A lot of cool cards in this set! For my Cube, I'm making the current changes:
Dryad Militant > Dauntless Bodyguard
I consider Dryad Militant a White card, as I don't support Green-aggro, and the card very rarely sees play outside of White decks. It's the 2-power 1-drop that I consider to be the most cuttable, as both Soldier of the Pantheon and Mardu Woe-Reaper's abilities have been more relevant than exiling instants and sorceries.
Baneslayer Angel > Lyra Dawnbringer
Same stats and abilities as Baneslayer, but also comes with the ability to pump other Angels and give them lifelink. As I'm currently running 6 angels, Lyra's abilities will probably be more relevant than Baneslayer's, whose protection is only really relevant versus Sarkhan, Thundermaw, Dragonlord Atarka, and Griselbrand in my current list. Plus, I look forward to smashing with a lifelinked and pumped Sublime Archangel.
Asylum Visitor > Demonlord Belzenlok
I have a lot of Black 2-drops, and I've always wanted another Black topend to complement Grave Titan. While Massacre Wurm is popular, the floor of the card being a vanilla 6/5 was too much of a turnoff. Belzenlok, on the other hand, is a large, evasive threat that will always draw the player a card at the very least, and the potential for more. Exiling multiple lands off the top later stages is also very relevant to digging for gas in order to close a game.
Smokestack > Karn, Scion of Urza
Smokestack is definitely showing its age, and most of my players can no longer afford to cast a 4-mana spell that does nothing the turn it is cast. Karn, on the other hand, is a fantastic Planeswalker; its closest analogy is Coercive Portal, except Karn will draw the player a card immediately. Though the player will only keep the worst of the two, it's still possible to access the other card with a -1 downtick, making the drawback of the first ability much more palatable. In addition, the -2 of Karn can be deadly in the right deck, and churning out Constructs that can be sizeable threats is definitely a quick way to win a game. All this, combined with a high starting loyalty of 5, makes Karn a solid inclusion in most lists.
Not a great set for cube... Think it's power level is pretty high for something like standard. Lots of powerful build around cards, but not too many standalone cubeable bombs. Very excited for the set, just not for cube.
Karn is messed up though, always happy to get a 360 staple.
edit: Updated after full spoiler
Auto Include:
Karn, Scion of Urza (360- staple)
Dauntless Bodyguard (360-450 staple)
Testing 90%+ inclusion:
Divest (expect it to be a 360-450 staple, but could be overestimating it)
Testing 10%- Inclusion:
Shalai, Voice of Plenty (Pet card, want it to be good, but likely too narrow/not powerful enough)
Not testing but keeping eye on for large cubes/fringe tests in future/sleepers (in aproximate order):
Some chance to test in future
The antiquities war (think it's great, but don't think I need another artifact.dec only card)
Demonlord Belzenok (think there's a high chance this is #3 black 6 drop, but saturated @2.)
Benalish Marshal (very likely am going to test at some point, but WWW in a stacked slot is harsh)
Darigaaz reincarnate (some interesting utility, multiple cheaty decks, tempted to test sometime, but plenty saturated)
Broken Bond (powerful disenchant, if I feel like i want a nature's claim effect, this will be the first test)
Steel Leaf champion (In my cube, for my playgroup who loves it on a timmy level, but GGG too narrow IMO)
Unlikely to test in future
Lyra Dawnbringer (If a few more angels get included at 2-4 CMC, I might test)
The flame of Keld (A mono red player in my group seems to think this card is busted.. I dont see it)
Territorial Allosaur (Would kill for a better green 4 drop, this 99% aint it, ETB removal + fatty is the right idea for green tho)
Almost no chance to test, but respect it's power level
Muldrotha, the gravetide (So good but, why sultai GDI)
Phyrexian Scriptures (Seems like a cool build around that isn't worth the build around)
History of Benalia (If a bunch of cheap cubable knights coincidently get printed in the future, seems good heh)
Goblin Chainwhirler (Crippling against some decks, but weak against others and RRR)
Teferi, Hero of dominaria (Warmed up to it, but Azorius too competitive. Best ob nixilis variant to date.)
