I am SO EXCITED to have more playable mono-colored lands in cube. It's so hard to justify lands because they are so low impact, but they make 100% of decks when you draft them as long as you're that color, which is a cool niche to fill.
this seems like the best of the bunch since it has more mid game relevance. having the X cost solves the problem of deciding whether or not playing as a land or holding it and hoping you get the mana is the right play.
This one scales pretty well in the midgame compared to the other ones since it's doesn't have a set mana cost, which makes it a lot more viable in aggro shells as a land slot. Versatility is really nice with this one.
People in the rumor mill also said Jace, Vryn's Prodigy was garbage. So I wouldn't listen to that group when it comes to card evaluation. Especially not for a volatile pseudo-limited format like cube, where having a bomb//land split card is going to prove insanely valuable. I expect this entire cycle to be a slam-dunk. I mean, I can't imagine how unplayable the spell half would need to be in order to NOT run one of these mythic MDFCs.
People in the rumor mill also said Jace, Vryn's Prodigy was garbage. So I wouldn't listen to that group when it comes to card evaluation. Especially not for a volatile pseudo-limited format like cube, where having a bomb//land split card is going to prove insanely valuable. I expect this entire cycle to be a slam-dunk. I mean, I can't imagine how unplayable the spell half would need to be in order to NOT run one of these mythic MDFCs.
man I think they would have to make like a 7 mana draw 2 or something.... oh wait
The consensus seems to be that this is the best one, but even here I don't see it. Are cube decks really so inconsistent that versatility trumps everything? This has three modes, but they are all terrible. We don't play every Charm ever printed either do we? When it comes to increasing the consistency of my Cube decks, I much prefer more cantrips. Tormenting Voice for instance is a card that I consider very underrated. I think this card is playable but will prove to be underwhelming, just like the others of its kind.
The consensus seems to be that this is the best one, but even here I don't see it. Are cube decks really so inconsistent that versatility trumps everything? This has three modes, but they are all terrible. We don't play every Charm ever printed either do we? When it comes to increasing the consistency of my Cube decks, I much prefer more cantrips. Tormenting Voice for instance is a card that I consider very underrated. I think this card is playable but will prove to be underwhelming, just like the others of its kind.
What charms have had the option of being lands? You are really downplaying the fact that these are rarely ever dead cards.
This might be mildly hyperbolic, but what is exciting about flexibility when the options are as follows?
Tempo-loss etbt typeless red mana source
Bolt to the face typeless red mana source 3RRArc Lightning that can't hit players.
Having a land fall-back plan isn't enough when the spell itself is this bad. Of the mythic cycle so far only the green one has a spell side that is good and therefore the added fallback plan of being a land takes that card from good to great. The rest of the cycle so far begin with a bad spell and have a land fallback plan that makes the card fair at best.
This might be mildly hyperbolic, but what is exciting about flexibility when the options are as follows?
Tempo-loss etbt typeless red mana source
Bolt to the face typeless red mana source 3RRArc Lightning that can't hit players.
Having a land fall-back plan isn't enough when the spell itself is this bad. Of the mythic cycle so far only the green one has a spell side that is good and therefore the added fallback plan of being a land takes that card from good to great. The rest of the cycle so far begin with a bad spell and have a land fallback plan that makes the card fair at best.
So, as someone lukewarm to these cards, I will try to make a case.
The land isn't the fall-back option, it's the default. It's among my 17 lands (or 18 lands if you're that sort of person). But I have a bonus spell that doesn't take up a slot among my 23 spells. If I need a land, I play it as a land. But my deck isn't really flooding as much anymore; I could "topdeck a land" and it's actually a spell that kills a creature, or maybe two creatures.
I think the appeal comes to people who want to really squeeze more spells into the decks they build. It's not that you're picking a bad spell and can play it as a bad land in a pinch - it's that your lands are spells and your spells are lands and you're playing with different deckbuilding constraints than people who don't have this option.
The land isn't the fall-back option, it's the default. It's among my 17 lands (or 18 lands if you're that sort of person). But I have a bonus spell that doesn't take up a slot among my 23 spells. If I need a land, I play it as a land. But my deck isn't really flooding as much anymore; I could "topdeck a land" and it's actually a spell that kills a creature, or maybe two creatures.
I think the appeal comes to people who want to really squeeze more spells into the decks they build. It's not that you're picking a bad spell and can play it as a bad land in a pinch - it's that your lands are spells and your spells are lands and you're playing with different deckbuilding constraints than people who don't have this option.
If the land is the default you've used a draft pick on a non-basic single color mana producing land that either enters the battlefield tapped or bolts you -- but hey once in a while it will Shock a creature--at sorcery speed no less--for 2RR!
I appreciate you making the case Blue_Oneironaut rather than just positing this cards "absurdity" as fact. Your reasoning is why I believe the green variant is a fantastic card despite the spell itself being a slightly worse See the Unwritten/Summoning Trap variant. I think the question is how poorly costed or limited of a spell are you willing to accept for this added flexibility?
Yea, but you got to play a 4 mana Shock or a 5 mana Arc Trail or hey even a bigger and better 8 mana+ Volcanic Salvo instead of a land. This is an effect that wins games, and you got access to it strapped onto a land. Sounds like a good deal to me. plenty of games come down to simply not having a removal spell regardless of the cost, and this solves that problem in a way that also translates very well into not having a dead draw early. You can play it as some extra gas late in the game for aggro and midrange decks, as another board clear in artifact ramp decks, or as a way for control decks to answer pesky PWs in the mid to late late game. All at the cost of a potential 3 life. Seems more than good enough for me
Versatile, and can ETB untapped in a pinch. Looks strong.
And apparently it's part of a mythic cycle!
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man I think they would have to make like a 7 mana draw 2 or something.... oh wait
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What charms have had the option of being lands? You are really downplaying the fact that these are rarely ever dead cards.
Tempo-loss etbt typeless red mana source
Bolt to the face typeless red mana source
3RR Arc Lightning that can't hit players.
Having a land fall-back plan isn't enough when the spell itself is this bad. Of the mythic cycle so far only the green one has a spell side that is good and therefore the added fallback plan of being a land takes that card from good to great. The rest of the cycle so far begin with a bad spell and have a land fallback plan that makes the card fair at best.
Sign me the F up
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So, as someone lukewarm to these cards, I will try to make a case.
The land isn't the fall-back option, it's the default. It's among my 17 lands (or 18 lands if you're that sort of person). But I have a bonus spell that doesn't take up a slot among my 23 spells. If I need a land, I play it as a land. But my deck isn't really flooding as much anymore; I could "topdeck a land" and it's actually a spell that kills a creature, or maybe two creatures.
I think the appeal comes to people who want to really squeeze more spells into the decks they build. It's not that you're picking a bad spell and can play it as a bad land in a pinch - it's that your lands are spells and your spells are lands and you're playing with different deckbuilding constraints than people who don't have this option.
I appreciate you making the case Blue_Oneironaut rather than just positing this cards "absurdity" as fact. Your reasoning is why I believe the green variant is a fantastic card despite the spell itself being a slightly worse See the Unwritten/Summoning Trap variant. I think the question is how poorly costed or limited of a spell are you willing to accept for this added flexibility?