Does anyone here have a desire to outright buy a foil cube plus like 200+ extra foil commons that are applicable?
I am leaving MtG and all WotC products permanently, and deleting my account here as I cannot comply with those who would disrespect their customers as they have. PM me if you want to Tender a serious offer for an all foil cube including landeskog and a few proxy foils for non-foilable cards.
It has been fun, and I will miss the interactions.
Sad to see you go. Like most hobbies or even most things in general, you kinda have to compartmentalize the parts you enjoy from the corruption, greed, graft (and often FAR worse -- bet your ass Hasbro is as murderous as they come when it suits them both at home and abroad) of the people, organizations, structures and overall system behind those things.
Indignation isn't the answer anyway -- at bottom the same slimy vultures have their hand in virtually every pot and you still gotta eat and otherwise provide for yourself despite all objections. Letting it wear on you on an individual level is mainly tilting at windmills and its primary purpose is "doing something" in times when it seems hopeless that anything can legitimately be done.
As a guy who's spent years pounding the streets I can tell you that these are interesting times and definitely not the moment to be overcome by depression or cynicism.
I appreciate the sentiment and approach. But after the changes, slips in balancing, and so on, I simply have lost faith that they will be redeemed. The Death Corona thing was already cringeworthy. Now they are erasing without compassion for long time players. Wait a year and see what a complete set with those now "missing" cards will be worth.
To me this is a new Reserved List without unilateral action. I agree on the premise that some subjects are touchy. But it is not up to WotC to mind wipe 25 years of cards as they see fit. They took a knee is a mostly harmless way, but as they have said "ignoring the secondary market". Those cards are now harder to get. And we have seen when they make statements like that the market over speculates and never retreats.
TCGPlayer and SCG, and Card Kingdom have either Out of Stock or removed the cards in question. What we are seeing signals a far worse implimented plan. I know I sound like a lunatic. And will not be offended being called one. But as the saying goes:
"Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything"
I totally agree with you and would never start to play the modern game. But i think cube is a good way to escape most bad decisions and pauper doesnt actually bring much money to them, so i can kinda justify to stay myself.
Note that the most recent bans are probably neccessary to avoid a pr desaster, so theyre kinda forced to pull the plug. The mob is angry and wants to see some action.
Sad to lose an active member of our small community. Take care
I appreciate the sentiment and approach. But after the changes, slips in balancing, and so on, I simply have lost faith that they will be redeemed. The Death Corona thing was already cringeworthy. Now they are erasing without compassion for long time players. Wait a year and see what a complete set with those now "missing" cards will be worth.
To me this is a new Reserved List without unilateral action. I agree on the premise that some subjects are touchy. But it is not up to WotC to mind wipe 25 years of cards as they see fit. They took a knee is a mostly harmless way, but as they have said "ignoring the secondary market". Those cards are now harder to get. And we have seen when they make statements like that the market over speculates and never retreats.
TCGPlayer and SCG, and Card Kingdom have either Out of Stock or removed the cards in question. What we are seeing signals a far worse implimented plan. I know I sound like a lunatic. And will not be offended being called one. But as the saying goes:
"Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything"
Sometimes there is the need to take a philosophical step back.
1) They made some cards that screwed up tournaments and competitive play. That is not the end all be all of Magic though. In fact it barely scratches the surface of Magic. Eventually those cards get banned or rotate out or maybe as casuals we never bothered to acquire them. There are always people stirring the pot and everything is grist for their mill (to mix metaphors). Unless it affects how you play it barely matters and introduces a pall of negativity that can be hard to shake off. Even for the most competitive of players, nothing is really won or lost of enough value to be significant except in very rare cases.
2) Wizards are indisputably a bunch of idiots. Very few things they do make sense out side of chasing $$$ and that directive comes down from the top and is always in force. They make countless blunders, gaffes, head scratching miscues, blatant omission and oversights on every front and only those that generate mass player outrage really get addressed. And, the cherry on top is they're arrogant about..well, everything. Is there malice wrapped up in there? Certainly it can be perceived that way although it is not clear how useful it is to take that tack. If they fired a bunch of the team whose jobs are to make the actual cards its doubtful things would get noticeably better on any front.
