Infiltrator il-Kor was brought up in my cube's thread. I run that in my Peasant cube and it's very good. I'd include that before Gossamer Phantasm. It's slightly slower, but even harder to block and hits harder.
The discussion for the cheap Fadings cards, like Cloudskate, is they are aggro. They suicide in because they will die anyways. I like the G 2/3 with Fading 3, I put them in similar shoes, and if you want aggro, atleast it won't die to Pingers; if that is a thing.
I honestly think the Parrot is acceptable with the cube power now.
I don't think pauper cubes are at a point where the vanilla faders like Skyshroud Ridgeback are playable (yet?). If you treat them like burn, then it's double the value of Lava Spike. Would you cube Lava Spike if it dealt 6 damage? In a pauper cube, I wouldn't. You're still trading the precious commodity of a card from your deck for a third of the opponent's life total, a profitable trade for sure, but unless it wins you the game on the spot, not one I'm willing to make. It's too easy for your opponent to tank the damage and be up one card for the rest of the game, which can have a snowball effect. Faders become obsolete just as quickly as regular aggro creatures, but because they have an expiry date, they bring even less value beyond the short term when it comes to the board.
For Ridgeback and co to be really useful, I suspect you would need to squash the curve way down so that they don't have to compete with higher drops, or remove blockers in some form like Hearthstone does, where a temporary above-curve creature would be practically guaranteed to hit face every time.
I don't think pauper cubes are at a point where the vanilla faders like Skyshroud Ridgeback are playable (yet?). If you treat them like burn, then it's double the value of Lava Spike. Would you cube Lava Spike if it dealt 6 damage? In a pauper cube, I wouldn't. You're still trading the precious commodity of a card from your deck for a third of the opponent's life total, a profitable trade for sure, but unless it wins you the game on the spot, not one I'm willing to make. It's too easy for your opponent to tank the damage and be up one card for the rest of the game, which can have a snowball effect. Faders become obsolete just as quickly as regular aggro creatures, but because they have an expiry date, they bring even less value beyond the short term when it comes to the board.
For Ridgeback and co to be really useful, I suspect you would need to squash the curve way down so that they don't have to compete with higher drops, or remove blockers in some form like Hearthstone does, where a temporary above-curve creature would be practically guaranteed to hit face every time.
There is a lot wrong with this post.
1. A lava spike that dealt six damage would be amazingly powerful, to the point where I probably wouldn't put it in my cube because it would be uninteractive
2. You generally shouldn't play lava spike turn 1, so your opponent doesn't know they're starting with 17 life (or in the hypothetical case, 14)
3. Skyshroud ridgeback is really not similar to a direct damage spell at all, and honestly it feels weird to have to say this. It has fading 2, which means without something granting haste it only attacks twice. But, let's pretend it has fading 3 anyway. It's still not comparable to the hypothetical 6 damage lava spike. The ridgeback would have to be on the board for 4 turns. That's a very long time for the opponent to use a myriad of possible spells to interact with it. Even if all they can do is chump block it, that still gives them the ability to take less of the damage. And the ridgeback is only decent as a turn 1 play, where as I said above, a lava spike is not what you want to play turn 1. Similarly, the spike is still at its best if drawn late game, where the ridgeback is at its worst.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
.
Knowledge is power, money is power, time is money, you are actually gaining time by reading my posts
Thanks for the correction on fading. That actually makes it worse than Lava Spike, because then we're talking about 4 damage for one mana. Except, as you pointed out in your own argument, your opponent actually gets to interact with it and deny you the damage, and you don't get the benefit of developing your board, as control/midrangers can just wait to get free removal on your aggro critter. Aside from a faulty card comparison, you don't dispute the idea that Ridgeback is actually unplayable. Seems a bit disingenuous to avoid the main idea and say there's a lot wrong with my post, don't you think?
Ridgeback is good ONLY on turn 1 on the play. Pauper is a reasonably fast format so there's really no guarantee you're going to swing for 4 with it. You might end up bouncing off a 1/3 or something.
i think the ridgeback is actually playable in the stompy archetype. but you need to include all the other 1-drops that are only really playable in that archetype. like ghazban ogre.
i dont run it yet, though. also that archetype is really on the decline, becase of all those efficient red removal lately. im going to playtest my tier1 again and decide whether it stays or kicked out. would be a really sad moment for my cube though.
I think Ridgeback is terrible. I would rather run young wolf for an "aggressive" one drop.
@ Humphrey: Why do you run Ghazban Ogre but not Mtenda Lion? I feel like they are essentially equivalent cards (asides from the 1 less toughness on the lion). Sure, Mtenda Lion is dead vs blue decks, but Ghazban Ogre is often dead vs red decks, especially if you play it early, since they can just burn you for a point or 2 or damage and take the ogre.
Also, just curious, but with enough selfmill, does anyone think Tilling Treefolk might be playable?
Okay, maybe equivalent isn't the right word... but my point is that if you are going to run 1 of them, why not run both as they are so similar. Aggressive decks need redundancy, especially among one drops, and a 1 to play 2/1 isn't that much worse than a 2/2, especially as those stats for a 1 drop are so rare in pauper. The drawbacks are different, but similar. The lion is dead against blue decks (for a cost of U each turn) and the Ogre is potentially worse than a dead card against red decks.
I wouldn't want to run either of the two cards, but I think they are on a similar power level and that both are useful additions to support the stompy archetype.
as always: toughness 1 is horrible and so is the drawback of the lion. being a 2/2 makes the ogre actually quite good and if you play correctly its never a dead card. just dont play it on turn 1 against red decks. the equivalent is Wild Dogs which i run.
well i only run it in the stompy archetype (Gr) and I also run a lot of other 1-drops, so I dont have to play it first turn and ususally the opponent cant race you afterwards until you run out of steam. Ive dedicated a lot of slots to that archetype, because its fun, risky and powerful if you manage to get all the cards. Otherwise its still easy to transition into midrange green. I think this archetype is still cubemetadefining because of its tempo and better than the ramparchetype. Its very weak to any form of (semi-)boardswipes, though.
