You're right, I went too far with Thornling. Even if it is indestructible most of the time, it is still a creature and there are plenty of cards that can handle even an indestructible creature. It's a different thing with Mind Twist and Armageddon which can only be stopped by having a counter spell in your hand and enough open mana to actually cast it. And there are less than 20 spells in my 480 cards cube that can counter sorceries without a target... I was simply scared by the combination of indestructible and trample on a decent sized creature.
Unfortunately, I waited to long and didn't get the Thornling + Maze of Ith deal for cheap, so those cards will have to wait.
Platinum Angel >> Triskelion
I am not a huge fan of Triskelion, but after some consideration, I concluded that in a cube full of high class removal, the Angel wasn't worth it.
It's a different thing with Mind Twist and Armageddon which can only be stopped by having a counter spell in your hand and enough open mana to actually cast it.
there are a lot of cards that can deal with armageddon. if you keep up with their curve or drop something big and difficult to remove, armageddon isn't going to be a great play. removal can help deal with armageddon by removing the reason they want to cast it in the first place. and if someone casts it without a superior board state (as just a reset button) you can deal with it by having a good deck.
once again, though, i agree mind twist is devastating. but i like that kind of thing.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
there are a lot of cards that can deal with armageddon. if you keep up with their curve or drop something big and difficult to remove, armageddon isn't going to be a great play. removal can help deal with armageddon by removing the reason they want to cast it in the first place. and if someone casts it without a superior board state (as just a reset button) you can deal with it by having a good deck.
once again, though, i agree mind twist is devastating. but i like that kind of thing.
Good point regarding instant removal. In other cases, you simply don't play Armageddon if the board state doesn't favor you. It is not as obvious and simple to cast as Mind Twist, but I find loosing all your lands so easy and early in a game to be quite frustrating. If it would cost five mana or at least wasn't so easy to splash, it would give the opponent at least a better chance to develop his own board position or to disrupt yours.
Good point regarding instant removal. In other cases, you simply don't play Armageddon if the board state doesn't favor you. It is not as obvious and simple to cast as Mind Twist, but I find loosing all your lands so easy and early in a game to be quite frustrating.
But if your opponent plays Armageddon early, you won't be frustrated for long.
Planned changes (cards are ordered) and temporary changes, for testing purposes (OUT >> IN):
Riftwing Cloudskate >> Sphinx of Jwar Isle
I hate to see a permanent bouncing creature go, but I have too many 5 mana creatures in blue and the others are more important to keep. This change evades the whole Sphinx or Morphling debate by simply playing both! Tidings >> Opportunity
Instant speed on a draw spell is worth paying 1 more.
Withered Wretch >> Braids, Cabal Minion
Wretch is the weakest creature to cut and I am itching to try out Braids. She is worth the inclusion for her flavor text alone.
Arashi, the Sky Asunder >> Thornling
For the Thornling discussion, see posts above. Arashi seems the weakest five mana dude to cut. I like his Akroma slaying abilities, though.
Ashenmoor Gouger >> Sarkhan the Mad
I didn't want to include crazy Sarkhan at first, but after watching him rock in limited and performing well in constructed, it's only fair to give him a test run in cube. And I am not saying that he must be good in cube because he is good elsewhere, wtwlf123. I am including him temporarily because his power in other formats suggests that he might have a place in cube, too. Goblin Legionnaire >> Figure of Destiny
Finally bought a Figure. Man, that thing is still expensive. I have never played with or against Figure in my life, put I expect great things from it. Plus, I love hybrid. Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind >> Nucklavee
Niv just dies... sad but true. Or he gets drafted by someone who thinks that he will go UR, but then switches to UB or something, leaving Niv as a not exactly splashable sideboard card. Nucklavee is more flexible to cast and you gain an immediate advantage. Plus, UR was the only color section without a hybrid card!
Etched Oracle >> Smokestack
I hate cutting creatures for spells, but Smokestack compliments Braids so well and Oracle is only good in an archetype I don't like to become too powerful. I also love the Stack and have fond memories of a few old Extended decks and Legacy decks...
All I can say is that Braids is going to rock. Key card in my cube's latest winning deck. I can't wait to add some more cards to my cube that can combo with her (like Mobilization effects).
All I can say is that Braids is going to rock. Key card in my cube's latest winning deck. I can't wait to add some more cards to my cube that can combo with her (like Mobilization effects).
I don't have a huge token theme, but I think she will play fine anyway. Braids + Deranged Hermit is nice, though. Or should I cut Spike Weaver instead of Wolfbriar Elemental to strengthen my token production?