3) The bottom line is that the game is supposed to be fun and getting drawn down a thousand different roads of discontent (malcontent?) basically makes it impossible to enjoy the game at all. The reason my brother and I keep playing is that we have blinders on to all of the crap swirling around things and just pick up the cards that look fun and play with them. Do anything else and you either have to quit outright or become a head case. And in the grander scheme of things (and even some less grand schemes) complaining about Magic is pointless, insipid, trivial, and self-detrimental. And that's before you get to the nutcases who want to cram their "issues" down their throats as though somehow Magic (or, honestly, ANY platoform they can latch onto since we're talking about rank opportunism) is a microcosm for the society/world-at-large. You in end up in a weird continuum where you're not really against what they do (I'm sure some player in the history of the game has cracked ethnic cleansing jokes when casting the card Cleanse and laced it with real venom) but the response is so mind-bogglingly vacuous as to be inconceivable. It doesn't even rise to the level of an empty gesture.
Alpine Watchdog - A functional reprint of something forgettable. Strictly worse than Topan Freeblade and not up to the standard to current white 2cmc creatures.
Anointed Chorister - I think that this is probably good enough in the right cube considering Healer's Hawk sees play. The activated ability synergies really well with lifelink and makes this relevant in the mid-to-late-game. As a 1/1 for 1, it's not going to impact the board really at all, although your opponent will have to deal with it at some stage.
Basri's Acolyte - This is the kind of card we were missing when support was a keyword mechanic. It works well in going wide strategies and lifelink makes for decent races. I suspect where this will be weakest is against removal heavy builds which don't care a whole lot about life leads and tend to keep the board to manageable levels. Still Basri's Acolyte could be comparable to Seraph of Dawn and that's ubiquitously considered a decent card.
Celestial Enforcer - Overcosted Goldmeadow Harrier with hoops to jump though. 2/3s for 3 are typically too small, although I can see why Wizard's keeps settling for those numbers.
Concordia Pegasus - Not really worth considering at all unless you need a specific counter to Tattered Haunter (I'm sure there are better options there as well).
Defiant Strike - A reprint of the prowess trigger we don't use.
Dub - Being an Aura makes this very susceptible to single target removal, which there is a lot of in Pauper.
Faith's Fetters - One of the best white cards. It can deal with almost any problematic permanent and importantly gains you a healthy amount of life. Pretty much all you could want in enchantment based removal.
Gale Swooper - Seems ok if you are lacking stronger cards.
Legion's Judgment - 4 power of greater removal clauses tend not to be terribly relevant because most decks are filled with weenies and Pacifism already deals with large creatures.
Makeshift Battalion - 2 toughness makes this easy to pick off for most decks. The base stats make it on the small side when you aren't able to trigger the ability. I don't imagine that this will get more that one counter in most games.
Rambunctious Mutt - A decent Disenchant of a stick. Obviously much better with sideboards. It's difficult to tell if this is better or worse than Kor Sanctifiers which is the current Disenchanting creature of choice for White at the moment. With sideboards including both Mutt and Sanctifiers might be correct.
Secure the Scene - There isn't really any reason to justify the cost.
Staunch Shieldmate - Basically an anti-rush guy. I see this as another sideboard card because there are plenty of matchups where a 1/3 is going to do next to nothing. In saying that, Sea Gate Oracle has seen a lot of play and has the same sized body.
Swift Response - Strong non-enchantment based removal. There are plenty of cases where your opponent Withdraws
leaving you Pacifism in the dust and this gets around that. Not so great for the rush white decks (which there are a lot of), but seems fine in more defensive builds. Strictly better than Take Vengeance.
Warded Battlements - Not as good as Basilica Guards which is the premier 3cmc defender. 3 toughness isn't going to stop much. My evaluation could be quite off considering I haven't really played any anthem effect in common, so I'll have to keep my eyes open of this one.
Capture Sphere - Blue isn't that in need of on-colour removal to warrant this.
Frantic Inventory - Basically nothing in singleton. Is a bit more interesting when you consider running multiples. Sort of a functional reprint of Accumulated Knowledge. Sort of.
Frost Breath - Ok, tempo card. Frosty tapping a couple of creatures can be functionally Ashes to Ashes in a streamlined rush deck. Of course the game has to end soon or else tempo is lost.
Keen Glidemaster - Turns into a fine mana-sink. Mostly is just a forgettable creature.
Library Larcenist - You have to put in a lot of effort to work. Mostly the body is too small to go to combat.
