MTG Salvation

540 Powered Cube Testing

WWWW
...

UUUUU
+ Daring Saboteur
I am actually pretty excited for this card, but my room for blue aggro creatures is starting to run thin. I may likely test it over some larger blue spells like Mystic Confluence or perhaps I finally axe Sakashima's Student, which I hate to do since you can get big gains out of it in conjunction with Daring Saboteur

+ Jace, Cunning Castaway
I know a lot of people are not a fan of him, but I like this guy a lot for supporting my blue aggro decks. His abilities are all relevant in these kinds of decks and can get out of hand easily when you pivot to playing a tempo game. I will likely slot him in over something like Imprisoned in the Moon, we have just not been using that card that much and I think it is time for me to just cut it.

BBBBB
...

RRRRR
+ Rampaging Ferocidon
Easy swap in over Blood Moon, which I was trying to use for a Big Red Control tech card...

GGGGG
+ Deeproot Champion
Easy swap in over From Beyond, I have enough support for green ramping that this card has lost its edge.

WUBRG
+ Vraska, Relic Seeker
I still run Vraska the Unseen, while she can blow up planeswalkers, I don't feel that it is better than just paying 1 extra for a better + ability and a better ultimate.


+ Treasure Map
I am actually a big fan of this card, it can smooth out draws and give you a lotus ability later on or even just draw you more cards if the mana is not relevant. It seems really flexible and I can make room for it over a Signet that is not really used all that much because of whatever color combo not really using it as intended.

Overall
I like this set for Cube, nothing instantly jumps out at me as an auto include and I really like sets that warp inclusions in ways that shed light on perhaps unnoticed potential. I expect Jace, Cunning Castaway to stick for blue, and Rampaging Ferocidon for red. The others seem like strong includes for my Cube, but are going to need testing for sure. I am pleased with Ixalan, the last couple releases have been a bit disappointing for me.

probably looking at:

chart a course
ruin raider
hostage taker
sorcerous spyglass

might also test vona, butcher of magan

Legion's Landing coming in the test slot I've been cycling through in white. Pushing out Angel of Condemnation.
Chart a Course is coming in. Likely cutting Gitaxian Probe.
Ruin Raider is coming in, perhaps temporarily. Likely cutting Mardu Strike Leader.
Carnage Tyrant is coming in, though I may wait until it drops a bit. Probably Regal Behemoth, but perhaps something totally different like Nissa, Vastwood Seer or Song of the Dryads or Oath of Nissa or something.
Hostage Taker coming in, Dragonlord Silumgar headed out.
Sorcerous Spyglass in for Hedron Archive.
Treasure Map for . . . Precursor Golem? Not sure.

I want to find room for Ripjaw Raptor, but it might just not be good enough, and it's preordering for more than I want to pay for something that might not even be worth it.

ah forgot about ripjaw raptor. i will be including that as well.

Ironically the new rule change that changes planeswalkers to legendary permanents brought in almost as many cards as Ixalan.

WHITE
Thalia's Lancers - card just seems great with the new update. Testing over Reveillark (blasphemy right?)
Karakas - similar to Lancers, I think this card got the boost it needed to make 450.

BLUE
- Chart a Course - Card seems excellent. Plus, it encourages tempo based blue decks, something I want to be a bigger thing. Testing over Commit // Memory

BLACK
Whomp whomp. One of my cubers is pushing for Wanted Scoundrels, but the card just seems bad.

RED
Whomp whomp. Not a fan of Raging Ferocidon

GREEN
- Carnage Tyrant - I really want to test this card, but my cubers are strongly against it. So I'll probably slot it in and beat their faces in with it.

OTHER
- Hostage Taker - huge fan of this effect. Wanted to test without errata to enable jack Purphoros decks, but people were not fans. Testing over Silumgar
- Sorcerous Spyglass - card is interesting. May test if online results are good.

I'm of the opinion that of course that should influence your opinion - the synergy there is insane. Moreover, the addition of Thalia's Lancers, which is basically any legendary card in your deck, also boosts Karakas a good amount. I look forward to assembling Karakas + Vendilion Clique with Lancers.

Quote from Tjornan »

I'm of the opinion that of course that should influence your opinion - the synergy there is insane. Moreover, the addition of Thalia's Lancers, which is basically any legendary card in your deck, also boosts Karakas a good amount. I look forward to assembling Karakas + Vendilion Clique with Lancers.

And in the same deck, the arguably better Karakas + Venser

Kara Kas can bounce opposing planeswalkers, so that is also an option.

Quote from akroma44 »

Kara Kas can bounce opposing planeswalkers, so that is also an option.

Only if they are also creatures.

Quote from akroma44 »

Kara Kas can bounce opposing planeswalkers, so that is also an option.

When they're activated as creatures like Gideons do, yes

IN
Chart a Course
Carnage Tyrant
Sorcerous Spyglass

TESTING
Thalia's Lancers (Updated legendary PW rules move this card from just outside playable to a potential cube staple).
Ruin Raider
Hostage Taker

WATCHING
Ripjaw Raptor

Here is my list:
Unpowered 450:
Sorcerous Spyglass - might replace or augment Pithing Needle
Carnage Tyrant - not for $10 as I see it being replaced someday
Hostage Taker - will wait for feedback

Artifact Cube:
Sorcerous Spyglass
Ruthless Knave - Sac outlet, and produces 2 artifacts. Not too shabby stats as well. (Wish there were more - I want to give Black a Treasure sub theme)

So far, I'm looking at:

• Sorcerous Spyglass
  
• Thalia's Lancers
  
• Chart a Course
  
• Rampaging Ferocidon
  
• Carnage Tyrant

I'm looking to test Carnage Tyrant, Vraska, Relic Seeker, Chart a Course, Sorcerous Spyglass and Rampaging Ferocidon.

Not really any confident includes for my 360 unpowered at this point, but here's what's on my list.

Includes
UUU Chart a Course

Testables
BBB Ruin Raider
GGG Carnage Tyrant
2UB Hostage Taker (largely depends on if I want this or The Scarab God.)
CCC Sorcerous Spyglass

Related Changes
WWW Thalia's Lancers (Many users seem to be high on this with the rule changes. I'll give it a look.)

Chart a Course and Carnage Tyrant are my only real slam dunks here, but there's a lot I'll be trying.

Got some testing in:

-Rampaging Ferocidon has been pretty solid. I'm less hot on him as I was as he just ate removal a couple times, but there were also turns where he added a lot of damage and was able to get through or allowed other creatures to. The life gain was relevant, only once but it's *huge* to stop it. Seems good, but I want to get more play in before I come to the conclusion. I think it's worth testing if you weren't originally going to, but not if your red decks are often not aggressive. That may seem like a crazy statement, but he really shines when played on curve in red aggro.

-Carnage Tyrant is annoying, which is good. It's just big for a cost that is less for what I'd expect that card to cost. It's nice to not have to take Primetime over anything when I see it if I know my deck will need/want a 6. Unless I get bored with how boring it is, it'll stay for a while.

-Sorcerous Spyglass was alright, but I felt it was more matchup/situation dependent. It did feel better than Pithing Needle as it hit a couple cards that the player would've never guessed with Needle and it seemed to make a difference, but then there was also the classic needle problem a couple times of no great target after casting/using it. Feels weird though, I'm not going to take that small small sample size as the average/typical situation.

-Chart a Course was sweet, but it was in a deck where it should've been sweet and I feel like I saw BCS over and over. It's an amazing card in low-curve decks on turns 3-4, since you're often able to cast it with the Raid trigger and play something else. It always seemed better on t2 to just play a creature even when Raid was active, but in that particular combo there wasn't a lack of 1s.

Didn't see anything else, or get the reports from it. The only two cards from above I'm pretty confident about are Tyrant and Chart a Course, but the other two weren't poor or subpar. They wouldn't make small lists, but I could see them cracking mid-to-large sized cubes. If you only want one needle effect in a small list, Spyglass might be better, but that's debatable/not a statement I'm confident about.

Well, there's not a lot going on in Ixalan for my cube. I really do like the set a lot, and there some interesting designs. But my interest is only really in a few cards and none of them are slam dunks.

Treasure Map - Not really cubeable of its own accord, but the flip side is a serious gamechanger, ramping me by four or giving me a free Phyrexian Arena without the lifeloss. The 1 activation should fit in alongside other plays and random Scrys are always better than they sound, and can be really clutch. It just seems like a lot of fun.
Sorcerous Spyglass - Needle Variant seems worth testing, even at twice the cost - at the end of the day, 1 to make a more informed decision seems like a fair investment.
Chart a Course - Just seems like a really solid draw spell. Nothing interesting but closest to a staple maybe.
Search for Azcanta - I like the Scry Engine here too, and U is an important part of our reanimation suite. I reckon it's worth testing, since the back side is great and could really flip early sometimes. Actually the white, green and red ones are not terrible, so I will keep an eye out for other folks' testing results from those.
Thalia's Lancers - Having become aware of the rule change, I may just jump on that bandwagon.

Ferocidon, Vraska, Hostage Taker and Carnage Tyrant all look great but I'm holding off for now. Scarab God has been awesome, Golgari is a bit too tight, Ferocidon might come in for Sin Prodder eventually, and same for Carnage Tyrant - when it becomes cheaper.