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
Unlike with the others rounds of changes (which actually felt like upgrades, even if I was sometimes reluctant to make them at first), some of the new changes feel less like upgrades and more like simply shuffling some cards (of equal value) around. I feel especially unsure about what to take out for Sphinx of Jwar Isle, Braids, Cabal Minion, Great Sable Stag and Smokestack. The Nucklavee change is a very close call, too.
No Fire // Ice? That can count as your hybrid card. UR hybrid cards are all pretty bad... that's probably why you didn't have one in your list.
Ah, Fire/Ice, the "hidden" hybrid card. Sadly, you can't cast Fire for 1U... And even if other color combinations have better hybrids, Nucklavee is not bad.
Since nobody is complaining about the proposed changes, I guess they are ok?
I don't have a huge token theme, but I think she will play fine anyway. Braids + Deranged Hermit is nice, though. Or should I cut Spike Weaver instead of Wolfbriar Elemental to strengthen my token production?
Any thoughts on the other changes?
Wolfbriar would only be a good Braids combo if you play her afterward, considering his high cost to become useful, and isn't repeatable. Taking him out for the Stag seems fine to me.
Thanks! This leaves the Etched Oracle to Smokestack swap as the only one that I am not that happy about. The only other card I would consider cutting for the Stack is Predator, Flagship. However, that is one of the most favorite cards of one of my regular drafters, so I am reluctant to throw it out.
Perhaps I'm taking cutting a creature for a spell too seriously. When I build my cube, I swore to never go below a 50 % creature to spell ratio. However, looking at other cubes shows me that almost no one obtains such a ratio. Most cubes run around 40 % to 45 % creatures. So maybe I should simply adjust my ratio and stop whining about every creature I cut for a spell...
the artifact section absolutely should not have a 50% creature ratio. that's not artifacts' strength at all. there aren't enough cubeable artifact creatures to do it so you end up with mediocre stuff in place of solid cards that are stuck in the sidelines.
so what that means is every other section has to pick up the slack and have more than 50% creatures, and that's too much too. i think half is fine for most colors (green and blue generally being the exceptions and evening each other out) but trying to overcompensate for artifacts doesn't seem necessary.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
the artifact section absolutely should not have a 50% creature ratio. that's not artifacts' strength at all. there aren't enough cubeable artifact creatures to do it so you end up with mediocre stuff in place of solid cards that are stuck in the sidelines.
so what that means is every other section has to pick up the slack and have more than 50% creatures, and that's too much too. i think half is fine for most colors (green and blue generally being the exceptions and evening each other out) but trying to overcompensate for artifacts doesn't seem necessary.
Yes, I play more creatures than usual in the five colors (and possibly in the multicolor section, too) to compensate for the lack of creatures in the artifact and in the land section ("picking up the slack" as you call it). Maybe I did it too rigorously. I will ease up a little bit on the creature to spell ratio. Since my cube is unpowered and build to play like a hyper charged limited format - which normally have around 50 % creatures - I will still try to keep the creature count high though.
Yes, I play more creatures than usual in the five colors (and possibly in the multicolor section, too) to compensate for the lack of creatures in the artifact and in the land section ("picking up the slack" as you call it). Maybe I did it too rigorously. I will ease up a little bit on the creature to spell ratio. Since my cube is unpowered and build to play like a hyper charged limited format - which normally have around 50 % creatures - I will still try to keep the creature count high though.
yeah it should still be about 50% creatures in the other sections, yeah. you shouldn't be counting lands in the first place, though when you calculate creature ratio.
i like oracle more than platinum angel or artisan of kozilek but oracle is kind of a weird card, so i can easily see it playing differently in different cubes. it's worth noting that if you do it right and play it on turn 5, it passes the terminate test and platinum doesn't.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
i like oracle more than platinum angel or artisan of kozilek but oracle is kind of a weird card, so i can easily see it playing differently in different cubes. it's worth noting that if you do it right and play it on turn 5, it passes the terminate test and platinum doesn't.
That's why I decided to drop Platinum Angel for Triskelion (which passes the termate test). And Etched Oracle is great in 4 or 5 color control decks, but not anywhere else. That kind of deck isn't drafted that often, though when it is succesfully drafted, it is quite powerful (good-stuff.dec). So the Oracle is either a dead card or not really needed. I liked it, but I like Smokestack more.
And Artisan of Kozilek might be quite slow and narrow, but when it works, it's sooo cool. Plus, Eldrazi are "Cthulhu meets Galactus" - I just have to have at least one in my cube (and this one seems to be the most reasonable ones)!
oh, ok. your cube hasn't been updated yet, hence my mentioning of the card.