Lofty Denial - Much worse than Miscalculate. The catch is going to catch you out more often than not.
Mistral Singer - Looks like a fine 3 mana flier for when you want one. Stormbound Geist can't block when you want it to, which is why I typically don't consider it outside of comparisons. Likewise with Cloud Spirit. Blocking is kind of an important feature of most creatures. Strictly better than Niblis of Dusk.
Rookie Mistake - Tricky. Not sure quite how to evaluate. My intuition says it would be a dead card more often than not.
Rousing Read - A Cartouche of Knowledge with slightly more filter for an extra mana. Probably fine at being efficient in terms of card-slots. Essential will play as a draw spell that impacts the board. Still is vulnerable to instant-speed removal.
Spined Megalodon - Big control finisher. More game-ending than Benthic Giant, though less damming than Giant either. Hexproof gets around most decks' solutions to problems. Could be overkill, in which case Striped Riverwinder is better for the early trade-in. Seems like Spined Mealodon will spend time in sideboards. There will be games that you'll never see 7 mana before the game is essentially concluded.
Teferi's Protege - The looting costs mana. The body isn't that desirable either.
Vodalian Arcanist - With signets and Mind Stone available, quality mana acceleration isn't too hard to come by. The 1/3 body is nice, but I don't think it outweighs the conditional nature of the mana generated. In any case, this is no Werebear and Blue has much stronger 2 mana plays. Maybe this is playable in the hands of a skilled player, though I foresee Vodalian Arcanist being draft chaff.
Wall of Runes - It wall. More of a sideboard card, though can be really annoying in some match-ups.
Wishcoin Crab - Pretty nothing as far as Pauper is concerned.
Private Mod Note
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There's no word in the goblin language for "strategy." Then again, there's no word in the goblin language for "word."
Anointed Chorister - 1/1 lifelinker play better than they look. your opponent cant really start racing with his 1/x if this is on the board. and it becomes a threat later. but 5 to activate is way too costly. wouldnt consider. hawk has evasion
. Basri's Acolyte - i think its very good, depending on the situation better than seraph.
Feat of Resistance - im not sure the counter is worth the extra mana. i usually cant justify adding those tricks. but if my choice would probably be shelter
Spined Megalodon - best blue finisher yet and i ran benthic giant + Aqueous Form for quite some time. the scry is quite useful
Teferi's Protege - im not a friend of the fragile and useless 1/1 looter for combat, so i did run the 2/1s if anything. since i dont wanna loot every turn either, i might favor the protege.
Tome Anima - i dont know what to think of extra draw bonusses. probably too situational. i dont need unblockables anyway, so meh.
Vodalian Arcanist - has the same problems as the green guys. if you spend the mana u cant block or attack. and the limitation to spells hurt as well.
Finishing Blow - Overcosted Murder because planeswalkers don't exist at common (excluding Mystery Booster nonsense).
Gloom Sower - That's a big common. Could be used with Morgue Burst? Probably too susceptible to removal despite being immune to Doom Blade and too slow for rush.
Grasp of Darkness - Reprint. Double pips make this a sad card. Still alright, though cards such as Victim of Night are much better.
Bone Pit Brute - Most red decks just want to Fireball when they get to 6 mana. This seems fine at being a game ender. Double red keeps it from being easily splashable.
Burn Bright - Fine as a second copy of Dynacharge. The white versions of this effect are much stronger.
Chandra's Magmutt - I think this is solid. Being able to tick away for 1 in a stall is exactly what red wants to do.
Crash Through - Red decks tend not to be creature centric enough for this.
Thrill of Possibility - Filters well and plays nicely with instant speed things (namely countermagic).
Turn to Slag - If equipment were more problematic we'd play this.
Turret Ogre - Ok 4 drop. Finding enough 4 power or greater creatures can be problematic, especially when they keep dying to removal. The extra effort mostly isn't that worth it unless 4 power or greater gets pushed quite a bit.
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There's no word in the goblin language for "strategy." Then again, there's no word in the goblin language for "word."
How is rarity officially assigned to the Mystery Booster playtest cards? Scryfall has them at rare.
Gatherer has them listed as common which is the official definition of common. I assume it is that way as an elaborate scheme to break our format for anyone who runs Mystery Booster cards and Un-cards.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
There's no word in the goblin language for "strategy." Then again, there's no word in the goblin language for "word."
