Aetherling is easily the second best 6-drop in blue behind Consecrated Sphinx. If you untap with him or have a seventh mana available, he's probably not going anywhere. Also, he's broken in half with Upheaval. He's just an all around great finisher for blue control decks.
My favorite superhero is Spider-Man. Unfortunately, I'm not currently reading any Spidey books because he's being written by someone (Dan Slott) who obviously has no idea who Peter Parker or Spider-Man should be. While we're on the subject of visceral hate, I sincerely despise Dan Slott. In fact, he blocked me on Twitter because I kept tagging him in all my posts about how terrible Spider-Man is now.
Aetherling is easily the second best 6-drop in blue behind Consecrated Sphinx. If you untap with him or have a seventh mana available, he's probably not going anywhere. Also, he's broken in half with Upheaval. He's just an all around great finisher for blue control decks.
My favorite superhero is Spider-Man. Unfortunately, I'm not currently reading any Spidey books because he's being written by someone (Dan Slott) who obviously has no idea who Peter Parker or Spider-Man should be. While we're on the subject of visceral hate, I sincerely despise Dan Slott. In fact, he blocked me on Twitter because I kept tagging him in all my posts about how terrible Spider-Man is now.
All of this. That is my answer. (A close second place goes to Iron Fist because I am a massive martial arts enthusiast and I love Matt Fractions run)
Aetherling is an awesome control finisher. Can't be blocked. Can't be killed. Can't be stopped! One of the premier finishers I'm looking for when I need a slot dedicated to a true win-condition.
Dislike the art and dislike the sort of draw-go decks that it slots most easily into. That said, it's a good card and currently the best U 6 drop in my cube, as I haven't yet found a Sphinx for trade.
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EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Ætherling is the Terminator of control finishers. As long as you have enough blue mana available it can't be blocked, killed, or stolen and it will not stop until the opponent is dead. It also helps protect you its controller quite nicely since it can be blinked out at the end of your turn to reappear untapped in time to play defense. No single card provides inevitability to control decks the way Ætherling can.
There are very, very few cards where I have such a strong negative reaction on a gut level. It is really hard to explain for this card why I have it though. My attempts to explain it are that dodging every single type of removal while hitting for up to 8 unblockable damage can lead to massive feelbads on the receiving end; plus, I find the picture ugly as hell. Apart from that, I can't really tell why my body reacts this way, but even three years after seeing it for the first time, it still gives me stomach cramps just looking at it.
Sorry to bring back bad memories for you! I was getting back into Magic during RTR block, and although I never faced an Ætherling in retail limited I faced it and Sphinx's Revelation way too many times when I was dipping my toes into Standard. Blergh. Ætherling isn't immune to all removal, though, it's weak to tappers while something like Morphling or Sphinx of Jwar Isle isn't, so it might make sense to run Icy Manipulator in cube if you're also running Ætherling.
I grew up reading Marvel Comics and was always a big fan of Spider Man and The X-Men, but my single favorite comic book title was the original run of Animal Man. The way Grant Morrison takes an interesting but ultimately C-list superhero and explores such a wide variety of themes and ideas were like nothing else in the genre.
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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.
Easily one of the best finishers in cube due to there only being a handful of cards that can repeatedly impede AEtherling's offense if its controller has mana up, here's all the ones I can think of off the top of my head:
- Maze of Ith
- Kor Haven
- Icy Manipulator
- Eldrazi Displacer
Favorite super hero? Probably Batman, he's an ordinary man that keeps up with gods thanks to the help of his trusty trust fund.
I love Mind Stone because it helps me play Wildfire and the artifact deck, some of my favorites. It's also good in traditional draw-go control, though that's one of my least favorite decks.
My favorite classically-inspired flavor text is probably the Milton quote on the Portal copy of Armageddon. Though the best classically-inspired text on an MTG card is the card name Swords to Plowshares.
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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
Mind Stone is my favorite non-fixing 2-drop mana rock. A simple and sweet design that makes the card really helpful in a lot of situations.