And Etched Oracle is great in 4 or 5 color control decks, but not anywhere else.
you have all the good lands in the cube so you can just throw in a bunch of duals and fetches that are one of your colors to make him work.
That kind of deck isn't drafted that often, though when it is succesfully drafted, it is quite powerful (good-stuff.dec). So the Oracle is either a dead card or not really needed.
the "narrow but exciting" logic can be identically applied to...
And Artisan of Kozilek might be quite slow and narrow, but when it works, it's sooo cool.
the difference being that i think the oracle is a much better card. i don't think it's hugely important, though, and it's obviously just personal preference that leaves the latter in and the former out. i just wanted to point it out.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
oh, ok. your cube hasn't been updated yet, hence my mentioning of the card.
Sorry to confuse, but when I post my changes, I leave them up a few days to get some feedback before I update the cube itself.
By the way, the cube is updated now and will be taken for a spin this evening. If everything works out, we will be six players - a nice number to cube with.
Last sunday, we had a five man draft (the sixth player sadly couldn't make it) with my updated cube. It was the first draft with planeswalkers in the cube and five of nine showed up. Each player nearly played against each other player and while it was my turn to wait, I had some time to watch the other decks. Here are my thoughts on the planeswalkers:
Jace, the Mind Sculptor (expectation: high, experience: high)
He bounced threads, brainstormed like a champ and more or less disabled my Volrath's Stronghold with his first ability. One game I had to fight hard to prevent him from exiling my whole library! This guy is an absolute bomb. It was funny that he was the only planeswalker that nearly tabled (all other walkers where picked by the player that opened them or at least by their neighbor).
Sorin Markov (expectation: medium, experience: high)
I played him in a BGW control deck (I had enough mana fixing to counteract his heavy black cost) and he was absolutely amazing. He killed creatures left and right, nibbled on other planeswalkers, kept me alive through live gain and sometimes provided that last two damage necessary to kill the opponent. I even mindslavered a player to death once! The important part wasn't his ultimate however, it was his first ability that proved to be so incredibly great. His second ability was never used, by the way.
Chandra Nalaar (expectation: medium, experience: medium)
Can't say that much about her since she wasn't drawn against me. She was mostly used as flexible removal. Nothing amazing but quite valuable. She killed a player with her ultimate once.
Sarkhan the Mad (expectation: low, experience: medium)
I didn't expect much from him. He was simply included because I got one at the ROE draft last weekend and two players suggested that he should be good in cube, too. And he was! Nothing amazing like some of the other players, but he was really decent. And the player that had him in his deck even said that he didn't fit that well there. Well, he had Sensei's Divining TopandScroll Rack to abuse his first ability, but the second ability would have probably been better in an aggro deck. He did upgrade hisLooters during the late game though. I expected Sarkhan's "ultimate" to never be used, but it actually killed me once.
Ajani Vengeant (expectation: high, experience: medium)
The only one to disappoint. He was often used as a Lightning Helix Plus, killing a creature (or a planeswalker), gaining some life and than absorbing a part of the opponent's next attack. Not bad, but nothing amazing at 2RW. The problem with the first ability - and the reason why Ajani was only good and not amazing - was that it doesn't tap the permanent in the first place. I didn't watch it, but his ultimate was actually used once (and consequently won the game).
Final thought: Umezawa's Jitte is so broken. Even in a deck with only 11 creatures...
After what I witnessed, that's a huge understatement. You have to either destroy it as soon as possible or prevent it from ever getting counters. Once it accumulated four or more counters, you just cannot win with an aggro deck against it, unless you destroy it.
And Ajani Vengeant has been the best planeswalker in the cube for me.
That's what I heard and it's one of the reasons I had high expectations. While actually playing against it, he didn't look more powerful than Chandra Nalaar. Maybe he was just weak against my deck? The white aggro player didn't have a problem with him either, but that was due to slapping a Faith's Fetters on him every game.
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Unfortunately, I waited to long and didn't get the Thornling + Maze of Ith deal for cheap, so those cards will have to wait.
The next changes will be (OUT >> IN):
Seal of Primordium >> Wickerbough Elder
More creatures for green! I liked how green mirrored white with Disenchant / Seal of Cleansing and Naturalize / Seal of Primordium, but ultimately, this was no reason not to include a card that works as a Seal and as a creature.
Wolfbriar Elemental >> Great Sable Stag
A close call, but the nostalgic value of Spike Weaver granted him the right to stay.
Platinum Angel >> Triskelion
I am not a huge fan of Triskelion, but after some consideration, I concluded that in a cube full of high class removal, the Angel wasn't worth it.
