind if you pay 5 mana per turn for nothing! The attacking Gideons can also be included in this category. Planeswalkers and lands are hard to answer and survive your mass removals. Maze of Ith protects you from their nastiness, indefinitely
2) Repeatable pump effects. I am mainly talking about equipment, usually making each creature your opponent draws a must answer threat thus exhausting the control mage. With maze on board there will be no sword triggers or Jitte counters. Maze also largely negates Elspeth, Knight Errant's most potent ability and Kessig Wolf Run.
3) Haste dudes. With Maze they will never catch you with your pants down.
4) Vehicles. Similar to manlands and equipment, but for the time being the majority of cubes have 3 or so lying around.
5) Aetherling. How many cards can even answer that?
6) Death triggers. This depends on your suit of removals. Cards like Hallowed Spiritkeeper and self recurring threats can pose problems to control.
In turn, control complements the weaknesses of Maze well:
1) Costing a land drop. This hurts least in control decks. You are not trying to ramp nor to win fast. You do not care if you cast that six drop a few turns later if you are in control of the game.
2) It is bad against decks going wide. You are not in a good place if you untap a token with it. This is traditionally taken care of by mass removals. In turn, Maze of Ith forces your opponent to overextend a bit to overcome it, making each mass removal you play more potent.
This is all in addition to effects the card offers to decks of all theaters. Sometimes it is not all about you - Maze protects planeswalkers like few other cards can. Although increasingly less relevant, it is answer to cards with protection against your colors. Maze is hard to respond to by your opponent. It is uncounterable and there are few maindeckable answers to lands. Another incidental perk is that it is quite good against cheat strategies. Titans and eldrazis ignore it, but the occasional Sphinx of the Steel Wind, Wurmcoil Engine or Dragonlord Atarka cry. While most cheated fatties will not be completely answered by maze, it will steal a lot of their punch and delay their clock, giving you enough time to find a proper answer. It is of the few cards able to do so before turn 3.
Maze is a card often misplayed (including by me). It is generally advisable to play the land only after your first mass removal against aggressive decks, delaying the reset button by a turn is not worth it. The decisions Maze creates in races are complex. Which creature will be able to get through, which will be able to block you. Which planeswalker do you protect. This all adds up to a card that is powerful, yet interesting.
I've never considered this card for my cube. It's good. I run it in some casual decks. But there's no room in a 450 card powered cube.
Tomorrow, I'll see patients in the morning and early afternoon. Then I'll go home, change clothes, eat, and go play Magic (hopefully cube, but we'll see what the gang wants to do).
Second, Search for Tomorrow is alright. If you run Oath of Druids style decks I like it a decent amount more, plus it's pretty good in wildfire builds too since it's green ramp that doesn't die to wildfire. I'm running it, not in love with it but it does well enough for me.
Tomorrow is work then Im heading to Boston for the weekend.
I love Maze of Ith. I own two really heavily played copies from The Dark. The character, effect, artwork, and uniqueness of the card are all great. One copy is in my cube, and the other is in my EDH Mina and Denn lands build.
Search would probably be the next basic searcher I'd add in. I've played it before and it was fine.
My plans for tomorrow are a half day of teaching and going home to several packages for a big update to my cube. Highlights include Norn, Clique, Show and Tell, Academy Ruins, Kalitas, Thundermaw Hellkite, Oracle of Mul Daya, SoFaI, SoBaM, Batterskull, Crucible, and Emrakul. There will be some hard cuts, but I think I have a plan.
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I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
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The longest novel I've ever read was probably Shogun by James Clavell, an epic story about a British sailor marooned in ceudal Japan.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
The longest novel I've ever read was probably Shogun by James Clavell, an epic story about a British sailor marooned in feudal Japan.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
My longest novel is one of the 10 books (a few are 1200+ pages) in the Malazan book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. Highly recommend this fantasy series. Easily my favorite.
My 450ish 1vs1 cube
Wolfir Silverheart
BONUS QUESTION
Do you enjoy playing green-based midrange decks when you cube?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I like green midrange, but I'm not really fond of R/G in the cube as much as I am outside of it. More liable to play B/G or W/G while cubing.
I like green decks a lot. Playing massive creatures is like my favorite thing to do in magic, and no one does it better than green so Im all for that.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
I don't really like midrange decks, but if I get Hydra and Plow Under, I'm liable to do it anyway. I like attacking.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
I love green midrange, so many shenanigans to be had.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
I like green decks, but we have certain players that absolutely love the color and force it quite heavily, making it difficult to draft.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Some people don't like green in cube?
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!
