1R, Discard a card, sacrifice a Vampire: Draw two cards. Activate only if an opponent has lost life this turn.
2/1
Great need aggro 1-drop. Good upgrade to Falkenrath Gorger since being able to discard and draw 2 cards is generally better than giving other vampires madness. Also a warrior to boot! It's no Ragavan, but I'll take it.
In addition, being a discard outlet that also draws 2 cards - Slam dunk for reanimator decks.
I never thought I would see the day where 2 red 1 drops are now "playable" in storm decks - Ravagaan with treasure, this with filter.
This is really exciting - opens up the cube for more archetypes.
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The ability seems narrow, but even a vanilla no-downside 2/1 for R is most welcome, so this is awesome!
I don't think it's too narrow considering it can sacrifice itself. It's also not picky on how your opponent loses life, so you can activate this off your opponent activating a fetch land or you just throwing burn at their face.
While the ability is quite a hoop, it is a good way to replace itself if the 2/1 gets useless, e.g. a big blocker. Replacing itself and another dead card is decent. Slam dunk.
Definitely an easy-to-include 1 drop. Being able to cash itself in is an interesting late-game bonus without other Vamps around, and it's another Warrior for Najeela. Feels much less insular than Falkenrath Gorger did, ironically though it makes him better.
So obviously, good card is good. But for the sake of discussion, I may be lower on this card than many.
I don't think it's an auto-include at 360 and it's near the bottom of my includes at 450/540, it depends on your red agro 1 drop density goal.
Warrior for najeela is sweet and the ability is a nice cherry on top, but I think triggering the damage clause when you need it is going to prove to be a bigger hurdle than is obvious. I'd much rather have a second point of toughness for example.
It's clearly better than falkenrath gorger, but I had gorger at ~10th on the agressive red 1 drop totem pole. Is it better than firedrinker satyr? I think no.
So obviously, good card is good. But for the sake of discussion, I may be lower on this card than many.
I don't think it's an auto-include at 360 and it's near the bottom of my includes at 450/540, it depends on your red agro 1 drop density goal.
Warrior for najeela is sweet and the ability is a nice cherry on top, but I think triggering the damage clause when you need it is going to prove to be a bigger hurdle than is obvious. I'd much rather have a second point of toughness for example.
It's clearly better than falkenrath gorger, but I had gorger at ~10th on the agressive red 1 drop totem pole. Is it better than firedrinker satyr? I think no.
I agree with this assessment. We’re adding it because we’re 720 and still have Gorger, but I don’t think this is necessarily better than many of the other options.
I disagree. I think this is better than at least 3 of the aggressive 1-drops in my own 540, and I think this could easily replace red aggro beaters that people play at 360. I think the activated ability is being underrated on this card (it's really good), and red's still nowhere near its threshold of 2-power 1-drops w/out drawbacks. I think this is a staple until they print like 4 more Ragavans, lol.
I disagree. I think this is better than at least 3 of the aggressive 1-drops in my own 540, and I think this could easily replace red aggro beaters that people play at 360. I think the activated ability is being underrated on this card (it's really good), and red's still nowhere near its threshold of 2-power 1-drops w/out drawbacks. I think this is a staple until they print like 4 more Ragavans, lol.
I hope you’re right! It will be cool if this card is activated often. I love the current era of Cube where the 1 and 2-drops have diversity of play pattern. That’s my optimistic take on the creature power creep. I remember playing red 3/2s with downsides for 1R, and all those cards did was come down on curve and swing.
Have not picked up ragavan yet which would replace jackal pup.
This is better than falkenrath gorgeour but I could see some cubes cutting the satyr instead if they have more of a vampire theme going on
I think this is much better than Satyr, but I've never been a fan of it.
As a pure aggressive creature, I think Satyr is better since it can overcome bigger creatures. I do think they're pretty neck and neck as the next best aggro one-drop red beaters after Ragavan / Goblin Guide / Zurgo / Monastery Swiftspear though.
I'm looking forwards to sacrificing Mutavault with this.
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Maybe I'm biased because I run bauble ,lotus petal and 2x fetch but I think Dragon's rage channeler is considerably better than gorger in cube. The smaller the cube, the more this is amplified.
Though, maybe not quite as good in the average red agro shells. It's still been servicable there , while being bonkers in good stuff shells with high cheap non-creature count.
Grim lava mancer > Falkenrath gorger in anything but a 15+ creature deck.
Bomat courier is > Falkenrath gorger, but that's much closer. I may be biased by getting recently owned by my opponent curving it into Laelia. That combo is nasty.
Bomat courier is the only card that pitfighter jumps in ranking for me that gorger didn't.
Maybe I'm biased because I run bauble and lotus petal but I think Dragon's rage channeler is considerably better than gorger in cube.
Though, maybe not quite as good in the average red agro shells. It's still been servicable there , while being bonkers in good stuff shells with high cheap non-creature count.