How is rarity officially assigned to the Mystery Booster playtest cards? Scryfall has them at rare.
Gatherer has them listed as common which is the official definition of common. I assume it is that way as an elaborate scheme to break our format for anyone who runs Mystery Booster cards and Un-cards.
How bizarre lol. I actually have no idea which ones make it in Pauper Cube. My first instinct was naturally "All of them!" but there are actually a fair few that suck. Some of them seem innocuous but are likely overpowered if you build around them. But the damn cards are way too expensive for Pauper cube IMO (similar to Bonders Ornament on mtgo lol)
How is rarity officially assigned to the Mystery Booster playtest cards? Scryfall has them at rare.
Gatherer has them listed as common which is the official definition of common. I assume it is that way as an elaborate scheme to break our format for anyone who runs Mystery Booster cards and Un-cards.
How bizarre lol. I actually have no idea which ones make it in Pauper Cube. My first instinct was naturally "All of them!" but there are actually a fair few that suck. Some of them seem innocuous but are likely overpowered if you build around them. But the damn cards are way too expensive for Pauper cube IMO (similar to Bonders Ornament on mtgo lol)
They basically make a whole different format. Most of them are good enough, but since I have no care to get them and play them, I can't be bothered picking through them to fine what is playable. Most of them are in line with what a good rare does, although they intentionally haven't been balanced so play will be a bit wonky.
Colossal Dreadmaw - Big stompy creature. Has the eternal problem of dying to hard removal. In general big creatures need an additional effect or to be extremely devastating (Ulamog's Crusher) to be worth it at +6 mana. Trample is a nice keyword to have, but overall Colossal Dreadmaw is going to be too slow or too vulnerable against most of the meta.
Drowsing Tyrannodon - Slows down non-evasion creatures. Turns to attack fine. Too easily disrupted to be reliable. And requires more hoop jumping than necessary. I prefer Terrain Elemental. Green has already a good selection of 2cmc creatures and isn't in need of any Returned Phalanxes.
Garruk's Gorehorn - 7 is a lot of power. 3 is not much toughness. Dies too easily to combat and red removal.
Gnarled Sage - Bitterbow Archers comparison. I see this as primarily a Blue/Green creature. While I am hesitant at considering this, attacking as a vigilance 4/6 is certainly tempting. Could be worth giving a trial, although it could succumb to requiring too much deck building to be practical.
Hunter's Edge - 4 mana removal is a lot for Green considering the relatively low cost of splashing a colour. I think the cost will be prohibitive more often than not.
Life Goes On - Sideboard tech for burn. Might be worth it if your deck is built to stabilise. Ultimately, this is card disadvantage and is niche.
Llanowar Visionary - Excellent padding between early to mid-game. Card draw is similar in strength to land searching. Being a mana-source as well enables playing out much quicker than Civic Wayfinder.
Ornery Dilophosaur - Idk, deathtouchy. Dies to red removal. Deathtouch is much more efficient on smaller bodies. 4 mana starts competing against Imperiosaur.
Portcullis Vine - It wall not that well. Mostly there aren't enough other defenders which you would want to mulch.
Ranger's Guile - The effort of holding mana for something can be too much at times, especially because of the aforementioned rush decks and tempo decks. Even many of the midrange decks. Occasionally is a blowout. More often than not this is lacklustre.
Run Afoul - Anti-flying tech. Fine but niche. Sideboard cards tend to fall by the wayside unless they are a counter to an important threat.
Sabertooth Mauler - Grows to be pretty fearsome. Mostly I would prefer creatures which start off big. Untapping is a nice. Costs the same as Festerhide Boar.
Track Down - Green Shimmer of Possibilities. Actually much better because of the scry. This is an interesting effect that we haven't had available before, so I'd looking forward to seeing how it will play.
Trufflesnout - Anti-rush 3cmc creature. Fine at being maindeckable. Helps shore up Searing Blaze matches.
Colossal Dreadmaw -rp Drowsing Tyrannodon - its kinda interesting in green rush decks, if you have a certain amount of 4/x at cmc3 as well. Dont actually turn the race if youre against red, so its a pass for me.
Track Down - so blue bleeds into green now, which is a good thing. 2 mana cantrips are not.