540 Unpowered cube, my long list:

WHITE
Legion's Landing*
Thalia's Lancers*

BLUE
Chart a Course
Search for Azcanta
Spell Swindle


BLACK
Ruin Raider
Dire Fleet Ravager*


RED
Rampaging Ferocidon*
Vance's Blasting Cannons

GREEN
Carnage Tyrant
Ripjaw Raptor


MULTI
Hostage Taker
Regisaur Alpha

COLORLESS
Treasure Map*
Sorcerous Spyglass


Cards with asterisks are just marked as less likely to make the final cut. As always the list I post here is just every card in the set I'm interested in, not guaranteed includes.

Wow, this is very weak for a large set. Only five cards that I really want to include. That's just the same as the generally panned Hour of Devastation! Well, at least there are a few more maybes in this set.

Definite inclusions:

• Kinjalli's Sunwing
  
• Chart a Course
  
• Carnage Tyrant
  
• Ripjaw Raptor
  
• Sorcerous Spyglass

Potential inclusions (will probably test these):

• Jace, Cunning Castaway
  
• Search for Azcanta
  
• Rampaging Ferocidon
  
• Merfolk Branchwalker
  
• Treasure Map

Unlikely inclusions (they are on my radar at least):

• Legion's Landing
  
• Opt
  
• Siren Stormtamer
  
• Spell Swindle
  
• Ruin Raider
  
• Vicious Conquistador
  
• Vance's Blasting Cannons
  
• Vraska, Relic Seeker
  
• Thaumatic Compass

(Yes, I know that Opt is a reprint, but it has been on list of potential inclusions for a while and this is the first version with modern border.)

Adding (and going out of my way to get at some point):
Kinjalli's Sunwing: I can use an iteration of this ability.
Chart a Course: Well, yeah.
Search for Azcanta// Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin: Threshold lives.
Siren Stormtamer: The blue one-drop slot is softer than a baggie of rice pudding.
Captain Lannery Storm: This looks fun to me.
Ripjaw Raptor: There is stuff to be done with this.

I'll add these if I open them:
Legion's Landing// Adanto, the First Fort: It does enough that I'm willing to try it.
Dire Fleet Ravager: Eh, this is fine.
Captivating Crew: I think this is easily underestimated. It's mostly an aristocrats card.
Rowdy Crew: Strictly for funzies.
Growing Rites of Itlimoc// Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun: This will probably get cut, but some decks have absolutely no trouble flipping it.
Huatli, Warrior Poet: Well, there's room for this.
Hostage Taker: This is clearly good, but I'm not clamoring for it.
Sorcerous Spyglass: I'm happy enough for this.
Thaumatic Compass: Cut Journeyer's Kite.

Considering:
Bishop's Soldier- Obviously not a fabulous card, but I like to cycle in solid commons, and this is one.
Shore Keeper: Okay, okay, I know this is bad, but c'mon. It's a trilobite with Ancestral Recall.
Heartless Pillage: This probably won't supplant Stupor, but it is a pretty good Mind Rot variant.
Kitesail Freebooter: I like Brain Maggot better, but this is fine.
Ruin Raider: I think this reads better than it plays. 3/2s seldom get to attack more than once before they die.
Vraska's Contempt: This has enough upside that it might sneak in.
Vance's Blasting Cannons// Spitfire Bastion: I guess Outpost Siege has played for others better than I thought it would. I'm still suspicious of a slow enchantment.
Merfolk Branchwalker: This is exactly medium.
Regisaur Alpha: I guess this is good, but I'm in no way excited by it.

Not sure I have any definite includes. Might test the following in my 540:

Hostake Taker
Ruin Raider
Treasure Map
Chart a Course

And might also try the Thalia's Lancers addition... though not entirely sure on that either.

Sort of nice to have a set where I'm not chasing a bunch of cards. Hopefully the next one will be more exciting for Cube.

Including the following:

Chart a Course
Carnage Tyrant
Sorcerous Spyglass

Testing the following:

Search for Azcanta // Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin
Hostage Taker
Treasure Map // Treasure Cove

I just did a pretty massive 50 card cut to my cube, so at the end of the day this is what I'll be adding.

• Adanto Vanguard
  
• Chart a Course
  
• Ruin Raider
  
• Rampaging Ferocidon
  
• Carnage Tyrant
  
• Hostage Taker
  
• Sorceress Spyglass

So one card of each colour, one artifact and one gold card. Not the best set for cube and certainly not the worst. At least it should be easy on the 'ol wallet, which is good because I just bought a Nether Void . I'll also be adding Fractured Identity and Thalia's Lancers this weekend.