Hey gang, long time member but first-time cuber here. (Here is my list so far..) I'm building toward 585.
Had a couple of questions on a few cards I think might be totally awesome. Or...maybe they're just mirages. Please tell me!
Gate to Phyrexia. I'm already running Goblin Bombardment and I definitely see the utility there. My fear is that maybe there's not enough artifacts in a (or my) cube to be worth it though... Thoughts?
Another one I really thought was awesome for cube would be something like Price of Glory. I mean....yeah. Is it too narrow? Is it...too oppressive and lead to non-games?
Also--my favorite green card in the whole game is without a doubt Sylvan Library. Any harm in also running Mirri's Guile or does this redundancy just waste valuable slots for no good reason.
Running a couple of Un-cards too. Just ones that seem halfway-compelling to play with and not silly for silly's sake. If you see any terrible ideas there, similarly speak up.
Should Dynacharge just come out? Too low-impact or is it actually worthy of inclusion? (Or, lemme guess--it should be Mizzium Mortars instead?)
Anything else anyone sees in my list that looks TERRIBLE, please speak up. My thanks in advance...
Gate to Phyrexia is certainly a cool card. Traditionally, cubes would rather use a different source of artifact removal though, because red, white and green all have better access and can even generate card advantage along the way. Gate, on the other hand, has a lot of limitations: Upkeep only, one use per upkeep at that, and you have to sacrifice a creature to do it. Black might not mind sacrificing creatures - it might even like it - but I think unless you are BOTH a heavy artifact cube AND there is a tremendous sac theme going on in Black, it probably isn't worthwhile. More than likely, you can play more than one color (and probably even want to), and will have some way to deal with enemy artifacts. I think its novelty would wear off quickly unless you build a highly specific cube environment to favor it.
Price of Glory is another neat card, but all you're really doing is punishing instants, Flash, and a few abilities. There are a subset of decks it will obliterate. There is also a group of decks that won't particularly care. Some decks might care about losing 2 lands by using Mana Leak, but you're still giving them the option to cast it at a vital time. Cards like this, which don't absolutely prevent the opponent from behaving in their best interest, are too niche to expect them to regularly contribute to a fun cube IMO. And, on top of that, I think you'll find the aggressive red decks which (i think) would favor this card would prefer to spend the mana on something a little more aggressive, anyhow. As a final thought, I think I would sooner rather Pillage somebody's land immediately than maybe punishing them on a future turn, because I might keep them off mana for a Wrath of God, something with Price of Glory does nothing to stop and doesn't even punish.
Out of time for now, hope you find my thoughts a worthwhile read.
Mirri's Guile is worth running if you value the effect, and I do. It lets you control card quality and works great with shuffle effects, all things Sylvan Library does but if it's your favorite card why not run a back up effect? I would recommend both.
Bloodforged Battle-Axe never worked out for me, I liked it in theory but that extra 1 for the equip was a pain.
Gate to Phyrexia being limited to activating only in your upkeep is a huge drawback. Bombardment's value comes from the ability to activate it in response to removal or damage so that you can salvage some value off of a loss. Gate can't do this for you.
Price of Glory looks weak and narrow. I can't imagine needing or wanting this in my red cube decks. I mean, Defense Grid is just a far better version of this kind of effect, and it's not played at all.
Mirri's Guile is missing the one thing that makes Sylvan Library great, which is the card draw aspect. I wouldn't run it without that ability, even at a discount.
Battle Axe is decent, but the reason Bonesplitter is playable is because of the 1 equip cost. I could see running Axe, but it would be in addition to and not instead of Bonesplitter.
Had a couple of questions on a few cards I think might be totally awesome. Or...maybe they're just mirages. Please tell me!
Gate to Phyrexia. I'm already running Goblin Bombardment and I definitely see the utility there. My fear is that maybe there's not enough artifacts in a (or my) cube to be worth it though... Thoughts?
Another one I really thought was awesome for cube would be something like Price of Glory. I mean....yeah. Is it too narrow? Is it...too oppressive and lead to non-games?
Also--my favorite green card in the whole game is without a doubt Sylvan Library. Any harm in also running Mirri's Guile or does this redundancy just waste valuable slots for no good reason.
Another one.. Bonesplitter Thinking about running Bloodforged Battle-Axe instead--is this just total heresy?
Running a couple of Un-cards too. Just ones that seem halfway-compelling to play with and not silly for silly's sake. If you see any terrible ideas there, similarly speak up.
Should Dynacharge just come out? Too low-impact or is it actually worthy of inclusion? (Or, lemme guess--it should be Mizzium Mortars instead?)
Anything else anyone sees in my list that looks TERRIBLE, please speak up. My thanks in advance...
Price of Glory is another neat card, but all you're really doing is punishing instants, Flash, and a few abilities. There are a subset of decks it will obliterate. There is also a group of decks that won't particularly care. Some decks might care about losing 2 lands by using Mana Leak, but you're still giving them the option to cast it at a vital time. Cards like this, which don't absolutely prevent the opponent from behaving in their best interest, are too niche to expect them to regularly contribute to a fun cube IMO. And, on top of that, I think you'll find the aggressive red decks which (i think) would favor this card would prefer to spend the mana on something a little more aggressive, anyhow. As a final thought, I think I would sooner rather Pillage somebody's land immediately than maybe punishing them on a future turn, because I might keep them off mana for a Wrath of God, something with Price of Glory does nothing to stop and doesn't even punish.
Out of time for now, hope you find my thoughts a worthwhile read.
Bloodforged Battle-Axe never worked out for me, I liked it in theory but that extra 1 for the equip was a pain.
Off the topof my head I would cut Markov Blademaster for Zo-Zu the Punisher, I just really like it alot and Markov Blademaster was bad in the early days of my cube.
Price of Glory looks weak and narrow. I can't imagine needing or wanting this in my red cube decks. I mean, Defense Grid is just a far better version of this kind of effect, and it's not played at all.
Mirri's Guile is missing the one thing that makes Sylvan Library great, which is the card draw aspect. I wouldn't run it without that ability, even at a discount.
Battle Axe is decent, but the reason Bonesplitter is playable is because of the 1 equip cost. I could see running Axe, but it would be in addition to and not instead of Bonesplitter.
I wouldn't play Dynacharge or Mortars.
Cheers, and happy cubing!
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Alright, I'll stop trying to be fancy and just go for more all-purpose workhorse approach. Thanks for helping me free up some slots too..