Trufflesnout - a 3/3 for 3 is okay if youre the aggrodeck and 2/2 plus life nice if youre the controldeck, so the flexibility in nice. in limited. our decks can focus on one strategy directly and find better stuff
I'm updating my cube after a year! The new sets are: Commander 2019, Throne of Eldraine, Theros: Beyond Death, Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, and Core Set 2021.
Broadly: I cut some hexproof creatures as well as auras and effects that made more sense in a meta with more hexproof. I removed some removal, as I had more than I intended (there's still plenty). To add the 5 Thriving Grove, etc. lands, I cut a card from each color. And I added Escape cards.
Questions:
I have about 15 white Soldier creatures. Is that enough to include War Falcon?
I have about 10 green Elf creatures. is that enough to include Priest of Titania?
There seems to be less love for Martyr's Soul. Any reason for that?
Were there really no new good U cards in these sets?
What do you think of the changes below?
1. You also have 2 Knights in White. I'm not entirely sure, but I think Humphrey is pretty high on it. I would simply give it a try. I would be interested to hear your results.
2. The worst case is still a 2 mana ramp spell, which is fine. I think there is no harm in testing it.
3. White creatures and bascially everything is getting pretty stacked. I personally have huge problems finding even a single cut. The Martyr is pretty weird as it requires 3 creatures already on board, which you aren't guaranteed to have early on, where it would be the most impressive. It also eats up an attack step. Apart from that it wants to be in a swarm deck with a lot of tokens, but these decks would rather spend cards to go wider instead of casting "big" creatures. It's definitely not bad, I'm only trying to find reasons why it's not making the cut for many people. Also there is of course the fact, that not everyone runs a swarm theme and without stuff like Raise the Alarm it's not actually that attractive.
4. -Wildfire Elemental: I run it, but I didn't had much opporutnity to play my pauper cube lately, so I don't have too much data on it. In theory it seems great. It is similar to Martyr's Soul bound to a swarm theme, which not everyone runs.
-Ruthless Invasion: These "Falter" effects are definitely decent and you can't really go wrong with them, but with a swarm theme, stuff like Trumpet Blast simply has more impact.
-Lifecraft Cavalry: Revolt isn't actually that reliable to trigger and we have got some great 5 drops lately, like Gorilla Shaman, which are simply more consistently better.
-Citanul Woodreaders: Ramp is still not really a thing and greens strength lie in 1 mana ramp, hexproof creatures and some efficient midrange creatures. Citanul Woodreaders is more of a late game value card, that doesn't go that well with the green archetypes and if you were to go for e.g. UG blue simply does card draw a lot better.
5. I'm not the biggest Festerhide Boar fan, because it can be really hard to actively trigger Morbid in green and once you need to play this in the same turn as a removal spell the great cost/stat ratio becomes less relevant. I still think it's the better version of Lifecraft Cavalry, but I would probably go for the other 2.
6. Not really. Since we don't get any new cmc 2 counter spells, especially not at common blue doesn't actually change that much. Cloudkin Seer was by far the most exciting thing we got lately.
7. They seem fine.
I'm updating my cube after a year! The new sets are: Commander 2019, Throne of Eldraine, Theros: Beyond Death, Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, and Core Set 2021.
Broadly: I cut some hexproof creatures as well as auras and effects that made more sense in a meta with more hexproof. I removed some removal, as I had more than I intended (there's still plenty). To add the 5 Thriving Grove, etc. lands, I cut a card from each color. And I added Escape cards.
Questions:
I have about 15 white Soldier creatures. Is that enough to include War Falcon?
I have about 10 green Elf creatures. is that enough to include Priest of Titania?
There seems to be less love for Martyr's Soul. Any reason for that?
There are enough creatures to activate War Falcon. But it has the same problem as a bunch of the cheap red beaters -- it is one less creature that has to be removed as a threat because once it is alone it can't do anything.
The thing about Priest of Titania is that if you don't get turn 1 elf to pair it with then you're just paying 2 mana for Llanowar Elves.
The dream scenario for 5/4 Martyr of Souls on turn 3 or 4 isn't very probable.
