I like the ratings overall. Being stricter is a good thing.
I would switch Vampire Champion and Brazen Freebooter's ratings. Deathtouch on a 3/3 is super-overrated in pauper since those stats already trade with about 75% of a cube's creatures. And you're in ideal removal colors where you don't need a creature as pseudo-removal. Ramp in red is unusual enough that it opens up new strategies outside of aggro.
Swaggering Corsair: Borderline unless you have a decent +1/+1 counter theme going. Red 3s are just too good for a conditional Courser to see play.
Jungleborn Pioneer: Super cubeable. Like Marl said, you're getting a Gladecover Scout which is worth the cost and shields you against red's dividable burn.
Orazca Frillback: Borderline. I like the efficiency of the stats, but I don't think anyone actually wants this or Alpine Grizzly. They hit hard but trade with two-drops. My guess is that if red is the most aggressive color in the cube and still doesn't like including these cards (they get two as well in Onakke Ogre and Frenzied Raptor) then they are probably just under the curve for inclusion.
Thanks for the help folks. Good points. I'll adjust rankings accordingly. Just have a couple responses concerning specific cards
Yeah concerning [card]Soul of the Rapids, I leaned to Borderline with it being more of an archetype card or at least requires some consideration when cube building but I could see it at cubeable as a resilient and evasive control finisher. That or maybe some borderline creatures in that cmc slot aren't as good anymore. Could be a combination of the two also.
Giltgrove Stalker isn't really a strictly worse Wandering Wolf because just as is, wolf can be blocked by 2/X's unlike stalker. I think wolf may be more a borderline archetype card, since it require a decent amount of equipments/auras to make use of it's full potential, or at least as good as Stalker.
Giltgrove Stalker isn't really a strictly worse Wandering Wolf because just as is, wolf can be blocked by 2/X's unlike stalker. I think wolf may be more a borderline archetype card, since it require a decent amount of equipments/auras to make use of it's full potential, or at least as good as Stalker.
I didn't notice that. Good call.
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My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
Yeah concerning [card]Soul of the Rapids, I leaned to Borderline with it being more of an archetype card or at least requires some consideration when cube building but I could see it at cubeable as a resilient and evasive control finisher. That or maybe some borderline creatures in that cmc slot aren't as good anymore. Could be a combination of the two also.
Giltgrove Stalker isn't really a strictly worse Wandering Wolf because just as is, wolf can be blocked by 2/X's unlike stalker. I think wolf may be more a borderline archetype card, since it require a decent amount of equipments/auras to make use of it's full potential, or at least as good as Stalker.
Yep, that's my bad. I think they can still be grouped together though as a push for the auras theme.
I do like Soul of the Rapids-style finishers. I currently have Whirlwind Adept in that spot, but it really feels like it should have flying (it looks like it should, and with a name like that, it kind of feels like it should too). Ideally for that cost we could get them combined in one card eventually for a 3/2 hexproof prowess flyer. I might even take it at six mana if it came as a 3/3
Giltgrove Stalker isn't really a strictly worse Wandering Wolf because just as is, wolf can be blocked by 2/X's unlike stalker. I think wolf may be more a borderline archetype card, since it require a decent amount of equipments/auras to make use of it's full potential, or at least as good as Stalker.
I didn't notice that. Good call.
I was going to mention this as well as Stalker plays a little different than Wandering in practice.
Three of these -- Waterknot, Exultant Skymarcher, and Orazca Frillback are functional reprints. IF they are cubeable they all fall on the low end IMO (and I'm not really sold on any of them tbh).
Took a look at some cards out of Guilds that I thought looked interesting at first glance. Would love to hear some feedback. Also making some edits to include other cards that don't seem to be mentioned yet.
White
===== Healer's Hawk - Staple/Cubable. Turn 1 Evasion and Lifelink on a small body is fine. Gets increasingly better with auras and equipment, especially when the opponent needs to spend removal to kill your 1 drop. Parhelion Patrol - Cubable. Similar to Abzan Skycaptain except with 1 more toughness, vigilance, and a worse ability. Instead of giving 2 +1/+1 counters on your lowest toughness creature, puts 1 on an attacker with 1 or less power. Probably balances out.
Blue
===== Dimir Informant - Cubable/Borderline. I feel like this sits somewhere between Sea Gate Oracle and Sailor of Means. Good defensive body with Surveil 2, which can be extremely powerful with graveyard synergy like Stitched Drake, Delve cards, or reanimate effects.