Grim lava mancer > Falkenrath gorger in anything but a 14+ creature deck.
Bomat courier is > Falkenrath gorger, but that's much closer. I may be biased by getting recently owned by my opponent curving it into Laelia. That combo is nasty.
Bomat courier is the only card that pitfighter jumps in ranking for me that gorger didn't.
I think Dragon's Rage Channeler could be really good - I haven't gotten around to running it because I'm not sure how often it can hit delirium.
I think its slightly better the smaller the cube because of the increase density of fetch lands + artifact mana.
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I played DRC in Modern cube, and was never able to hit delirium. It might be a little better in a vintage 360 list, but I'm wary of it.
It depends a lot on the environment and the deck. It's ceiling is the best creature ever printed, it's floor is a 1/1 for R.
Vintage cube is far better for DRC than a modern cube.
The average vintage deck has multiple artifacts, many of which triggers his surveil ability on ETB.
Cantrip density, 1 mana spell and fetchland density matter a lot. Cube size goes down, all these things go up...
If you've played much with monastery mentor in both environments you'd have seen how much better it is in a vintage cube compared to a modern cube for similar reasons.
His surveil ability is easy to underestimate, it's a good part of why he's broken in constructed.
Falkenrath Pit Fighter - R
Creature - Vampire Warrior (Rare)
1R, Discard a card, sacrifice a Vampire: Draw two cards. Activate only if an opponent has lost life this turn.
2/1
Great need aggro 1-drop. Good upgrade to Falkenrath Gorger since being able to discard and draw 2 cards is generally better than giving other vampires madness. Also a warrior to boot! It's no Ragavan, but I'll take it.
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I never thought I would see the day where 2 red 1 drops are now "playable" in storm decks - Ravagaan with treasure, this with filter.
This is really exciting - opens up the cube for more archetypes.
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
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I don't think it's too narrow considering it can sacrifice itself. It's also not picky on how your opponent loses life, so you can activate this off your opponent activating a fetch land or you just throwing burn at their face.
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On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
I don't think it's an auto-include at 360 and it's near the bottom of my includes at 450/540, it depends on your red agro 1 drop density goal.
Warrior for najeela is sweet and the ability is a nice cherry on top, but I think triggering the damage clause when you need it is going to prove to be a bigger hurdle than is obvious. I'd much rather have a second point of toughness for example.
It's clearly better than falkenrath gorger, but I had gorger at ~10th on the agressive red 1 drop totem pole. Is it better than firedrinker satyr? I think no.
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I agree with this assessment. We’re adding it because we’re 720 and still have Gorger, but I don’t think this is necessarily better than many of the other options.
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I hope you’re right! It will be cool if this card is activated often. I love the current era of Cube where the 1 and 2-drops have diversity of play pattern. That’s my optimistic take on the creature power creep. I remember playing red 3/2s with downsides for 1R, and all those cards did was come down on curve and swing.
Falkenrath Gorger
Firedrinker Satyr
Goblin Guide
Goblin Welder
Grim Lavamancer
Jackal Pup
Monastery Swiftspear
Zurgo Bellstriker
Have not picked up ragavan yet which would replace jackal pup.
This is better than falkenrath gorgeour but I could see some cubes cutting the satyr instead if they have more of a vampire theme going on
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As a pure aggressive creature, I think Satyr is better since it can overcome bigger creatures. I do think they're pretty neck and neck as the next best aggro one-drop red beaters after Ragavan / Goblin Guide / Zurgo / Monastery Swiftspear though.
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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
Though, maybe not quite as good in the average red agro shells. It's still been servicable there , while being bonkers in good stuff shells with high cheap non-creature count.
Grim lava mancer > Falkenrath gorger in anything but a 15+ creature deck.
Bomat courier is > Falkenrath gorger, but that's much closer. I may be biased by getting recently owned by my opponent curving it into Laelia. That combo is nasty.
Bomat courier is the only card that pitfighter jumps in ranking for me that gorger didn't.
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I think Dragon's Rage Channeler could be really good - I haven't gotten around to running it because I'm not sure how often it can hit delirium.
I think its slightly better the smaller the cube because of the increase density of fetch lands + artifact mana.
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
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It depends a lot on the environment and the deck. It's ceiling is the best creature ever printed, it's floor is a 1/1 for R.
Vintage cube is far better for DRC than a modern cube.
The average vintage deck has multiple artifacts, many of which triggers his surveil ability on ETB.
Cantrip density, 1 mana spell and fetchland density matter a lot. Cube size goes down, all these things go up...
If you've played much with monastery mentor in both environments you'd have seen how much better it is in a vintage cube compared to a modern cube for similar reasons.
His surveil ability is easy to underestimate, it's a good part of why he's broken in constructed.
Last Updated 02/07/24
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