Wildfire Elemental is a strange brew since it needs noncombat damage combined multiple attackers to be worthwhile. It can definitely work..sometimes
Ruthless Inversion -- as Al often writes in the Evaluate Everything threads its "highly situative" and I'm not even sure its the best falter effect
Lifecraft Cavalry -- its one of the best when it works but "when" is the operative word
Citanul Woodreaders -- the appeal is that it doesn't something that green can't do but the downside is that it doesn't really fit anything green is trying to
I think Peema Outrider is the best of those three but it being only a 4/4 is still not ideal. Festerhide Boar is an upside inclusion. I don't think I have anything to add about Nantuko Shaman. Its something like GG2 3/2 etb tapped, draw a card. It also isn't good with bouncing/flickering.
Not sure what sets you're asking about regarding blue. Mystic Sanctuary was only a few sets ago. Its not at its best in Cube but its still a dumb card.
As for your changes I like that you have overarching rationales/goals but I assume you will need to play extensively before you strike a balance you are happy with. My group never gets enough games in to do that lol.
There are enough creatures to activate War Falcon. But it has the same problem as a bunch of the cheap red beaters -- it is one less creature that has to be removed as a threat because once it is alone it can't do anything.
The thing about Priest of Titania is that if you don't get turn 1 elf to pair it with then you're just paying 2 mana for Llanowar Elves.
Agree, they might turn out to be too inconsistent – but exciting if not!
I think Peema Outrider is the best of those three but it being only a 4/4 is still not ideal. Festerhide Boar is an upside inclusion. I don't think I have anything to add about Nantuko Shaman. Its something like GG2 3/2 etb tapped, draw a card. It also isn't good with bouncing/flickering.
When you put it that way, it does sound fairly unexciting. I'll try Gather Courage instead, since I like the flavor of cards like Mutagenic Growth that can surprise opponents when you're tapped out.
As for your changes I like that you have overarching rationales/goals but I assume you will need to play extensively before you strike a balance you are happy with. My group never gets enough games in to do that lol.
Same! I only update my cube once a year now to at least add cards from new sets – but then I end up spending a lot of time reevaluating cards...
Thanks for your reviews of those other cards! I'll leave them out for now.
Sad to see you go. Like most hobbies or even most things in general, you kinda have to compartmentalize the parts you enjoy from the corruption, greed, graft (and often FAR worse -- bet your ass Hasbro is as murderous as they come when it suits them both at home and abroad) of the people, organizations, structures and overall system behind those things.
Indignation isn't the answer anyway -- at bottom the same slimy vultures have their hand in virtually every pot and you still gotta eat and otherwise provide for yourself despite all objections. Letting it wear on you on an individual level is mainly tilting at windmills and its primary purpose is "doing something" in times when it seems hopeless that anything can legitimately be done.
As a guy who's spent years pounding the streets I can tell you that these are interesting times and definitely not the moment to be overcome by depression or cynicism.
To me this is a new Reserved List without unilateral action. I agree on the premise that some subjects are touchy. But it is not up to WotC to mind wipe 25 years of cards as they see fit. They took a knee is a mostly harmless way, but as they have said "ignoring the secondary market". Those cards are now harder to get. And we have seen when they make statements like that the market over speculates and never retreats.
TCGPlayer and SCG, and Card Kingdom have either Out of Stock or removed the cards in question. What we are seeing signals a far worse implimented plan. I know I sound like a lunatic. And will not be offended being called one. But as the saying goes:
"Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything"
Loose Change Pauper Cube-cast
Pauper Cube Article #1
Pauper Cube Article #2
Personal Enjoyment Cube
Note that the most recent bans are probably neccessary to avoid a pr desaster, so theyre kinda forced to pull the plug. The mob is angry and wants to see some action.
Sad to lose an active member of our small community. Take care
powpercube Johnny https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Sometimes there is the need to take a philosophical step back.
1) They made some cards that screwed up tournaments and competitive play. That is not the end all be all of Magic though. In fact it barely scratches the surface of Magic. Eventually those cards get banned or rotate out or maybe as casuals we never bothered to acquire them. There are always people stirring the pot and everything is grist for their mill (to mix metaphors). Unless it affects how you play it barely matters and introduces a pall of negativity that can be hard to shake off. Even for the most competitive of players, nothing is really won or lost of enough value to be significant except in very rare cases.