Black
===== Spinal Centipede - Cubable. 3/2 Vanilla for 3 isn't terrible nor exciting, but it adds a +1/+1 counter to something else when it dies and you could potentially recur and cast him multiple times. Deadly Visit - Borderline. 5CC removals at sorvery speed are generally bad but Surveil feel like a sweet keyword. Probably still overcosted though.
Red
===== Rubblebelt Boar - Borderline. Hill Giants are a dime a dozen and the ETB ability isn't backbreaking nor reusable. Not super exciting. Bull-Rush Bruiser - Cubable. 4/3 for 4 is fine and Warrior is a very relevant creature type to activate First Strike. It might not always be activated depending on your cube makeup, but I think that's fine.
Green
===== Siege Worm - Cubable. Not good if you're paying the full cost but a 5/5 trampler for 6 (Giant Wrathog/Moss Kami) is Borderline; for 5CC is at Least Cubable (see Colossapede); and 4 or less is a staple. May not help if you're behind but if you're ahead or the board is stalled, this could give you the push you need.
Multi
=====
Dimir
---- Whisper Agent - Staple/Cubable. Hybrid mana is super flexible and even without flying, a 3/2 with flash for 3 feels great as a pseduo removal spell blocker or pseudo haste attacker. Surveil is just icing on the cake. Artful Takedown - Cubable. Instant speed, modal, and able to deal with up to two large-sized creatures seems really good. 4CC feels bad but this is reminiscent of Agony Warp to me.
Selesnya
---- Sumala Woodshaper - Borderline. The 2/1 body is bad but digging 4 for an enchantment or creature in a creature-centric format feels pretty decent. Gets better if Selesnya Auras is a pushed archetype. Rosemane Centaur - Cubable. At 5CC, very similar in power to borderline Armored Wolf-Rider. Same sort of arguement as Siege Worm in green.
Boros
---- Hammer Dropper - Cubable/Borderline. Looking at Kranioceros/Ordruun Commando, they have similar P/T and CMC but a way to keep them alive. I think Hammer Dropper could be insane with a couple weenies on the field and combat tricks in hand to keep him alive and swinging.
Golgari
---- Rhizome Lurcher - Staple. 4CC for a 2/2 is bad but in the colors of graveyard shenanigans, I think this guy could easily be a better Blastoderm/Imperiosaur.
Colorless
===== Skittering Surveyor - Borderline. Does kill X/1's but really only helps to smooth out land drops. Similar to Pilgrim's Eye but feels more defensive than a possible beater with evasion.
Am I that far off? I think I might be a little bit liberal, shown by the split ratings, but I the ratings are mostly based off of existing cards. Do you have any specific reasons to knock my ratings down?
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My Pauper Cube - Always looking for feedback for improvement. MSG me for questions or suggestions.
Am I that far off? I think I might be a little bit liberal, shown by the split ratings, but I the ratings are mostly based off of existing cards. Do you have any specific reasons to knock my ratings down?
no offense, but when you think that Rhizome Lurcher is anywhere close to Blastoderm you are as far off as it gets when it comes to paupercubing. Like in infinite miles off.
Lurcher might be playable, not even great in dedicated cubes around gy strategies, its close to unplayable (bad) in standard cubes, while Blastoderm is in the Top5 most powerful commons, maybe even the best common we got..
Your ratings seems based of GoR meta, but its powerlevel is somewhere around Tier3 level which means almost every card is borderline or worse compared to what we got.
The only card you hit right is Sumala Woodshaper which is very good for assembling the Midnight Guard+Presence of Gond combo
Am I that far off? I think I might be a little bit liberal, shown by the split ratings, but I the ratings are mostly based off of existing cards. Do you have any specific reasons to knock my ratings down?
If your ratings were correct Guilds would have 7 Cubeable or better cards of which up to 3 would be Staples and then two more possibly Cubeable cards (I'm omitting Bull-Rush Bruiser which isn't from Guilds). Two of the cards in question would have to be upgraded as well since they already exist and are widely considered to fall short of Cubeable status (Siege Wurm, Spinal Centipede)
In all, that would be one of the strongest sets in memory
Here's the update for Masters 25. I'll work on adding it in and adjust accordingly with any further feedback/discussion that comes happens.
Fencing Ace (Borderline)
By itself, it's not great, but can get crazy with any kind of pump.
Geist of the Moors (Cubeable)
3 power combined with evasion makes for a solid card in an aggressive color.