Going to proxy up some of these cards to test! Exciting stuff. I'm going to be testing
Lyra Dawnbringer (over Baneslayer)
Karn, Scion of Urza (over something, probably Fleetwheel Cruiser)
Dauntless Bodyguard (over Soldier of the Pantheon)
Broken Bond (over Nature's Lore? Idk, green is stacked)
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I'm in for Dauntless Bodyguard and baby Karn. Not sure of cuts yet, but I just cut big Karn now that my cube is shrinking and people are paying insane prices for it, and because two big colorless walkers was unnecessary with my smaller superramp package, so I've got options for cuts.
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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'm not very excited for Dauntless Bodyguard - I think being forced to choose the creature beforehand might be limiting its usability, despite the blinking shenanigans available. Of course, attacking and pulling all sorts of blockers and then blinking it is going to be huge. Maybe I am excited. I don't even know anymore! And I guess it means I have to say goodbye to my beta Savannah Lions, which definitely has overstayed its welcome.
Karn is going to be one of those cards that will stick around for a long time. Incredible card, and with so many interesting strategic choices for both players when using the +1.
For a large set that we are less than a hundred cards away from finishing spoilers on, I'm a little disappointed to be honest. Don't get me wrong. I love the nostalgia and seeing Dominarian terms and phrases again. The Sagas are really cool. At 555, though, a big set generally gives me anywhere from 5 to 15 or sometimes more cards that I at least want to test. Dominaria, though, unfortunately is pushing themes that don't really work well with cube like legendary sorceries and the legends and sagas we've seen mostly fall short, imo.
We do still have nearly 100 cards left, so maybe there will be some gems hidden in there, but I'm not holding my breath for it. Currently, at 555, I'm looking at including the following:
Dauntless Bodyguard - An obvious include, imo. Possibly the actual best card this set gives us for cube.
Lyra Dawnbringer - A clear upgrade to Baneslayer and a friend to BSA in larger lists.
Karn, Scion of Urza - A 4cc colorless value 'walker that most midrange/control decks will be happy to include.
And that's about it. I hope we get a pushed Saga, but it doesn't look like it. They're either a bit too expensive for cube standards or they just don't do enough on the first couple of triggers. I'm willing to be wrong on that and I hope I am because I think they are super cool, but I'm just not nearly as impressed with the abilities of those cards as I am the artwork.
I'm also going to force a Saga into my cube, but there's still one or two left, so hopefully they're compelling. If not, I'll also swap Dread Return (which I always plan to cut every release but never end up doing) for Phyrexian Scriptures. I want to make room for Divest, but I still haven't found a spot for Collective Brutality so that's probably a no-go.
I'm running a 720 List that's pretty recently gotten to 720, so Dominaria is a great excuse for me to do some spring cleaning on some of the less optimized cards that helped me get my cube up to this size, as well as a few pet cards of my group that really do need to go (even a few of mine!).
I'm not sure that I'd cut Master of the Wild Hunt. Card's great! I'm also not sure that Hallowed Spiritkeeper should be the cut for History of Benalia, but I feel less strongly about that one.
I'm not sure that I'd cut Master of the Wild Hunt. Card's great! I'm also not sure that Hallowed Spiritkeeper should be the cut for History of Benalia, but I feel less strongly about that one.
Master of the Wild Hunt is a 4-mana 3/3 that makes a 2/2 wolf token after a whole one turn. On a stalled board, it's definitely better than Territorial Allosaurus, and I think it's going to be a better card in a lot of scenarios in general, but for whatever reason, it goes real late in our drafts. It has simply been uninteresting to our players, objectively better card or not.
I feel good about History over Hallowed. The kinds of decks I make really do favor Hallowed Spiritkeeper, but the average-case scenario for it is just worse slightly than History, I think. Unless my opponent is wrathing, I'd rather have History, actually.
I think Hallowed Spiritkeeper is quite a bit better than History of Benalia in both the ACS and the BCS. Other than the artwork, where History has a significant edge.
Master of the Wild Hunt is a 4-mana 3/3 that makes a 2/2 wolf token after a whole one turn. On a stalled board, it's definitely better than Territorial Allosaurus, and I think it's going to be a better card in a lot of scenarios in general, but for whatever reason, it goes real late in our drafts. It has simply been uninteresting to our players, objectively better card or not.
We had the exact same experience with this card, cut it, and haven't missed it at all.