2) Wizards are indisputably a bunch of idiots. Very few things they do make sense out side of chasing $$$ and that directive comes down from the top and is always in force. They make countless blunders, gaffes, head scratching miscues, blatant omission and oversights on every front and only those that generate mass player outrage really get addressed. And, the cherry on top is they're arrogant about..well, everything. Is there malice wrapped up in there? Certainly it can be perceived that way although it is not clear how useful it is to take that tack. If they fired a bunch of the team whose jobs are to make the actual cards its doubtful things would get noticeably better on any front.
3) The bottom line is that the game is supposed to be fun and getting drawn down a thousand different roads of discontent (malcontent?) basically makes it impossible to enjoy the game at all. The reason my brother and I keep playing is that we have blinders on to all of the crap swirling around things and just pick up the cards that look fun and play with them. Do anything else and you either have to quit outright or become a head case. And in the grander scheme of things (and even some less grand schemes) complaining about Magic is pointless, insipid, trivial, and self-detrimental. And that's before you get to the nutcases who want to cram their "issues" down their throats as though somehow Magic (or, honestly, ANY platoform they can latch onto since we're talking about rank opportunism) is a microcosm for the society/world-at-large. You in end up in a weird continuum where you're not really against what they do (I'm sure some player in the history of the game has cracked ethnic cleansing jokes when casting the card Cleanse and laced it with real venom) but the response is so mind-bogglingly vacuous as to be inconceivable. It doesn't even rise to the level of an empty gesture.
Alpine Watchdog - A functional reprint of something forgettable. Strictly worse than Topan Freeblade and not up to the standard to current white 2cmc creatures.
Anointed Chorister - I think that this is probably good enough in the right cube considering Healer's Hawk sees play. The activated ability synergies really well with lifelink and makes this relevant in the mid-to-late-game. As a 1/1 for 1, it's not going to impact the board really at all, although your opponent will have to deal with it at some stage.
Basri's Acolyte - This is the kind of card we were missing when support was a keyword mechanic. It works well in going wide strategies and lifelink makes for decent races. I suspect where this will be weakest is against removal heavy builds which don't care a whole lot about life leads and tend to keep the board to manageable levels. Still Basri's Acolyte could be comparable to Seraph of Dawn and that's ubiquitously considered a decent card.
Celestial Enforcer - Overcosted Goldmeadow Harrier with hoops to jump though. 2/3s for 3 are typically too small, although I can see why Wizard's keeps settling for those numbers.
Concordia Pegasus - Not really worth considering at all unless you need a specific counter to Tattered Haunter (I'm sure there are better options there as well).
Daybreak Charger - Staple. Basically the best card in the set. Reminds me of Porcelain Legionnaire.
Defiant Strike - A reprint of the prowess trigger we don't use.
Dub - Being an Aura makes this very susceptible to single target removal, which there is a lot of in Pauper.
Faith's Fetters - One of the best white cards. It can deal with almost any problematic permanent and importantly gains you a healthy amount of life. Pretty much all you could want in enchantment based removal.
Feat of Resistance - This is my second favourite protection spell after Cho-Manno's Blessing. The +1/+1 counter has historically been worth it for me for the 1-mana premium over Gods Willing and Apostle's Blessing.
Gale Swooper - Seems ok if you are lacking stronger cards.
Legion's Judgment - 4 power of greater removal clauses tend not to be terribly relevant because most decks are filled with weenies and Pacifism already deals with large creatures.
Makeshift Battalion - 2 toughness makes this easy to pick off for most decks. The base stats make it on the small side when you aren't able to trigger the ability. I don't imagine that this will get more that one counter in most games.
Rambunctious Mutt - A decent Disenchant of a stick. Obviously much better with sideboards. It's difficult to tell if this is better or worse than Kor Sanctifiers which is the current Disenchanting creature of choice for White at the moment. With sideboards including both Mutt and Sanctifiers might be correct.
Revitalize - No, thank you.
Secure the Scene - There isn't really any reason to justify the cost.
Staunch Shieldmate - Basically an anti-rush guy. I see this as another sideboard card because there are plenty of matchups where a 1/3 is going to do next to nothing. In saying that, Sea Gate Oracle has seen a lot of play and has the same sized body.
Swift Response - Strong non-enchantment based removal. There are plenty of cases where your opponent Withdraws
leaving you Pacifism in the dust and this gets around that. Not so great for the rush white decks (which there are a lot of), but seems fine in more defensive builds. Strictly better than Take Vengeance.