Loyal Sentry (Borderline):
Can be a nice defensive creature with pseudo-deathtouch for more controlling white decks. Does combo nicely with flicker effects.
Dragon's Eye Savants (Bad)
Flexibilty of morph is nice on a wall, but both modes still aren't very exciting and seeing an opponent's hand is as relevant as often or as for long in limited.
Relentless Rats (Bad)
Group with similar cards that don't work in a typical cube
Ruthless Ripper (Cubeable)
Might just group with other 1/1 deathtouchers, even though it's slightly better.
Balduvian Horde (Bad)
The body is huge for the cost, but it's not really worth 2 for 1'ing yourself with the random discard, in order to play it on curve. It's also terrible against any kind of bounce.
Cinder Storm (Bad)
Group with a similar expensive burn that is outclassed by x spells
Crimson Mage (Borderline)
A repeatable haste-granting creature with a decent body is nice, but 1 mana isn't nothing and isn't always ideal early when trying to curve out.
Frenzied Goblin (Borderline):
Preventing blocking is nice, but the body is fragile and the 1-mana required every turn to use it isn't nothing and can interfere with curving out.
Hordeling Outburst (Cubeable):
This card is amazing with any kind of swarm support in your cube, and even without, 3 power worth of tokens is okay.
Jackal Pup (Cubeable):
2 power one-drops are great for agressive decks, which don't even care that much about the downside usually.
Pillage (Bad):
Group with similar land destruction spells
Court Hussar (Azorius Cubeable):
An Anticipate on a stick is solid and in slower decks, this is a nice roadblock for against agressive decks.
Skeletonize (Rakdos Borderline)
Killing a medium-sized or smaller creature and leaving behind a resilient 1/1 can sometimes be nice for more controlling-style rakos decks.
Assembly-Worker (Bad):
There aren't nearly enough Assembly-Worker creatures for this to even maybe be viable.
Btw. has anyone any good ideas if we can transfer this project to somewhere else? I thought of Google docs or something similar, but I'm not really good at designing such a space. The reason is simply, that it's a huge pain to edit it in the current version, because the threads don't really support this amount of text and I could simply give out permissions to people wanting to edit the project.
I think Google docs could maybe work. Not aware of any of possible options that could be good, but I can look into setting something up just on docs at least to see if it's viable. I'll mess around and see what I can come up with. Would make thing easier.
EDIT: Google Sheets may work too, maybe better than docs
Fencing Ace is cubable to me. On its own its strong enough and with some kind of pump it gets crazy. Geist of the Moors only borderline. double W and toughness 1. meh Dragon's Eye Savants borderline 0/6 blocks pretty much every non evasive in paupercubes and it has the flexibility in an offensive mode
Horde still bad for me. I dont see any deck thats wants it.
Fencing Ace is cubable to me. On its own its strong enough and with some kind of pump it gets crazy. Geist of the Moors only borderline. double W and toughness 1. meh Dragon's Eye Savants borderline 0/6 blocks pretty much every non evasive in paupercubes and it has the flexibility in an offensive mode
Horde still bad for me. I dont see any deck thats wants it.
I was going to disagree with you on Fencing Ace, but on its own, it's only slightly worse thanYouthful Knight, which is marked cubeable here. The fact that it gets better with equipment and auras, and can represent a ton of burst damage with instant-speed pump, might bring it up to the cubeable level. For me it's somewhere in between, as I'm not sure how often you can leverage your pump to lift it out of subpar range.
I do agree on Geist. One point of toughness is a massive liability in a format with pingers, dividable burn and flying tokens.
Balduvian Horde... poor thing. Well, if Reckless Wurm ever gets downshifted like Arrogant Wurm, then I might have a case for this guy. With all the pseudo-looting available, it could help push some sort of madness/graveyard theme in red.
Agree with Ace being low cubable to high borderline, but the fact that regular cubes run a bunch of aura and equipments pushes it over the line for me.
Even with a bunch of madness card, horde remains bad.
You never can make use of hordes biggest upside, its cc/body ratio, because you risk to lose the next best card from your hand, which can be devastating and you wouldnt have mana for madness shenenigans. So just pay 1 more and get a real creature, like the werewolves..
Then later you often dont want to risk to discard your removal/finisher you sandback and even with sth like Wurm, you would need 7 mana then which ends up in a mediocre tempoplay. Not bad, but not great either.