Urza's Factory >> Terramorphic Expanse
This is done due to the inclusion of Life from the Loam.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
there are a lot of cards that can deal with armageddon. if you keep up with their curve or drop something big and difficult to remove, armageddon isn't going to be a great play. removal can help deal with armageddon by removing the reason they want to cast it in the first place. and if someone casts it without a superior board state (as just a reset button) you can deal with it by having a good deck.
once again, though, i agree mind twist is devastating. but i like that kind of thing.
Good point regarding instant removal. In other cases, you simply don't play Armageddon if the board state doesn't favor you. It is not as obvious and simple to cast as Mind Twist, but I find loosing all your lands so easy and early in a game to be quite frustrating. If it would cost five mana or at least wasn't so easy to splash, it would give the opponent at least a better chance to develop his own board position or to disrupt yours.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
But if your opponent plays Armageddon early, you won't be frustrated for long.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
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Seal of Primordium >> Wickerbough Elder
Wolfbriar Elemental >> Great Sable Stag
Platinum Angel >> Triskelion
Urza's Factory >> Terramorphic Expanse
Planned changes (cards are ordered) and temporary changes, for testing purposes (OUT >> IN):
Riftwing Cloudskate >> Sphinx of Jwar Isle
I hate to see a permanent bouncing creature go, but I have too many 5 mana creatures in blue and the others are more important to keep. This change evades the whole Sphinx or Morphling debate by simply playing both!
Tidings >> Opportunity
Instant speed on a draw spell is worth paying 1 more.
Withered Wretch >> Braids, Cabal Minion
Wretch is the weakest creature to cut and I am itching to try out Braids. She is worth the inclusion for her flavor text alone.
Arashi, the Sky Asunder >> Thornling
For the Thornling discussion, see posts above. Arashi seems the weakest five mana dude to cut. I like his Akroma slaying abilities, though.
Ashenmoor Gouger >> Sarkhan the Mad
I didn't want to include crazy Sarkhan at first, but after watching him rock in limited and performing well in constructed, it's only fair to give him a test run in cube. And I am not saying that he must be good in cube because he is good elsewhere, wtwlf123. I am including him temporarily because his power in other formats suggests that he might have a place in cube, too.
Goblin Legionnaire >> Figure of Destiny
Finally bought a Figure. Man, that thing is still expensive. I have never played with or against Figure in my life, put I expect great things from it. Plus, I love hybrid.
Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind >> Nucklavee
Niv just dies... sad but true. Or he gets drafted by someone who thinks that he will go UR, but then switches to UB or something, leaving Niv as a not exactly splashable sideboard card. Nucklavee is more flexible to cast and you gain an immediate advantage. Plus, UR was the only color section without a hybrid card!
Etched Oracle >> Smokestack
I hate cutting creatures for spells, but Smokestack compliments Braids so well and Oracle is only good in an archetype I don't like to become too powerful. I also love the Stack and have fond memories of a few old Extended decks and Legacy decks...
Thoughts?
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
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I don't have a huge token theme, but I think she will play fine anyway. Braids + Deranged Hermit is nice, though. Or should I cut Spike Weaver instead of Wolfbriar Elemental to strengthen my token production?
Any thoughts on the other changes?
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
No Fire // Ice? That can count as your hybrid card. UR hybrid cards are all pretty bad... that's probably why you didn't have one in your list.
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My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
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Ah, Fire/Ice, the "hidden" hybrid card. Sadly, you can't cast Fire for 1U... And even if other color combinations have better hybrids, Nucklavee is not bad.
Since nobody is complaining about the proposed changes, I guess they are ok?
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
Wolfbriar would only be a good Braids combo if you play her afterward, considering his high cost to become useful, and isn't repeatable. Taking him out for the Stag seems fine to me.
Your other changes look great too.
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Perhaps I'm taking cutting a creature for a spell too seriously. When I build my cube, I swore to never go below a 50 % creature to spell ratio. However, looking at other cubes shows me that almost no one obtains such a ratio. Most cubes run around 40 % to 45 % creatures. So maybe I should simply adjust my ratio and stop whining about every creature I cut for a spell...
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
so what that means is every other section has to pick up the slack and have more than 50% creatures, and that's too much too. i think half is fine for most colors (green and blue generally being the exceptions and evening each other out) but trying to overcompensate for artifacts doesn't seem necessary.
Yes, I play more creatures than usual in the five colors (and possibly in the multicolor section, too) to compensate for the lack of creatures in the artifact and in the land section ("picking up the slack" as you call it). Maybe I did it too rigorously. I will ease up a little bit on the creature to spell ratio. Since my cube is unpowered and build to play like a hyper charged limited format - which normally have around 50 % creatures - I will still try to keep the creature count high though.