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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
As a large cube owner, I agree with most of your cuts, but I would definitely not want to lose Porphyry Nodes or Agonizing Memories. They can both be devastating.
I don't have any love for Master of the Wild Hunt, but I think it's a fair bit more powerful than Territorial Allosaurus. That doesn't mean you shouldn't cut it, though. Hallowed Spiritkeeper is great, and it's a delightfully synergistic card, however the 1WW slot is restrictive, and I don't think you should be afraid to swap in a new and exciting card like History of Benalia. You can always swap back again.
I'm kind of surprised I'm not seeing more talk about this card. This seems to me to be on the level of stuff like Ash Barrens or maybe even City of Brass. Am I crazy?
I'm kind of surprised I'm not seeing more talk about this card. This seems to me to be on the level of stuff like Ash Barrens or maybe even City of Brass. Am I crazy?
I don't personally think it is bad, but it is nowhere near City of Brass, or even comparable rather.
I'm kind of surprised I'm not seeing more talk about this card. This seems to me to be on the level of stuff like Ash Barrens or maybe even City of Brass. Am I crazy?
Scry 1 isn't that much of a bonus. I really want a colorless land variant of Horizon Canopy / something with cycling, but Void isn't it.
i think if you are running both tendo ice bridge and aether hub you can add void for variation's sake. but i would not compare a colourless scry land to an untapped 5 colour fixer.
I'm kind of surprised I'm not seeing more talk about this card. This seems to me to be on the level of stuff like Ash Barrens or maybe even City of Brass. Am I crazy?
I think it's a pretty marginal addition, actually. Westvale Abbey, Dust Bowl, Rishadan Port, and Mutavault are all colorless lands with more utility that I would add first (and have!). This is more of a placeholder card for me, since the only person in my cube interested in drafting Tendo Ice Bridge is me, so I get it 13th pick in my 4-color goodstuff decks and then am stuck with a colorless land after I blow it on something dumb. Basically, I'm bad at Magic and so I'm taking out a card that makes me even worse that no one else in the playgroup cares about, and people have mentioned they miss the scrylands so I'm going to find out if that's really the case!
As a large cube owner, I agree with most of your cuts, but I would definitely not want to lose Porphyry Nodes or Agonizing Memories. They can both be devastating.
I don't want to lose them either, both of these are definitely personal pet cards...I appreciate the validation, and I'll use it to keep them in for the time being!
Master of the Wild Hunt is a 4-mana 3/3 that makes a 2/2 wolf token after a whole one turn. On a stalled board, it's definitely better than Territorial Allosaurus, and I think it's going to be a better card in a lot of scenarios in general, but for whatever reason, it goes real late in our drafts. It has simply been uninteresting to our players, objectively better card or not.
We had the exact same experience with this card, cut it, and haven't missed it at all.
I'm seeing this as a trend, thanks for the feedback!
So, full spoiler is up. I see that people are real excited about all the sweet new Dominaria cards for cube. /sarcasm
My list of inclusions is basically the same as what I posted earlier. One or two more might end up making the cut, but I truly doubt it. I'm honestly more excited to put Skizzik in my peasant cube than anything going into the powered cube.
Dryad Militant > Dauntless Bodyguard
I consider Dryad Militant a White card, as I don't support Green-aggro, and the card very rarely sees play outside of White decks. It's the 2-power 1-drop that I consider to be the most cuttable, as both Soldier of the Pantheon and Mardu Woe-Reaper's abilities have been more relevant than exiling instants and sorceries.
Baneslayer Angel > Lyra Dawnbringer
Same stats and abilities as Baneslayer, but also comes with the ability to pump other Angels and give them lifelink. As I'm currently running 6 angels, Lyra's abilities will probably be more relevant than Baneslayer's, whose protection is only really relevant versus Sarkhan, Thundermaw, Dragonlord Atarka, and Griselbrand in my current list. Plus, I look forward to smashing with a lifelinked and pumped Sublime Archangel.
Asylum Visitor > Demonlord Belzenlok
I have a lot of Black 2-drops, and I've always wanted another Black topend to complement Grave Titan. While Massacre Wurm is popular, the floor of the card being a vanilla 6/5 was too much of a turnoff. Belzenlok, on the other hand, is a large, evasive threat that will always draw the player a card at the very least, and the potential for more. Exiling multiple lands off the top later stages is also very relevant to digging for gas in order to close a game.