I always liked the quote on Demonic Tutor, because it is so bizarre (yet somewhat fitting, if you know the context) and also because I can recite a part of Goethe's Faust thanks to it.
Edit: I am not sure which version I run exactly (never noticed that they all have different flavor texts), but it is a non-foil from among the objectively superior post-8th edition frames.
I like Mind Stone a lot. It's not as good in pure mana rock form as the other ones, but it plays a great split-card design, because it can ramp early and then replace itself later once you no longer need the additional resources. Control decks especially love Mind Stone effects. Too many mana rocks can make control play more like midrange/ramp than true a true control shell. But Mind Stone allows those decks to get the extra tempo advantage to recover against an opponent's aggressive start, without it costing them a whole card to have access to the effect.
I love the original art as well, especially with the old, brown frame. The colors work together and the art is surreal with the mind being the key which unlocks the eyes and ears of those around it. Weird and wonderful. It's a staple.
Favorite real world flavor text would be from Funeral March
I run the full cycle of Signets, but Mind Stone still makes the cut even with 10 other mana rocks that cost 2 and ramp 1 because the control and ramp decks that want these appreciate the flood insurance just as much as the ramp itself that comes from this card. This is also quite a bit less narrow than its big brother Hedron Archive, which is fantastic in ramp decks, but in far less demand by control decks.
The original art and the Gateway promo foil art are both fantastic, and I really wish there were a Timeshifted foil of this with the original brown frame. Since there isn't, I run the Gateway promo foil because seeing the original art in a silver frame just makes me sad. Oddly, it also seems like each version after the Gateway promo foil has progressively worse flavor text.
My favorite real world flavor text is from the newer editions of Treasure Trove:
"Wealth means power; the power to subdue, to crush, to exploit, the power to enslave, to outrage, to degrade."
—Emma Goldman, "Anarchism"
As far as I know, there's no other MTG flavor text quoting radical political philosophy, and I'd hate to see political polemics working their way into too many cards, but here's one case where the quote could have come from some fantasy demon or warlord just as easily as an American radical from 1910. If only the card itself were playable!
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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.
I think Mind Stone is the bar that other mana rocks have to live up to in order to be considered for inclusion. This is exactly what I want from a mana rock. It's good early, it's decent late, and it's priced accordingly. It's rock solid.
Archive ends up being a bit narrower than Mind Stone, since a lot more decks are interested in ramping from 2 to 4 than 4 to 7. However, this card does exactly what a dedicated ramp deck wants to be doing: getting ahead on mana and drawing cards.
I probably end up playing Simic Signet more often than any other single mana rock. I'll often grab it as a speculative pick that slots nicely into ramp or control, and it'll make the main deck if either archetype is open
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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.
I am yet to really go hard-on into Hedron Archive, but it's always been better than I expected when I deck it (which tells you I should probably be raising my expectations of it).
Long-term, Sol Ring is probably the go-to mana rock in my cube, but I'm on a tear with Mana Vault at the moment... too many good times with the Vault and Tezz, I think.
It kills tokens, removes blockers, resets loyalty (up or down) and can abuse ETB triggers. On a 3-mana 3-power creature ...with evasion. Nothing not to like about the 'Wisp; it does it all.
Flickering a Hornet Queen always feels pretty good.
Nothing negative to say about Flickerwisp. It's been an all star since it's initial inclusion. I love to Flickerwisp own guy that's been stolen by my opponent somehow. It's just all the feel bads on their side of the table.
My favorite superhero is Spider-Man. Unfortunately, I'm not currently reading any Spidey books because he's being written by someone (Dan Slott) who obviously has no idea who Peter Parker or Spider-Man should be. While we're on the subject of visceral hate, I sincerely despise Dan Slott. In fact, he blocked me on Twitter because I kept tagging him in all my posts about how terrible Spider-Man is now.
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
Follow me. I tweet.
All of this. That is my answer. (A close second place goes to Iron Fist because I am a massive martial arts enthusiast and I love Matt Fractions run)
My favorite superhero is Doomsday.
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!
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Sorry to bring back bad memories for you! I was getting back into Magic during RTR block, and although I never faced an Ætherling in retail limited I faced it and Sphinx's Revelation way too many times when I was dipping my toes into Standard. Blergh. Ætherling isn't immune to all removal, though, it's weak to tappers while something like Morphling or Sphinx of Jwar Isle isn't, so it might make sense to run Icy Manipulator in cube if you're also running Ætherling.
I grew up reading Marvel Comics and was always a big fan of Spider Man and The X-Men, but my single favorite comic book title was the original run of Animal Man. The way Grant Morrison takes an interesting but ultimately C-list superhero and explores such a wide variety of themes and ideas were like nothing else in the genre.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
- Maze of Ith
- Kor Haven
- Icy Manipulator
- Eldrazi Displacer
Favorite super hero? Probably Batman, he's an ordinary man that keeps up with gods thanks to the help of his trusty trust fund.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
My favorite as a kid was spiderman, but after the One More Day arc, I just gave up on it. Stupid hard reboot.
Mind Stone
BONUS QUESTION
What is your favorite classically inspired MTG flavor text?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
My favorite classically-inspired flavor text is probably the Milton quote on the Portal copy of Armageddon. Though the best classically-inspired text on an MTG card is the card name Swords to Plowshares.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
I always thought the quote on Shimian Night Stalker was sweet, though a waste on those abilities and that weirdo art.
I always liked the quote on Demonic Tutor, because it is so bizarre (yet somewhat fitting, if you know the context) and also because I can recite a part of Goethe's Faust thanks to it.
Edit: I am not sure which version I run exactly (never noticed that they all have different flavor texts), but it is a non-foil from among the objectively superior post-8th edition frames.
Don't worry about that. My weird reaction to that card is entirely on me.
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
As far as real-world quotes go, Frozen Shade has a great one from one of my favorite authors.
Cheers,
rant
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My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
Favorite real world flavor text would be from Funeral March
The original art and the Gateway promo foil art are both fantastic, and I really wish there were a Timeshifted foil of this with the original brown frame. Since there isn't, I run the Gateway promo foil because seeing the original art in a silver frame just makes me sad. Oddly, it also seems like each version after the Gateway promo foil has progressively worse flavor text.
My favorite real world flavor text is from the newer editions of Treasure Trove:
"Wealth means power; the power to subdue, to crush, to exploit, the power to enslave, to outrage, to degrade."
—Emma Goldman, "Anarchism"
As far as I know, there's no other MTG flavor text quoting radical political philosophy, and I'd hate to see political polemics working their way into too many cards, but here's one case where the quote could have come from some fantasy demon or warlord just as easily as an American radical from 1910. If only the card itself were playable!
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
Follow me. I tweet.
Hedron Archive
(I promise tomorrow's card won't be Dreamstone Hedron)
BONUS QUESTION
What mana rock do you play in your cube decks most often?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Besides the power rocks (like Ring and Crypt, etc) my most commonly played mana rocks are Mind Stone and Coalition Relic.
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!
As Beyonce said, 'If you like it, put a ring on it."
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I have seen it be a late game 6 cmc draw two, which is still solid.
I probably end up playing Simic Signet more often than any other single mana rock. I'll often grab it as a speculative pick that slots nicely into ramp or control, and it'll make the main deck if either archetype is open
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Long-term, Sol Ring is probably the go-to mana rock in my cube, but I'm on a tear with Mana Vault at the moment... too many good times with the Vault and Tezz, I think.
My Stupidly Large Number of Current Decks
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Flickerwisp
BONUS QUESTION
What's the most powerful thing you've ever done with Flickerwisp in a cube game?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Flickering a Hornet Queen always feels pretty good.
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!
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
Follow me. I tweet.