On top of all you open yourself for an easy 1:2
When the discard wasnt random, it wouldve been the card we all saw in it since back then, but the randomness totally kills it.
Yeah I think even Keldon Raider might be a nicer fit. That card is better in multiple ways - you don't need to discard if you don't want to, and it loots for you if you do. Still only borderline. (on a side note, I just noticed the nice thematic riff between Gathan Raiders and Keldon Raider. And since Gathan is one of my favorite beaters, Keldon Raider might be better than I think )
Pretty much the only thing going for Horde is the body (fairly easy to negate) and the fact that it opens up more design space for undercosted-beater-with-a-drawback in the future. Bloodrage Brawler isn't too far off from common printable if you tweak a couple levers.
I havent seen you guys post on UMA downshifts (or ive been looking at the wrong places). But am very curious to hear your thoughts on things like Canker Abomination, Dimir guildmage, and fire/ice.
I just realized, that Daru Stinger isn't a Human anymore. They changend it back, because it has apmplify years ago. It's ranking should probably be changed.
Anybody caring about giving a quick glance over my cube? I stopped updating it around AER since I was doing mainly constructed and GP prepping, and the few times I've done cube ever since were peasant so I've probably missed a lot. I have some vague archetypes here and there, but the cube could use a general overhaul in order to include the maximum amount of staples, archetypes be damned. I'm currently aiming for the strongest 360 with a healthy dose of aggro, midrange and control, and archetype cards should be strong on their own to warrant inclusion (think Rancor, Armadillo Cloak or Observant Alseid for GW Auras or Ingenious Skaab, Prescient Chimera or Archaeomancer for UR spells matter).
Besides that I agree with you and with Humphrey.
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
I would switch Vampire Champion and Brazen Freebooter's ratings. Deathtouch on a 3/3 is super-overrated in pauper since those stats already trade with about 75% of a cube's creatures. And you're in ideal removal colors where you don't need a creature as pseudo-removal. Ramp in red is unusual enough that it opens up new strategies outside of aggro.
Swaggering Corsair: Borderline unless you have a decent +1/+1 counter theme going. Red 3s are just too good for a conditional Courser to see play.
Giltgrove Stalker: Borderline. Strictly worse than Wandering Wolf which already sees very little play.
Jungleborn Pioneer: Super cubeable. Like Marl said, you're getting a Gladecover Scout which is worth the cost and shields you against red's dividable burn.
Orazca Frillback: Borderline. I like the efficiency of the stats, but I don't think anyone actually wants this or Alpine Grizzly. They hit hard but trade with two-drops. My guess is that if red is the most aggressive color in the cube and still doesn't like including these cards (they get two as well in Onakke Ogre and Frenzied Raptor) then they are probably just under the curve for inclusion.
Not a big deal, but you also have a typo in Goblin Trailblazer.
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
Yeah concerning [card]Soul of the Rapids, I leaned to Borderline with it being more of an archetype card or at least requires some consideration when cube building but I could see it at cubeable as a resilient and evasive control finisher. That or maybe some borderline creatures in that cmc slot aren't as good anymore. Could be a combination of the two also.
Giltgrove Stalker isn't really a strictly worse Wandering Wolf because just as is, wolf can be blocked by 2/X's unlike stalker. I think wolf may be more a borderline archetype card, since it require a decent amount of equipments/auras to make use of it's full potential, or at least as good as Stalker.
It's a work in progress
I didn't notice that. Good call.
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
Yep, that's my bad. I think they can still be grouped together though as a push for the auras theme.
I do like Soul of the Rapids-style finishers. I currently have Whirlwind Adept in that spot, but it really feels like it should have flying (it looks like it should, and with a name like that, it kind of feels like it should too). Ideally for that cost we could get them combined in one card eventually for a 3/2 hexproof prowess flyer. I might even take it at six mana if it came as a 3/3
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
I was going to mention this as well as Stalker plays a little different than Wandering in practice.
Back Alley G has the following:
Exultant Skymarcher
Kitesail Corsair
Waterknot
Grasping Scoundrel
Moment of Craving
Goblin Trailblazer
Swaggering Corsair
Orazca Frillback
with a maybe to Giltgrove Stalker
I suggested Jungleborn Pioneer as a candidate to add.
Three of these -- Waterknot, Exultant Skymarcher, and Orazca Frillback are functional reprints. IF they are cubeable they all fall on the low end IMO (and I'm not really sold on any of them tbh).