Smokestack > Karn, Scion of Urza
Smokestack is definitely showing its age, and most of my players can no longer afford to cast a 4-mana spell that does nothing the turn it is cast. Karn, on the other hand, is a fantastic Planeswalker; its closest analogy is Coercive Portal, except Karn will draw the player a card immediately. Though the player will only keep the worst of the two, it's still possible to access the other card with a -1 downtick, making the drawback of the first ability much more palatable. In addition, the -2 of Karn can be deadly in the right deck, and churning out Constructs that can be sizeable threats is definitely a quick way to win a game. All this, combined with a high starting loyalty of 5, makes Karn a solid inclusion in most lists.
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Karn is messed up though, always happy to get a 360 staple.
edit: Updated after full spoiler
Auto Include:
Karn, Scion of Urza (360- staple)
Dauntless Bodyguard (360-450 staple)
Testing 90%+ inclusion:
Divest (expect it to be a 360-450 staple, but could be overestimating it)
Testing 10%- Inclusion:
Shalai, Voice of Plenty (Pet card, want it to be good, but likely too narrow/not powerful enough)
Not testing but keeping eye on for large cubes/fringe tests in future/sleepers (in aproximate order):
Some chance to test in future
The antiquities war (think it's great, but don't think I need another artifact.dec only card)
Demonlord Belzenok (think there's a high chance this is #3 black 6 drop, but saturated @2.)
Benalish Marshal (very likely am going to test at some point, but WWW in a stacked slot is harsh)
Darigaaz reincarnate (some interesting utility, multiple cheaty decks, tempted to test sometime, but plenty saturated)
Broken Bond (powerful disenchant, if I feel like i want a nature's claim effect, this will be the first test)
Steel Leaf champion (In my cube, for my playgroup who loves it on a timmy level, but GGG too narrow IMO)
Unlikely to test in future
Lyra Dawnbringer (If a few more angels get included at 2-4 CMC, I might test)
The flame of Keld (A mono red player in my group seems to think this card is busted.. I dont see it)
Territorial Allosaur (Would kill for a better green 4 drop, this 99% aint it, ETB removal + fatty is the right idea for green tho)
Almost no chance to test, but respect it's power level
Muldrotha, the gravetide (So good but, why sultai GDI)
Phyrexian Scriptures (Seems like a cool build around that isn't worth the build around)
History of Benalia (If a bunch of cheap cubable knights coincidently get printed in the future, seems good heh)
Goblin Chainwhirler (Crippling against some decks, but weak against others and RRR)
Teferi, Hero of dominaria (Warmed up to it, but Azorius too competitive. Best ob nixilis variant to date.)
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Karn, Scion of Urza (Erratic Portal)
Darigaaz Reincarnated (Hellkite Overlord)
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Lyra Dawnbringer (over Baneslayer)
Karn, Scion of Urza (over something, probably Fleetwheel Cruiser)
Dauntless Bodyguard (over Soldier of the Pantheon)
Broken Bond (over Nature's Lore? Idk, green is stacked)
Regular 450 unpowered cube (with some custom cards) - 450 Unpowered
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Dauntless Bodyguard is a big update to many of the 1cc 2/1s, but it will replace Soldier of the Pantheon
Lyra Dawnbringer is at par with Baneslayer Angel, so I am holding off unless it comes out cheap.
For artifact cube it will be a big update! I'm waiting for the overall set to evaluate all the historic matters cards!
karn, scion of ugin for sensei's divining top? or maybe another artifact.
Karn is going to be one of those cards that will stick around for a long time. Incredible card, and with so many interesting strategic choices for both players when using the +1.
We do still have nearly 100 cards left, so maybe there will be some gems hidden in there, but I'm not holding my breath for it. Currently, at 555, I'm looking at including the following:
Dauntless Bodyguard - An obvious include, imo. Possibly the actual best card this set gives us for cube.
Lyra Dawnbringer - A clear upgrade to Baneslayer and a friend to BSA in larger lists.
Karn, Scion of Urza - A 4cc colorless value 'walker that most midrange/control decks will be happy to include.
And that's about it. I hope we get a pushed Saga, but it doesn't look like it. They're either a bit too expensive for cube standards or they just don't do enough on the first couple of triggers. I'm willing to be wrong on that and I hope I am because I think they are super cool, but I'm just not nearly as impressed with the abilities of those cards as I am the artwork.