Green ramp decks are quite popular in my playgroups, but green midrange tends to be underdrafted. A lot of the guys I draft with really seem focused on "unfair" combo-based strategies. I've always been more of a limited player at heart, though, so I'm very happy to grab a bunch of dinosaurs and removal from whatever other color happens to be open and smash away.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I've found this, too, although with my group it's more about people trying to do reanimator or superfriends or whatever, and then I get Mom and Thalia and poke them to death. Or better yet: they undervalue 1 drops in any color and also the 1U counterspells, so you just draft Ux tempo and kill them that way.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Maze of Ith
BONUS QUESTION
What (non-mana fixing) utility land are you happiest to have in your decks?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Happiest is Library of Alexandria, followed by Strip Mine and Wasteland.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
I also started talking to a coworker recently who had a whole bunch of older magic cards. One of which is maze from the dark so I replaced my ema version with it.
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/63569
I'd say that Shelldock Isle is my favorite non-mana fixing land to have. Not just a high ceiling but generally don't have a hard time getting it active (and sideboard it out in matchups where it is.) It usually just casts some random thing EOT once the game's drawn out and even if it's just a Ponder, it's still nice.)
I used to write cube articles on StarCityGames, now for GatheringMagic and podcast about cube (w/Antknee42.)
I normally prefer original arts, especially with original frames, but I cracked a foily Maze of Ith in my eternal master's box, so I run it instead.
Non-fixing lands I like are Maze of Ith, Windbrisk Heights is sometimes a hilarious combo piece to drop some huge fatty super fast, and Strip Mine is brutal.
True, although Maze does answer things that few other things can, like Aetherling or even a Sword that happens to hose both of the colors you're playing.
I'm running the From the Vault edition, not only because it's a foil, but I also prefer it to the original art because it actually looks like a maze. I do, however, run the original The Dark edition in my Peasant cube (where it's on my watchlist for being potentially too oppressive) because it's the only one without a gold symbol.
I'm a simple man with an unpowered cube, so I tend to pick Strip Mine very highly.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
1) Manlands. Celestial Collonade? I don't mind if you pay 5 mana per turn for nothing! The attacking Gideons can also be included in this category. Planeswalkers and lands are hard to answer and survive your mass removals. Maze of Ith protects you from their nastiness, indefinitely
2) Repeatable pump effects. I am mainly talking about equipment, usually making each creature your opponent draws a must answer threat thus exhausting the control mage. With maze on board there will be no sword triggers or Jitte counters. Maze also largely negates Elspeth, Knight Errant's most potent ability and Kessig Wolf Run.
3) Haste dudes. With Maze they will never catch you with your pants down.
4) Vehicles. Similar to manlands and equipment, but for the time being the majority of cubes have 3 or so lying around.
5) Aetherling. How many cards can even answer that?
6) Death triggers. This depends on your suit of removals. Cards like Hallowed Spiritkeeper and self recurring threats can pose problems to control.
In turn, control complements the weaknesses of Maze well:
1) Costing a land drop. This hurts least in control decks. You are not trying to ramp nor to win fast. You do not care if you cast that six drop a few turns later if you are in control of the game.
2) It is bad against decks going wide. You are not in a good place if you untap a token with it. This is traditionally taken care of by mass removals. In turn, Maze of Ith forces your opponent to overextend a bit to overcome it, making each mass removal you play more potent.
This is all in addition to effects the card offers to decks of all theaters. Sometimes it is not all about you - Maze protects planeswalkers like few other cards can. Although increasingly less relevant, it is answer to cards with protection against your colors. Maze is hard to respond to by your opponent. It is uncounterable and there are few maindeckable answers to lands. Another incidental perk is that it is quite good against cheat strategies. Titans and eldrazis ignore it, but the occasional Sphinx of the Steel Wind, Wurmcoil Engine or Dragonlord Atarka cry. While most cheated fatties will not be completely answered by maze, it will steal a lot of their punch and delay their clock, giving you enough time to find a proper answer. It is of the few cards able to do so before turn 3.
Maze is a card often misplayed (including by me). It is generally advisable to play the land only after your first mass removal against aggressive decks, delaying the reset button by a turn is not worth it. The decisions Maze creates in races are complex. Which creature will be able to get through, which will be able to block you. Which planeswalker do you protect. This all adds up to a card that is powerful, yet interesting.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Search for Tomorrow
BONUS QUESTION
What are your plans for tomorrow?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Tomorrow, I'll see patients in the morning and early afternoon. Then I'll go home, change clothes, eat, and go play Magic (hopefully cube, but we'll see what the gang wants to do).
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
Tomorrow is my off day, so I'm going to change the shocks on my car. They're due.
Second, Search for Tomorrow is alright. If you run Oath of Druids style decks I like it a decent amount more, plus it's pretty good in wildfire builds too since it's green ramp that doesn't die to wildfire. I'm running it, not in love with it but it does well enough for me.
Tomorrow is work then Im heading to Boston for the weekend.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
Search would probably be the next basic searcher I'd add in. I've played it before and it was fine.
My plans for tomorrow are a half day of teaching and going home to several packages for a big update to my cube. Highlights include Norn, Clique, Show and Tell, Academy Ruins, Kalitas, Thundermaw Hellkite, Oracle of Mul Daya, SoFaI, SoBaM, Batterskull, Crucible, and Emrakul. There will be some hard cuts, but I think I have a plan.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered