Accorder Paladin is strong but I found it usually just dies in combat.
It may die to a stiff breeze in combat, but in any go-wide deck Accorder Paladin will usually enable a pretty big attack on his way out the door. This is a 2-drop that continues to punch above its weight class. A lot of the commonly-cubed white 2-drops may seem interchangeable, but I'll be surprised to see this one get outclassed any time soon.
I've been really pleased with Angel of Invention so far. An anthem plus lifegain on a stick that can bring a few friends when it comes into play is hard to argue with.
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I am lukewarm, not because it's a bad card but because it's in a tight guild. The two sides on their own are overcosted, but being able to choose is super awesome, especially since Ice has a ton of application both offensively and defensively.
Split cards go into their guilds. It's nice that I can just play fire or ice on their own if necessary, but that's a feel bad moment and would absolutely make it a desperation 23rd card.
Ice definitely seems to get cast more often than Fire. Split damage burn spells like Fire are interesting because when they're good, they can be incredibly good, but when they aren't good, they're very disappointing. Ice tends to be always good, but rarely great. I'm usually pretty reluctant to main deck split damage burn because of the match-ups when its not relevant, but having the situationally great Fire split with the always good Ice makes me feel much less bad about main decking Fire//Ice. I think its a great card, and when I'm in both colors, I'm always happy to play it. I don't like playing just Ice in my blue deck or just Fire in my red deck. If I'm blue, and have a few ways to generate red such as Coalition Relic and City of Brass, I'll probably consider Fire//Ice as my only red splash.
Fire // Ice is a solid utility spell. Dividable burn is always great and Ice is there when you need to buy time. It's currently my #4 Izzet card, I like it a lot more than Izzet Charm. Wouldn't mind another solid Izzet card to play over Fire // Ice, but I'm also in no hurry to replace it either.
I classify split cards in their respective guilds.
Ice definitely seems to get cast more often than Fire. Split damage burn spells like Fire are interesting because when they're good, they can be incredibly good, but when they aren't good, they're very disappointing. Ice tends to be always good, but rarely great. I'm usually pretty reluctant to main deck split damage burn because of the match-ups when its not relevant, but having the situationally great Fire split with the always good Ice makes me feel much less bad about main decking Fire//Ice. I think its a great card, and when I'm in both colors, I'm always happy to play it. I don't like playing just Ice in my blue deck or just Fire in my red deck. If I'm blue, and have a few ways to generate red such as Coalition Relic and City of Brass, I'll probably consider Fire//Ice as my only red splash.
It's cast in a pretty even split for us. Ice is used offensively way more than defensively, to tap down blockers so I can push damage through, or casting it on T2 on the play during the opponent's upkeep to take damn near a full turn's worth of tempo away.
I classify it in the Izzet section, because it's both red and blue, and is intrinsically best when both options are available to the deck in question.
I actually just came here to ask how people classify split cards, and saw it was the bonus question! I'd play play Fire//Ice as Twin Bolt in a deck without blue some of the time, so I don't think I'd classify it as Izzet in the same way that Electrolyze is. But most people probably aren't going to run a full cycle of split cards, so it's difficult.
Personally, when designing cubes, I reserve a 10 card "Whatever" section that can include hybrid mana, split cards, three-color cards, and anything else that's hard to spread out equally. I make sure the color balance is within reason, and don't think too much about it.
I run splits in the guild section usually. But I'm also not dogmatic on balance. If I run one extra red card or one extra guild card, who cares? It's not a factor in draft when variances are that small. And if running another blue card that people want over forcing the 3rd Rakdos card which sucks, my cube is better for that decision.
I may actually cut this card for Electrolyze now that it can't be used on Isochron. I count it as Izzet. It's still a really nice, flexible card though.
I may actually cut this card for Electrolyze now that it can't be used on Isochron. I count it as Izzet. It's still a really nice, flexible card though.
This. I want to cut Ral Zarek to get planeswalkers down to 25/450, but Fire // Ice not working on the Stick anymore is a huge bummer. So I may roll with 26 walkers for a while, until we get something super sweet in the guild.
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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
I haven't run Isochron Scepter for quite a while, but I've still been pretty happy with Fire // Ice. There are never enough burn spells to go around, so Fire finds its way into non-blue decks all the time, and there's always something useful to do with Ice even if it doesn't often see play in non-Izzet decks.
Normally I have no trouble running splits in one of 2 free hybrid slots I allow each guild, but as there aren't 4 Izzet gold spells I want to run this is just taking up a regular Izzet slot for now. If another really amazing Izzet gold card shows up that I really want to find room for, that may change.
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I like kozilek since he's castable in some decks and a good sneak target. I like running 1-3 of the OG eldrazi since there are other uses for the shuffle clause + annihilator is a great mechanic for something you cheat in, and great meaning great for you. Also they work really well with survival of the fittest.
I run OG Emmy and Kozi here as my two big cheat in targets, or supermassive mana ramp targets. Emmy wins as she resolves, but Kozi here does a lot of work, even if he's killed early. Drawing 4 cards is nothing to scoff at.
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Kozilek is good if you support cheat strategies. New Ulamog and new Emrakul are better generally, but I think he is the third best. Third best is quite great, as you want redundancy if you are going to support the archetype. Annihilator is great with Sneak Attack
OG Kozilek makes a fantastic ramp target and a great Sneak & Show target as well, I've considered trying new Emrakul in its place, but in the meantime I've been really happy with Koz.
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I don't play Verdurous Gearhulk, buy I might pick one up and shuffle some things around to try it out. Maybe it'll replace Wickerbough, or perhaps Regal Behemoth, both of which are merely fine.
I don't run any Inventions and likely never will. I dislike gaudiness in general.