I just got an Ankh of Mishra which seems to be a fine little card to support aggro. My changes in the artifact section will therefore be (OUT >> IN):
Etched Oracle >> Smokestack
Predator, Flagship >> Ankh of Mishra
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
yeah it should still be about 50% creatures in the other sections, yeah. you shouldn't be counting lands in the first place, though when you calculate creature ratio.
i like oracle more than platinum angel or artisan of kozilek but oracle is kind of a weird card, so i can easily see it playing differently in different cubes. it's worth noting that if you do it right and play it on turn 5, it passes the terminate test and platinum doesn't.
That's why I decided to drop Platinum Angel for Triskelion (which passes the termate test). And Etched Oracle is great in 4 or 5 color control decks, but not anywhere else. That kind of deck isn't drafted that often, though when it is succesfully drafted, it is quite powerful (good-stuff.dec). So the Oracle is either a dead card or not really needed. I liked it, but I like Smokestack more.
And Artisan of Kozilek might be quite slow and narrow, but when it works, it's sooo cool. Plus, Eldrazi are "Cthulhu meets Galactus" - I just have to have at least one in my cube (and this one seems to be the most reasonable ones)!
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
oh, ok. your cube hasn't been updated yet, hence my mentioning of the card.
you have all the good lands in the cube so you can just throw in a bunch of duals and fetches that are one of your colors to make him work.
the "narrow but exciting" logic can be identically applied to...
the difference being that i think the oracle is a much better card. i don't think it's hugely important, though, and it's obviously just personal preference that leaves the latter in and the former out. i just wanted to point it out.
Sorry to confuse, but when I post my changes, I leave them up a few days to get some feedback before I update the cube itself.
By the way, the cube is updated now and will be taken for a spin this evening. If everything works out, we will be six players - a nice number to cube with.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
Jace, the Mind Sculptor (expectation: high, experience: high)
He bounced threads, brainstormed like a champ and more or less disabled my Volrath's Stronghold with his first ability. One game I had to fight hard to prevent him from exiling my whole library! This guy is an absolute bomb. It was funny that he was the only planeswalker that nearly tabled (all other walkers where picked by the player that opened them or at least by their neighbor).
Sorin Markov (expectation: medium, experience: high)
I played him in a BGW control deck (I had enough mana fixing to counteract his heavy black cost) and he was absolutely amazing. He killed creatures left and right, nibbled on other planeswalkers, kept me alive through live gain and sometimes provided that last two damage necessary to kill the opponent. I even mindslavered a player to death once! The important part wasn't his ultimate however, it was his first ability that proved to be so incredibly great. His second ability was never used, by the way.
Chandra Nalaar (expectation: medium, experience: medium)
Can't say that much about her since she wasn't drawn against me. She was mostly used as flexible removal. Nothing amazing but quite valuable. She killed a player with her ultimate once.
Sarkhan the Mad (expectation: low, experience: medium)
I didn't expect much from him. He was simply included because I got one at the ROE draft last weekend and two players suggested that he should be good in cube, too. And he was! Nothing amazing like some of the other players, but he was really decent. And the player that had him in his deck even said that he didn't fit that well there. Well, he had Sensei's Divining Top and Scroll Rack to abuse his first ability, but the second ability would have probably been better in an aggro deck. He did upgrade his Looters during the late game though. I expected Sarkhan's "ultimate" to never be used, but it actually killed me once.
Ajani Vengeant (expectation: high, experience: medium)
The only one to disappoint. He was often used as a Lightning Helix Plus, killing a creature (or a planeswalker), gaining some life and than absorbing a part of the opponent's next attack. Not bad, but nothing amazing at 2RW. The problem with the first ability - and the reason why Ajani was only good and not amazing - was that it doesn't tap the permanent in the first place. I didn't watch it, but his ultimate was actually used once (and consequently won the game).
Final thought: Umezawa's Jitte is so broken. Even in a deck with only 11 creatures...
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
And Ajani Vengeant has been the best planeswalker in the cube for me.
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My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
After what I witnessed, that's a huge understatement. You have to either destroy it as soon as possible or prevent it from ever getting counters. Once it accumulated four or more counters, you just cannot win with an aggro deck against it, unless you destroy it.
That's what I heard and it's one of the reasons I had high expectations. While actually playing against it, he didn't look more powerful than Chandra Nalaar. Maybe he was just weak against my deck? The white aggro player didn't have a problem with him either, but that was due to slapping a Faith's Fetters on him every game.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG