It's just that the charm will rarely be anything else with Shardless Agent....the opponent does have to deal with 2 spells on the stack instead of one....which could be better at times.
Oh man, Undercity Informer looks killer...I've been considering toning down the aggro in my black section and this card is making me lean even further in that direction. I've been looking for another sac outlet and also a graveyard enabler and this is both wrapped into one neat package.
I'm in the exact same situation and would like to keep snakeform as it does something unique and and provides a pseudo-removal to the only colors that don't have one. There aren't a whole lot of options though, the best I found is to go - narcolepsy + curse of chains, - disenchant + sundering growth and - something + snakeform.
This is basically what I did...tower above came out for snakeform, and I kept narcolepsy in, because having both of those available for blue seemed good.
Oh man, Undercity Informer looks killer...I've been considering toning down the aggro in my black section and this card is making me lean even further in that direction. I've been looking for another sac outlet and also a graveyard enabler and this is both wrapped into one neat package.
I really, really want this to be good. Sacoutlet that's also a decent body? Count me in.
However, is the sacrifice effect good? If you activate it roughly seven to ten times, you've milled your opponent. You can also mill yourself, but there are only so many cards that are happy to be in the graveyard. I'll test it, though.
Specialities about the cube: U tempo, B aggro, R slow-ish are supported. G aggro is not.
Currently trying to support tokens in all colors but blue, in different ways: W pumps them, B sacrifices them, R suicides them, G has decent-sized ones.
cube list outdated
*literal C/U definition according to gatherer
**some cards are banned. Library of Alexandria, Land Tax, Sol Ring.
I really, really want this to be good. Sacoutlet that's also a decent body? Count me in.
However, is the sacrifice effect good? If you activate it roughly seven to ten times, you've milled your opponent. You can also mill yourself, but there are only so many cards that are happy to be in the graveyard. I'll test it, though.
Unless you mill them to death you'd have wasted a lot of time.
Let's not lower ourselves to three card, wildly specific combos (falkenrath)
I guess if you're casting Lingering Souls you might be winning anyways. The informer is definitely heavy on the durdle, but it at least comes with a respectable body.
I think that it and Korozda Guildmage, might be able to clear up Golgari's identity in my cube, as it doesn't exactly know what it wants to be at the moment. I like the idea of using the informer in conjunction with flashback, undying, scavenge, retrace, and generic reanimation. It has the potential to be a substantial engine.
You're right that it's narrow...as it will only really work in a G/B or W/B. It might not prove that hot in testing, but it's a really unique effect that brings a lot to a couple archetypes I'm trying to push.
I've long thought about making self-mill matter in black and green with white and blue as viable third partners. Spider Spawning.dec seems fun, but lacks enough other toys to be worthwhile at the moment. Scavenge could help make it viable.
We just don't have enough of those cards.
This guy requires you to sac a substantial number of creatures. Unless you're playing kozileks predator and sengir autocrat, I doubt that there is often a surplus of guys just waiting to die so you can fish for your raven's crime and grixis slavedriver in a few turns.
Unlike thoughtpicker witch, this guy doesnt actually win the game. He requires expendable dudes for a longer period of time on average Plus cards that want to be in your yard that are worth all that time and effort.
Even with the skeleton you go "spell, land, bring back skeleton" next turn "spell, cenn's enlistment, spell, land" and at this point you still haven't made your position any better.
On another note
The extort bear is likely going to replace nearheath pilgrim for me.
Specialities about the cube: U tempo, B aggro, R slow-ish are supported. G aggro is not.
Currently trying to support tokens in all colors but blue, in different ways: W pumps them, B sacrifices them, R suicides them, G has decent-sized ones.
cube list outdated
*literal C/U definition according to gatherer
**some cards are banned. Library of Alexandria, Land Tax, Sol Ring.
Don't forget Dreg Mangler as a playable scavenge card. I think we'd need one more graveyard-matters block to get the critical mass to make this archetype playable in a competitive cube.
There might be a few decent Threshold cards if we got a few more self-mill cards that were playable outside of the archetype.
Soooo... We've got ourselves the Orzhov Charm now.
Quote from Spoiler »
Orzhov Charm :symw::symb:
Instant
Choose one - Return target creature you control and all Auras you control attached to it to their owners' hands; or destroy target creature and you lose life equal to that creature's toughness; or return target creature card with converted mana cost 1 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
So, the first mode is kind of bad, and the last mode isn't great (would cmc 2 or less have killed you, Wizards? Unearth is one mana and had cycling, for God's sake), but "destroy target creature" with other modes sounds sweet to me. I know that Vendetta isn't great, but at least most peasant cube creatures have toughness 3 or less.
I'm not quite sure it's worth the orzhov guild slot.
It's a real big disappointment to me how utterly useless one out of the three modes on the Orzhov, Dimir, and Gruul charms are mostly useless. Most of them are then followed by a second extremely situational ability.
I'm pretty sure that having 2 mana spells do 3 things that are almost worth it by themselves is too strong. Some modes either have to be useless (gruuls) or the modes are each below averge (simic)
Outside of mother of runes and thoughtpicker witch... and steel wall i dont think youre happy bringing in a one drop. Saving your own guy is decent but that kill spell is whack. I actually think mortify is better and im not running that.
Take simic and boros charm. When you use 4 of those 6 modes, you've used the cards on abilities that pretty much cost a card. The unsummon mode isnt terrible either. But on this, im never really happy to have spent stuff for this outside of buying back a value guy on its way out.
Harder to cast Man-o'-Wars are sweet.
It's just that the charm will rarely be anything else with Shardless Agent....the opponent does have to deal with 2 spells on the stack instead of one....which could be better at times.
This right here. I'm big on U/x tempo in my Cube so I'm more than happy running 3 different Jellyfish variants.
I'm a fan of Snakeform but I think it's time in my Cube has finally come to an end.
EDH Decks:
- Reya Dawnbringer // - Mistform Ultimus // - Balthor the Defiled // - Urabrask the Hidden // - Mirri, Cat Warrior
amen
I'd much rather cascade into the shark than the charm.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
This is basically what I did...tower above came out for snakeform, and I kept narcolepsy in, because having both of those available for blue seemed good.
Boy am I.
I really, really want this to be good. Sacoutlet that's also a decent body? Count me in.
However, is the sacrifice effect good? If you activate it roughly seven to ten times, you've milled your opponent. You can also mill yourself, but there are only so many cards that are happy to be in the graveyard. I'll test it, though.
450, Peasant*, unpowered**
Specialities about the cube:
U tempo, B aggro, R slow-ish are supported. G aggro is not.
Currently trying to support tokens in all colors but blue, in different ways: W pumps them, B sacrifices them, R suicides them, G has decent-sized ones.
cube list outdated
*literal C/U definition according to gatherer
**some cards are banned. Library of Alexandria, Land Tax, Sol Ring.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
I was thinking of how nutty it would be in a BW grindy token deck...informer + lingering souls or cenn's enlistment can mean game pretty quickly (both of which are nice being milled into your own graveyard)...then there is also Unburial Rites, reassembling skeleton, corpse connoisseur, grixis slavedriver, chainer's edict....ashen ghoul?
EDIT: also Moan of the Unhallowed, Darkblast, Raven's Crime, and maybe Dread Return
Also good with blood artist and falkenrath noble.
Let's not lower ourselves to three card, wildly specific combos (falkenrath)
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
I guess if you're casting Lingering Souls you might be winning anyways. The informer is definitely heavy on the durdle, but it at least comes with a respectable body.
I think that it and Korozda Guildmage, might be able to clear up Golgari's identity in my cube, as it doesn't exactly know what it wants to be at the moment. I like the idea of using the informer in conjunction with flashback, undying, scavenge, retrace, and generic reanimation. It has the potential to be a substantial engine.
You're right that it's narrow...as it will only really work in a G/B or W/B. It might not prove that hot in testing, but it's a really unique effect that brings a lot to a couple archetypes I'm trying to push.
This guy requires you to sac a substantial number of creatures. Unless you're playing kozileks predator and sengir autocrat, I doubt that there is often a surplus of guys just waiting to die so you can fish for your raven's crime and grixis slavedriver in a few turns.
Unlike thoughtpicker witch, this guy doesnt actually win the game. He requires expendable dudes for a longer period of time on average Plus cards that want to be in your yard that are worth all that time and effort.
Even with the skeleton you go "spell, land, bring back skeleton" next turn "spell, cenn's enlistment, spell, land" and at this point you still haven't made your position any better.
On another note
The extort bear is likely going to replace nearheath pilgrim for me.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Okay:
Grixis Slavedriver
Corpse Connoisseur
Chainer's Edict
Unburial Rites
Lingering Souls
Spider Spawning
Reassembling Skeleton
Crippling Fatigue
Grim Harvest
Moan of the Unhallowed
Raven's Crime
Syphon Life
Bad:
Viscera Dragger
Traitor's Clutch
Veilborn Ghoul
Zanikev Locust
Sewer Shambler
Rotting Rats
Terrus Wurm
Dragon Auras (Dragon Shadow etc.)
What's More:
Everything that recurs things from the graveyard. Gravedigger, Death Denied, Eternal Witness, Deadwood Treefolk, and so on, and so forth
I'm considering adding Zanikev Locust just so there are more creatures that are happy to be in the graveyard, which is clutch to making this work.
450, Peasant*, unpowered**
Specialities about the cube:
U tempo, B aggro, R slow-ish are supported. G aggro is not.
Currently trying to support tokens in all colors but blue, in different ways: W pumps them, B sacrifices them, R suicides them, G has decent-sized ones.
cube list outdated
*literal C/U definition according to gatherer
**some cards are banned. Library of Alexandria, Land Tax, Sol Ring.
There might be a few decent Threshold cards if we got a few more self-mill cards that were playable outside of the archetype.
So, the first mode is kind of bad, and the last mode isn't great (would cmc 2 or less have killed you, Wizards? Unearth is one mana and had cycling, for God's sake), but "destroy target creature" with other modes sounds sweet to me. I know that Vendetta isn't great, but at least most peasant cube creatures have toughness 3 or less.
It's a real big disappointment to me how utterly useless one out of the three modes on the Orzhov, Dimir, and Gruul charms are mostly useless. Most of them are then followed by a second extremely situational ability.
Cubetutor link - 380 Peasant Cube
EDH Decks:
- Reya Dawnbringer // - Mistform Ultimus // - Balthor the Defiled // - Urabrask the Hidden // - Mirri, Cat Warrior
It could've done so many more awesome things...
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
This is my mindset. I think Orzhov Charm is cubeable off the back of it being that + optionable, albeit usually bad, modes.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
Take simic and boros charm. When you use 4 of those 6 modes, you've used the cards on abilities that pretty much cost a card. The unsummon mode isnt terrible either. But on this, im never really happy to have spent stuff for this outside of buying back a value guy on its way out.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article