Nettle Sentinel is too unreliable, it often doesnt untap. The Goblins are quite playable in such deck, because of the heavy creature count and I finally added them when Mardu Scout and Goblin Heelcutter got printed.
Also, just curious, but with enough selfmill, does anyone think Tilling Treefolk might be playable?
I don't know. He looks okay with a graveyard theme and retrace cards, but I'm not sure, I need to see it in play. But I think, he's borderline, only good in the right environment.
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.
Rats is just an awkward, tempo losing play in my experience. Usually aggro decks play past turn 4 and wiping X/2s isn't a total game ender. Aggro has X/3+s, burn, equipment, etc. Helpful against hexproof guys, and could be worth keeping because of that, but we tend to run 3+ colors, especially in control, so producing three or four black mana is pretty unreasonable. I don't run a lot of raise dead effects, so I can see how it would be better in a cube that does.
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.
In that environment, I can see it being lackluster. My cube encourages black control decks to be heavy black and has a lot of graveyard recursion, so I wouldn't cut it anytime soon.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"We plant the seeds of doubt to harvest the crop of wisdom."
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.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Huh that actually seems pretty good
Is it? Only being able to swing 3 times seems so sad
Knowledge is power, money is power, time is money, you are actually gaining time by reading my posts
Click here and check out my Formerly Pauper Cube.
check out my EDH and Pauper EDH decks here
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
I honestly think the Parrot is acceptable with the cube power now.
Loose Change Pauper Cube-cast
Pauper Cube Article #1
Pauper Cube Article #2
Personal Enjoyment Cube
For Ridgeback and co to be really useful, I suspect you would need to squash the curve way down so that they don't have to compete with higher drops, or remove blockers in some form like Hearthstone does, where a temporary above-curve creature would be practically guaranteed to hit face every time.
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
There is a lot wrong with this post.
1. A lava spike that dealt six damage would be amazingly powerful, to the point where I probably wouldn't put it in my cube because it would be uninteractive
2. You generally shouldn't play lava spike turn 1, so your opponent doesn't know they're starting with 17 life (or in the hypothetical case, 14)
3. Skyshroud ridgeback is really not similar to a direct damage spell at all, and honestly it feels weird to have to say this. It has fading 2, which means without something granting haste it only attacks twice. But, let's pretend it has fading 3 anyway. It's still not comparable to the hypothetical 6 damage lava spike. The ridgeback would have to be on the board for 4 turns. That's a very long time for the opponent to use a myriad of possible spells to interact with it. Even if all they can do is chump block it, that still gives them the ability to take less of the damage. And the ridgeback is only decent as a turn 1 play, where as I said above, a lava spike is not what you want to play turn 1. Similarly, the spike is still at its best if drawn late game, where the ridgeback is at its worst.
Knowledge is power, money is power, time is money, you are actually gaining time by reading my posts
Click here and check out my Formerly Pauper Cube.
check out my EDH and Pauper EDH decks here
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
And then it goes into the bin.
Quenchable fire is so close.
Knowledge is power, money is power, time is money, you are actually gaining time by reading my posts
Click here and check out my Formerly Pauper Cube.
check out my EDH and Pauper EDH decks here
i dont run it yet, though. also that archetype is really on the decline, becase of all those efficient red removal lately. im going to playtest my tier1 again and decide whether it stays or kicked out. would be a really sad moment for my cube though.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
@ Humphrey: Why do you run Ghazban Ogre but not Mtenda Lion? I feel like they are essentially equivalent cards (asides from the 1 less toughness on the lion). Sure, Mtenda Lion is dead vs blue decks, but Ghazban Ogre is often dead vs red decks, especially if you play it early, since they can just burn you for a point or 2 or damage and take the ogre.
Also, just curious, but with enough selfmill, does anyone think Tilling Treefolk might be playable?
I wouldn't want to run either of the two cards, but I think they are on a similar power level and that both are useful additions to support the stompy archetype.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Knowledge is power, money is power, time is money, you are actually gaining time by reading my posts
Click here and check out my Formerly Pauper Cube.
check out my EDH and Pauper EDH decks here
1x Basking Rootwalla
1x Fyndhorn Elves
1x Ghazban Ogre
1x Goblin Cohort
1x Granger Guildmage
1x Jungle Lion
1x Kird Ape
1x Mogg Conscripts
1x Rogue Elephant
1x Wild Nacatl
1x Darkthicket Wolf
1x Mire Boa
1x Silhana Ledgewalker
1x Thornweald Archer
1x Fault Riders
1x Hungry Spriggan
1x Hooting Mandrills
1x Bonesplitter
Instant
1x Fireblast
1x Lightning Bolt
1x Colossal Might
1x Symbiosis
1x Brimstone Volley
1x Wild Hunger
Enchantment
1x Madcap Skills
Land
1x Teetering Peaks
6x Mountain
8x Forest
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
I don't know. He looks okay with a graveyard theme and retrace cards, but I'm not sure, I need to see it in play. But I think, he's borderline, only good in the right environment.
Or are you interested in a Fiora flavor cube? Conspire and win!
Level 2 Judge
http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/17954
Or are you interested in a Fiora flavor cube? Conspire and win!
Level 2 Judge
often enough, activating the rats for 2 or even 1 is enough to stop aggro. and its recurrable with a lot of cards. no, id never cut the rats.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
http://www.cubetutor.com/visualspoiler/7023