While there is not a direct comparison for Swaggering Corsair since red has no Centaur Courser there is Cathodion
Also, for reference black has Vampire Lacerator and Carnophage for 1 mana vs Grasping Scoundrel
White
=====
Healer's Hawk - Staple/Cubable. Turn 1 Evasion and Lifelink on a small body is fine. Gets increasingly better with auras and equipment, especially when the opponent needs to spend removal to kill your 1 drop.
Parhelion Patrol - Cubable. Similar to Abzan Skycaptain except with 1 more toughness, vigilance, and a worse ability. Instead of giving 2 +1/+1 counters on your lowest toughness creature, puts 1 on an attacker with 1 or less power. Probably balances out.
Blue
=====
Dimir Informant - Cubable/Borderline. I feel like this sits somewhere between Sea Gate Oracle and Sailor of Means. Good defensive body with Surveil 2, which can be extremely powerful with graveyard synergy like Stitched Drake, Delve cards, or reanimate effects.
Black
=====
Spinal Centipede - Cubable. 3/2 Vanilla for 3 isn't terrible nor exciting, but it adds a +1/+1 counter to something else when it dies and you could potentially recur and cast him multiple times.
Deadly Visit - Borderline. 5CC removals at sorvery speed are generally bad but Surveil feel like a sweet keyword. Probably still overcosted though.
Red
=====
Rubblebelt Boar - Borderline. Hill Giants are a dime a dozen and the ETB ability isn't backbreaking nor reusable. Not super exciting.
Bull-Rush Bruiser - Cubable. 4/3 for 4 is fine and Warrior is a very relevant creature type to activate First Strike. It might not always be activated depending on your cube makeup, but I think that's fine.
Green
=====
Siege Worm - Cubable. Not good if you're paying the full cost but a 5/5 trampler for 6 (Giant Wrathog/Moss Kami) is Borderline; for 5CC is at Least Cubable (see Colossapede); and 4 or less is a staple. May not help if you're behind but if you're ahead or the board is stalled, this could give you the push you need.
Multi
=====
Dimir
----
Whisper Agent - Staple/Cubable. Hybrid mana is super flexible and even without flying, a 3/2 with flash for 3 feels great as a pseduo removal spell blocker or pseudo haste attacker. Surveil is just icing on the cake.
Artful Takedown - Cubable. Instant speed, modal, and able to deal with up to two large-sized creatures seems really good. 4CC feels bad but this is reminiscent of Agony Warp to me.
Selesnya
----
Sumala Woodshaper - Borderline. The 2/1 body is bad but digging 4 for an enchantment or creature in a creature-centric format feels pretty decent. Gets better if Selesnya Auras is a pushed archetype.
Rosemane Centaur - Cubable. At 5CC, very similar in power to borderline Armored Wolf-Rider. Same sort of arguement as Siege Worm in green.
Boros
----
Hammer Dropper - Cubable/Borderline. Looking at Kranioceros/Ordruun Commando, they have similar P/T and CMC but a way to keep them alive. I think Hammer Dropper could be insane with a couple weenies on the field and combat tricks in hand to keep him alive and swinging.
Golgari
----
Rhizome Lurcher - Staple. 4CC for a 2/2 is bad but in the colors of graveyard shenanigans, I think this guy could easily be a better Blastoderm/Imperiosaur.
Colorless
=====
Skittering Surveyor - Borderline. Does kill X/1's but really only helps to smooth out land drops. Similar to Pilgrim's Eye but feels more defensive than a possible beater with evasion.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
no offense, but when you think that Rhizome Lurcher is anywhere close to Blastoderm you are as far off as it gets when it comes to paupercubing. Like in infinite miles off.
Lurcher might be playable, not even great in dedicated cubes around gy strategies, its close to unplayable (bad) in standard cubes, while Blastoderm is in the Top5 most powerful commons, maybe even the best common we got..
Your ratings seems based of GoR meta, but its powerlevel is somewhere around Tier3 level which means almost every card is borderline or worse compared to what we got.
The only card you hit right is Sumala Woodshaper which is very good for assembling the Midnight Guard+Presence of Gond combo
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
No Wojek Bodyguard or Hypothesizzle? Those 3 made mine.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
If your ratings were correct Guilds would have 7 Cubeable or better cards of which up to 3 would be Staples and then two more possibly Cubeable cards (I'm omitting Bull-Rush Bruiser which isn't from Guilds). Two of the cards in question would have to be upgraded as well since they already exist and are widely considered to fall short of Cubeable status (Siege Wurm, Spinal Centipede)
In all, that would be one of the strongest sets in memory
By itself, it's not great, but can get crazy with any kind of pump.
Geist of the Moors (Cubeable)
3 power combined with evasion makes for a solid card in an aggressive color.
Loyal Sentry (Borderline):
Can be a nice defensive creature with pseudo-deathtouch for more controlling white decks. Does combo nicely with flicker effects.
Savannah Lions (Staple)
Group with the similar Elite Vanguard
Functional reprint of Theft of Dreams
Dragon's Eye Savants (Bad)
Flexibilty of morph is nice on a wall, but both modes still aren't very exciting and seeing an opponent's hand is as relevant as often or as for long in limited.
Group with similar cards that don't work in a typical cube
Ruthless Ripper (Cubeable)
Might just group with other 1/1 deathtouchers, even though it's slightly better.
The body is huge for the cost, but it's not really worth 2 for 1'ing yourself with the random discard, in order to play it on curve. It's also terrible against any kind of bounce.
Cinder Storm (Bad)
Group with a similar expensive burn that is outclassed by x spells
Crimson Mage (Borderline)
A repeatable haste-granting creature with a decent body is nice, but 1 mana isn't nothing and isn't always ideal early when trying to curve out.
Frenzied Goblin (Borderline):
Preventing blocking is nice, but the body is fragile and the 1-mana required every turn to use it isn't nothing and can interfere with curving out.
Hordeling Outburst (Cubeable):
This card is amazing with any kind of swarm support in your cube, and even without, 3 power worth of tokens is okay.
Jackal Pup (Cubeable):
2 power one-drops are great for agressive decks, which don't even care that much about the downside usually.
Pillage (Bad):
Group with similar land destruction spells
Probably just group with Nantuko Vigilante at 3 mana.
An Anticipate on a stick is solid and in slower decks, this is a nice roadblock for against agressive decks.
Skeletonize (Rakdos Borderline)
Killing a medium-sized or smaller creature and leaving behind a resilient 1/1 can sometimes be nice for more controlling-style rakos decks.
Assembly-Worker (Bad):
There aren't nearly enough Assembly-Worker creatures for this to even maybe be viable.
It's a work in progress
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
I think Google docs could maybe work. Not aware of any of possible options that could be good, but I can look into setting something up just on docs at least to see if it's viable. I'll mess around and see what I can come up with. Would make thing easier.
EDIT: Google Sheets may work too, maybe better than docs
It's a work in progress
Geist of the Moors only borderline. double W and toughness 1. meh
Dragon's Eye Savants borderline 0/6 blocks pretty much every non evasive in paupercubes and it has the flexibility in an offensive mode
Horde still bad for me. I dont see any deck thats wants it.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
I was going to disagree with you on Fencing Ace, but on its own, it's only slightly worse thanYouthful Knight, which is marked cubeable here. The fact that it gets better with equipment and auras, and can represent a ton of burst damage with instant-speed pump, might bring it up to the cubeable level. For me it's somewhere in between, as I'm not sure how often you can leverage your pump to lift it out of subpar range.
I do agree on Geist. One point of toughness is a massive liability in a format with pingers, dividable burn and flying tokens.
Balduvian Horde... poor thing. Well, if Reckless Wurm ever gets downshifted like Arrogant Wurm, then I might have a case for this guy. With all the pseudo-looting available, it could help push some sort of madness/graveyard theme in red.
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
Even with a bunch of madness card, horde remains bad.
You never can make use of hordes biggest upside, its cc/body ratio, because you risk to lose the next best card from your hand, which can be devastating and you wouldnt have mana for madness shenenigans. So just pay 1 more and get a real creature, like the werewolves..
Then later you often dont want to risk to discard your removal/finisher you sandback and even with sth like Wurm, you would need 7 mana then which ends up in a mediocre tempoplay. Not bad, but not great either.
On top of all you open yourself for an easy 1:2
When the discard wasnt random, it wouldve been the card we all saw in it since back then, but the randomness totally kills it.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Pretty much the only thing going for Horde is the body (fairly easy to negate) and the fact that it opens up more design space for undercosted-beater-with-a-drawback in the future. Bloodrage Brawler isn't too far off from common printable if you tweak a couple levers.
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
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Level 2 Judge
Thanks to DNC from Heroes of the Plane Studios for the sig
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