When you have to pay WWW for it, it's a tough cost. Normally it's more like 4 mana spell with occasional 3 mana if your mana base is strong, which doesn't always happen. My players and I like the other cards we've been getting much more and I don't think I'll add it back then before couple of other cards. We just like the current 50 cards we're running more than it.
I think it's biggest flaw is that it's essentially a 2WW noncreature spell, some of the toughest competition in cube fits in this slot. The token producers at this slot (elspeth 1, Gideon 3) are better imo, but it's not a bad card, which is why larger cubes still run and are happy with it.
This is probably my favorite Commander card that gets played in cube. It's great in aggressive decks as well as more controlling decks, and I probably use this as a two mana Time Ebb just as often as I do as an instant speed Desert Twister. It's such a versatile and fun card.
Speaking of Unexpectedly Absent, I will be traveling for about a week so I will not be able to post these daily. Salmo has been kind enough to agree to take these over until I come back. Thanks, Salmo!
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
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I have had it in my cube for a long time but I have never seen it do too much, some of that could be my play group undervaluing it (it's often in the cards they cut).
Huge fan of Unexpectedly Absent. Amazing for tempo purposes, and deals with a huge variety of permanents at instant speed for a low cost. Later in the game it's a mana sink if you never want to see a given thing again. Well pleased to get a foil of it now...
The moment I realized that is already just a significantly better Griptide for tempo plays at 2 mana for nonland permanents, AND only gets better with fetches/path to exile/tutors, and can scale higher for slightly more permanent answering, it hit me how much I like just one of these effects in 360. Super flexible for 1 slot.
Someone once tried to tell me this was the best Dimir card in Multiplayer, and I laughed at them (because, you know, Consuming Aberration is a thing that exists and stuff).
And then I played it. Holey moley is it the boss. Probably the best gold 2-drop ever printed.
The bomb diggity. It's literally everything a UB deck could want in a 2-drop, and thanks to the power of Eternal Masters, everyone gets to experience this little slice of goodness at an affordable price. It's good enough to crack my top 10 multicolored list.
I was just about to post one! But this works I HAD ONE JOB AND I BLEW IT!!!
Baleful Strix is pretty amazing. Probably the best Dimir Card. There isn't a deck I wouldn't run it in that can cast UB, except maybe if I'm playing something like storm against a deck that's all removal and I don't want him to have any live cards, which is obviously an insane corner case which shouldn't be the exception.
Does she really lose that much value? As long as you can protect her she's a great win condition later on as she still lands with a ton of loyalty and can attack the deck much more efficiently since she requires less activations. She's absolutely the most powerful on T3, but there are a lot of later boards on which she excels as well.
But yeah, a 6 drop that is good against a lot of boards is probably inherently more splashable as you're just able to hit that splash easier on T6 than T3.
It's a bit off-topic, but I would argue Elder Silumgar is a more splashable then Ashiok. A 3-drop on the splash has a very high chance of being cast as a 5-6 anyway and Ashiok looses TONS of value if you don't get her down T3.
More splashable but less desirable as a splash a lot of the time, especially if you have other six drops
Strix is just a straight up value card. Great on turn 2, good on turn 10. Evasion so it's an excellent sword carrier, deathtouch makes it a great blocker, and being just a 1/1 your opponent doesn't want to waste a bolt on it, and even if he does, the card draw replacement is still worth it.
Probably about as strong as a french vanilla creature you can find.
Baleful Strix is a subtle card that so happens to have everything going for it: flying and deathtouch make it a tough pill to swallow while attacking into it and the draw trigger can be really useful in blink / recursion strategies. Also, being an artifact is a nice bonus for those supporting an artifact theme.
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Of course, if you can play it at triple W, then it's golden.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=484979
It's essentially a creature spell, which is nice in the 4cc slot because there aren't a ton of great ones in white.
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http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=484979
This is probably my favorite Commander card that gets played in cube. It's great in aggressive decks as well as more controlling decks, and I probably use this as a two mana Time Ebb just as often as I do as an instant speed Desert Twister. It's such a versatile and fun card.
Speaking of Unexpectedly Absent, I will be traveling for about a week so I will not be able to post these daily. Salmo has been kind enough to agree to take these over until I come back. Thanks, Salmo!
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Second, I enjoy unexpectedly absent. It's a card I could see replacing, but one I'm enjoying currently.
Third, I'll start my run at this on tuesday i.e. 6/21. Thanks for asking Spike Rogue, it's my pleasure!
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It's funny you mention EDH, I just realized I'm not running this in my Karador deck and I'm pretty sure I have an extra one lying around...
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Baleful Strix is an intriguing Dimir creature. 2cmc, card draw and evasion. What's not to like?
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And then I played it. Holey moley is it the boss. Probably the best gold 2-drop ever printed.
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Baleful Strix is pretty amazing. Probably the best Dimir Card. There isn't a deck I wouldn't run it in that can cast UB, except maybe if I'm playing something like storm against a deck that's all removal and I don't want him to have any live cards, which is obviously an insane corner case which shouldn't be the exception.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
But yeah, a 6 drop that is good against a lot of boards is probably inherently more splashable as you're just able to hit that splash easier on T6 than T3.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
More splashable but less desirable as a splash a lot of the time, especially if you have other six drops
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Probably about as strong as a french vanilla creature you can find.
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