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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
Verdous gearhulk is ok. I think the other day there was a good discussion abiit running this or kalonian hydra and while i prefer the hydra, i think either choice is fine.
I dont run any masterpieces. If i did i would probably run the shock lans. Duals are easy to see because white boarder, but on a quick glance it is easy to mix a fetch and a shockland
Replaced wolfir silverheart with verdurous gearhulk and its been good. The trample is big and not requiring another creature to get the bonus power is also nice.
Currently don't run any inventions, though yesterday I was considering upgrading.
The best of the Gearhulk cycle, IMO. I like Verdurous Gearhulk a lot more than Wolfir Silverheart and think it's pretty on par with Kalonian Hydra. My only reservation about Gearhulk is that it has a huge achilles heel in being an artifact (which can be an advantage at times, but Gearhulk's color really can't take advantage of it).
When KLD first came out, I tested both new Nissa and Gearhulk in the slot since I only had room for one in the long run. I expected Nissa to win, but Gearhulk ended up surprising me a lot more. What I really love about Verdurous Gearhulk is that it's not a bad backup Natural Order target (in case you already drew your only other super fatties). Although the green 5-cmc slot is crowded, I like Gearhulk a lot more than other options above the curve (6 and above). 5-mana pseudo super-fatty is pretty damn good.
I'm not running any masterpieces in my cube, but I do love the Inventions as a hole. It's the masterpiece card frame that I actually like. If I were into pimping, I'd probably go for an Hangarback Walker invention. While the swords are all beautiful, they're too iconic for me to not use their original pack versions. While Hangarback Walker is a great card, it's not exactly iconic so I wouldn't mind upgrading it to an Invention if I really felt like it.
I think gearhulk is great, It's among the better half of the 7 green five drops I run. It usually wins the game by the end of the turn after casting him, if you have something to pump. However, there are definitely times where it is just an 8/8 trampler for five.
I don't run the Gearhulk, but it seems good. Maybe I will test it over Wolfir Silverheart but that's not that exciting.
I run Strip Mine, Ancient Tomb, Scroll Rack and Mind Twist as Masterpieces in my cube. I try to include as many card frames as possible, and those specific cards are combination of great art + not a part of a cycle + within my budget.
It may die to a stiff breeze in combat, but in any go-wide deck Accorder Paladin will usually enable a pretty big attack on his way out the door. This is a 2-drop that continues to punch above its weight class. A lot of the commonly-cubed white 2-drops may seem interchangeable, but I'll be surprised to see this one get outclassed any time soon.
I've been really pleased with Angel of Invention so far. An anthem plus lifegain on a stick that can bring a few friends when it comes into play is hard to argue with.
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Fire // Ice
BONUS QUESTION
How do you classify split cards?
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Split cards go into their guilds. It's nice that I can just play fire or ice on their own if necessary, but that's a feel bad moment and would absolutely make it a desperation 23rd card.
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Figure of Destiny, Lightning Helix, and wear // tear all go in the Boros section.
[180 classic cube]
I classify split cards in their respective guilds.
Interesting, my experience is that Fire is cast WAY more than Ice. I can see where different cube configurations would make Ice more ideal though.
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I classify it in the Izzet section, because it's both red and blue, and is intrinsically best when both options are available to the deck in question.
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Personally, when designing cubes, I reserve a 10 card "Whatever" section that can include hybrid mana, split cards, three-color cards, and anything else that's hard to spread out equally. I make sure the color balance is within reason, and don't think too much about it.
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/modular-cube-5-colors.800/
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This. I want to cut Ral Zarek to get planeswalkers down to 25/450, but Fire // Ice not working on the Stick anymore is a huge bummer. So I may roll with 26 walkers for a while, until we get something super sweet in the guild.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Normally I have no trouble running splits in one of 2 free hybrid slots I allow each guild, but as there aren't 4 Izzet gold spells I want to run this is just taking up a regular Izzet slot for now. If another really amazing Izzet gold card shows up that I really want to find room for, that may change.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
BONUS QUESTION
What are YOU a butcher of?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
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Im, a butcher. of grammer irregardless of wear eye am.
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My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
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I butcher the Korean language on a daily basis.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Verdurous Gearhulk
BONUS QUESTION
Are you running any Inventions in your cube?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I don't run any Inventions and likely never will. I dislike gaudiness in general.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
I dont run any masterpieces. If i did i would probably run the shock lans. Duals are easy to see because white boarder, but on a quick glance it is easy to mix a fetch and a shockland
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/63569
Currently don't run any inventions, though yesterday I was considering upgrading.
The only masterpiece-type card I run is Kor Haven, and that was because I got it for a good price. In general, I prefer the art on the original cards.
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When KLD first came out, I tested both new Nissa and Gearhulk in the slot since I only had room for one in the long run. I expected Nissa to win, but Gearhulk ended up surprising me a lot more. What I really love about Verdurous Gearhulk is that it's not a bad backup Natural Order target (in case you already drew your only other super fatties). Although the green 5-cmc slot is crowded, I like Gearhulk a lot more than other options above the curve (6 and above). 5-mana pseudo super-fatty is pretty damn good.
I'm not running any masterpieces in my cube, but I do love the Inventions as a hole. It's the masterpiece card frame that I actually like. If I were into pimping, I'd probably go for an Hangarback Walker invention. While the swords are all beautiful, they're too iconic for me to not use their original pack versions. While Hangarback Walker is a great card, it's not exactly iconic so I wouldn't mind upgrading it to an Invention if I really felt like it.
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I run Strip Mine, Ancient Tomb, Scroll Rack and Mind Twist as Masterpieces in my cube. I try to include as many card frames as possible, and those specific cards are combination of great art + not a part of a cycle + within my budget.