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Steppe Lynx -> Dauntless Bodyguard
Farseek -> Broken Bond
Powder Keg -> Karn, Scion of Urza
I'm also going to force a Saga into my cube, but there's still one or two left, so hopefully they're compelling. If not, I'll also swap Dread Return (which I always plan to cut every release but never end up doing) for Phyrexian Scriptures. I want to make room for Divest, but I still haven't found a spot for Collective Brutality so that's probably a no-go.
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Here's where I'm at so far:
History of Benalia > Hallowed Spiritkeeper
Urza’s Ruinous Blast > Story Circle
Dauntless Bodyguard > Porphyry Nodes
Teshar, Ancestor’s Apostle > Ranger of Eos
Lyra Dawnbringer > Baneslayer Angel
Unwind > Crow Storm
Demonlord Belzenlok > Scourge of Nel Toth
Rite of Belzenlok > Brutal Hordechief
Dark Bargain > Agonizing Memories
Divest > Dash Hopes
Cast Down > Big Game Hunter
Jaya Ballard > Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
Jaya’s Immolating Inferno > Reckless Charge
Adventurous Impulse > Primordial Hydra
Broken Bond > Lingify
Territorial Allosaurusv > Master of the Wild Hunt
Memorial to Unity > Growing Rites of Itlimoc
Grand Warlord Radha > Vexing Shusher
Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain > Jhoira of the Ghitu
Darigaaz Reincarnated > Bloodhall Ooze
Karn, Scion of Urza > Open Artifact Slot
Mox Amber > Chromatic Sphere
Voltaic Servant > Sunset Pyramid
Blackblade Reforged > Mortarpod
Zhalfirin Void > Tendo Ice Bridge
Shalai, Voice of Plenty > ??? (my group REALLY wants this)
Edit: Card Tags
Draft my cube! (630 cards)
Master of the Wild Hunt is a 4-mana 3/3 that makes a 2/2 wolf token after a whole one turn. On a stalled board, it's definitely better than Territorial Allosaurus, and I think it's going to be a better card in a lot of scenarios in general, but for whatever reason, it goes real late in our drafts. It has simply been uninteresting to our players, objectively better card or not.
I feel good about History over Hallowed. The kinds of decks I make really do favor Hallowed Spiritkeeper, but the average-case scenario for it is just worse slightly than History, I think. Unless my opponent is wrathing, I'd rather have History, actually.
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We had the exact same experience with this card, cut it, and haven't missed it at all.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
I don't have any love for Master of the Wild Hunt, but I think it's a fair bit more powerful than Territorial Allosaurus. That doesn't mean you shouldn't cut it, though. Hallowed Spiritkeeper is great, and it's a delightfully synergistic card, however the 1WW slot is restrictive, and I don't think you should be afraid to swap in a new and exciting card like History of Benalia. You can always swap back again.
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I'm kind of surprised I'm not seeing more talk about this card. This seems to me to be on the level of stuff like Ash Barrens or maybe even City of Brass. Am I crazy?
I don't personally think it is bad, but it is nowhere near City of Brass, or even comparable rather.
Scry 1 isn't that much of a bonus. I really want a colorless land variant of Horizon Canopy / something with cycling, but Void isn't it.
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I think it's a pretty marginal addition, actually. Westvale Abbey, Dust Bowl, Rishadan Port, and Mutavault are all colorless lands with more utility that I would add first (and have!). This is more of a placeholder card for me, since the only person in my cube interested in drafting Tendo Ice Bridge is me, so I get it 13th pick in my 4-color goodstuff decks and then am stuck with a colorless land after I blow it on something dumb. Basically, I'm bad at Magic and so I'm taking out a card that makes me even worse that no one else in the playgroup cares about, and people have mentioned they miss the scrylands so I'm going to find out if that's really the case!
I don't want to lose them either, both of these are definitely personal pet cards...I appreciate the validation, and I'll use it to keep them in for the time being!
I'm seeing this as a trend, thanks for the feedback!
My list of inclusions is basically the same as what I posted earlier. One or two more might end up making the cut, but I truly doubt it. I'm honestly more excited to put Skizzik in my peasant cube than anything going into the powered cube.
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