MTG Salvation

My apologizes if a thread exists for this, tried to search for it and failed.



Based on theory crafting and my experiences with in standard, I thought there was a good chance that this card was good for my cube..
Experimenting with 2x thoughtseize (eventually reduced the power level to 2x duress), I realized just how good these cards are in a powered cube.

I ended up experimented with all sorts of discard effects from despise, to appetite for brains, mesmeric fiend and transgress the mind.
Mesmeric fiend and transgress proved a LOT better than appetite and despise.

When it was first spoiled, I think it was dismissed for being 2 mana and being conditional (I also dismissed it)... But outside of power, most of the best spells in cube fit this criteria. With reanimator being a deck, exiling big creatures is also relevant.
Now it's obviously not on the power level of duress/thoughtseize/inquision, but in mid sized cubes, it certainly competes with the bottom 25% of creatures/spells in black.
In large powered cubes, I think it's an auto include.

It is a good effect, but the extra 1 mana kills it for me. There is no spell I would cut from my current list for it and other black cards are higher on my 'Maybeboard' list (e.g. Despise, Ultimate Price).

Quote from Tactuz »

It is a good effect, but the extra 1 mana kills it for me. There is no spell I would cut from my current list for it and other black cards are higher on my 'Maybeboard' list (e.g. Despise, Ultimate Price).

I just looked over your list. I'm convinced transgress would be good for your cube. Your 3 drop concentration in black is much higher than it needs to be and would be a perfect slot to replace a cheaper, more impactful card with.

Despise gets better the larger the cube is (as larger cubes start to become more creature heavy), but I still think transgress would be slightly better in your cube. (I'd play both).

Appetite for Brains or Transgress the Mind ?

Quote from Zetsu_Sensei »

Appetite for Brains or Transgress the Mind ?

If you're looking for another targeted discard effect, might I suggest Blackmail instead of either of those? It might not be the best in your opening hand, but it never whiffs and it works just fine as a discard outlet for reanimator decks.

In fact, I'm looking for something to include in addition to the traditionnal discard package. I actually run Thoughtseize, Duress, Inquisition of Kozilek and Despise. Transgress the Mind and Appetite for Brains were the first that come to my mind, but yeah, Blackmail seems decent. Any testing with it?

I run it in my Peasant cube and it's performed admirably there. I initially built it kind of mirroring my rare cube, so Blackmail is my C/U analog of Thoughtseize. It doesn't completely wreck opening hands quite the way Thoughtseize does, but it often does a better job than Duress or Despise which often whiff completely. If I wanted another targeted discard effect in my primary cube (and I don't, really) it'd be Blackmail.