Hagra Bite
Instant
If any opponent controls no basic land, this spell costs less to cast.
Destroy target creature.
Hagra Pit
Land
Hagra Pit enters the battlefield tapped.
T: Add .
Creature removal hidden away in a modal land. 4 Mana to destroy a creature is twice the normal rate, but being strapped to the back of a tapland makes this more serviceable. Card seems solid, although boring. Almost certainly going to see standard play, but does it translate well enough over to cube?
I think it's good, but not as good as the mythic cycle since the land has to enter the battlefield tapped. If I could ensure this would be a Murder // Tapped Land, I think it would be a very good card. But at 4-mana on the front half, I'm a little less enthusiastic about it. But still a solid card. Halfway playable spell // mediocre land is still a good recipe, lol.
I think this is better than a lot of the mythics because even though it always enters tapped. there are way more opportunities to cast it.
I can get behind cutting some typical black removal for this. I can't see myself cutting exciting cards for meh cards even if they are more maindeckable.
Same feeling here as wtwlf. Costing 4 makes this sorta rough, and I think ultimately leaves it on the outside looking in. My assessment of these land/spell cards is softening, though.
Among the joys of having a massive cube is getting to run all different kinds of cool removal spells like this one. I already liked Bloodchief's Thirst. But this is cooler.
These cards get wayyyyyyy better the larger your cube size is.
Not only is there less competition, but cheap/powerful play density should be much lower.. hence the cost of a tapland is much less severe.
I think it's really easy to underestimate the value of flexibility here, but also really easy to underestimate the cost of a tapped land vs an untapped land.
I think it's really easy to underestimate the value of flexibility here, but also really easy to underestimate the cost of a tapped land vs an untapped land.
Agreed - I'm having a really hard time evaluating the MDFCs with ETBT lands as a mode because of precisely this reason. This card could be a miss or a staple and I really don't have a clue which it will be.
I think it's really easy to underestimate the value of flexibility here, but also really easy to underestimate the cost of a tapped land vs an untapped land.
Agreed - I'm having a really hard time evaluating the MDFCs with ETBT lands as a mode because of precisely this reason. This card could be a miss or a staple and I really don't have a clue which it will be.
I think a lot of people are overlooking this card - this is the real deal. I've found in testing that the highest CMC is usually what you want to remove and being able to remove Eldrazi/ Blightsteel/ True Name is a plus.
I just don't see this card being good period. If it read "Destroy target Creature/ Planeswalker, then I think we might having different to say.
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My 2 cents - MDFCs are good if 1) you can afford a land to ETBT, and 2) you have a reasonable shot at casting the spell mode. Hagra Bite's effect is plenty strong enough for it to make the cut in many black decks (just not aggro).
If you give this a slot in your cube, it will see play and improve the decks it's included in (notwithstanding a strong bias against the card, of course).
Hagra Bite
Instant
If any opponent controls no basic land, this spell costs
Destroy target creature.
Hagra Pit
Land
Hagra Pit enters the battlefield tapped.
T: Add
Creature removal hidden away in a modal land. 4 Mana to destroy a creature is twice the normal rate, but being strapped to the back of a tapland makes this more serviceable. Card seems solid, although boring. Almost certainly going to see standard play, but does it translate well enough over to cube?
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I can get behind cutting some typical black removal for this. I can't see myself cutting exciting cards for meh cards even if they are more maindeckable.
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Not only is there less competition, but cheap/powerful play density should be much lower.. hence the cost of a tapland is much less severe.
I think it's really easy to underestimate the value of flexibility here, but also really easy to underestimate the cost of a tapped land vs an untapped land.
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On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
I think a lot of people are overlooking this card - this is the real deal. I've found in testing that the highest CMC is usually what you want to remove and being able to remove Eldrazi/ Blightsteel/ True Name is a plus.
I just don't see this card being good period. If it read "Destroy target Creature/ Planeswalker, then I think we might having different to say.
Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i
If you give this a slot in your cube, it will see play and improve the decks it's included in (notwithstanding a strong bias against the card, of course).