Valorous Steed - A fine 5cmc creature. Synergies with Ghostly Flicker and provides bodies. I'm not that excited by this, although I'll include it. I'm not sure if I prefer this or Supply-Line Cranes. In any case, Valorous Steed is more at the Supply-Line Cranes level of power than the Custodi Squire end of things.
Warded Battlements - Not as good as Basilica Guards which is the premier 3cmc defender. 3 toughness isn't going to stop much. My evaluation could be quite off considering I haven't really played any anthem effect in common, so I'll have to keep my eyes open of this one.
That's White done for now.
Cancel - There are few strictly betters than this. Dissolve and Counterspell to name a few.
Capture Sphere - Blue isn't that in need of on-colour removal to warrant this.
Frantic Inventory - Basically nothing in singleton. Is a bit more interesting when you consider running multiples. Sort of a functional reprint of Accumulated Knowledge. Sort of.
Frost Breath - Ok, tempo card. Frosty tapping a couple of creatures can be functionally Ashes to Ashes in a streamlined rush deck. Of course the game has to end soon or else tempo is lost.
Keen Glidemaster - Turns into a fine mana-sink. Mostly is just a forgettable creature.
Library Larcenist - You have to put in a lot of effort to work. Mostly the body is too small to go to combat.
Lofty Denial - Much worse than Miscalculate. The catch is going to catch you out more often than not.
Mistral Singer - Looks like a fine 3 mana flier for when you want one. Stormbound Geist can't block when you want it to, which is why I typically don't consider it outside of comparisons. Likewise with Cloud Spirit. Blocking is kind of an important feature of most creatures. Strictly better than Niblis of Dusk.
Opt - It's fine. I play Opt. Nothing special. Preordain and friends are much stronger.
Rain of Revelation - Fine 4 mana draw spell. Holding mana for countermagic is important for many of Blue's play patterns.
Read the Tides - 6 mana is too much.
Rewind - Speaking of holding up mana. The upfront 4 mana is often too expensive, although this sees some play.
Roaming Ghostlight - 5 mana is getting a bit expensive for Mist Raven. Probably would see niche play.
Rookie Mistake - Tricky. Not sure quite how to evaluate. My intuition says it would be a dead card more often than not.
Rousing Read - A Cartouche of Knowledge with slightly more filter for an extra mana. Probably fine at being efficient in terms of card-slots. Essential will play as a draw spell that impacts the board. Still is vulnerable to instant-speed removal.
Spined Megalodon - Big control finisher. More game-ending than Benthic Giant, though less damming than Giant either. Hexproof gets around most decks' solutions to problems. Could be overkill, in which case Striped Riverwinder is better for the early trade-in. Seems like Spined Mealodon will spend time in sideboards. There will be games that you'll never see 7 mana before the game is essentially concluded.
Teferi's Protege - The looting costs mana. The body isn't that desirable either.
Tome Anima - Phantom Monster is better in most cases. The hoops make Tome Anima too conditional.
Vodalian Arcanist - With signets and Mind Stone available, quality mana acceleration isn't too hard to come by. The 1/3 body is nice, but I don't think it outweighs the conditional nature of the mana generated. In any case, this is no Werebear and Blue has much stronger 2 mana plays. Maybe this is playable in the hands of a skilled player, though I foresee Vodalian Arcanist being draft chaff.
Wall of Runes - It wall. More of a sideboard card, though can be really annoying in some match-ups.
Wishcoin Crab - Pretty nothing as far as Pauper is concerned.
Anointed Chorister - 1/1 lifelinker play better than they look. your opponent cant really start racing with his 1/x if this is on the board. and it becomes a threat later. but 5 to activate is way too costly. wouldnt consider. hawk has evasion
.
Basri's Acolyte - i think its very good, depending on the situation better than seraph.
Celestial Enforcer - id prefer it as a 1/4 tbh.
Concordia Pegasus - we have lots of those
Daybreak Charger - its a sidegrade to Cavalry Drillmaster. most of the time just another vanilla 3/1. crappy
Defiant Strike - usually not worth a cubeslot
Dub - meh. horrible
Faith's Fetters - we already run this
Feat of Resistance - im not sure the counter is worth the extra mana. i usually cant justify adding those tricks. but if my choice would probably be shelter
Gale Swooper - pretty crappy. if you want such effect, we have Trusted Pegasus
Legion's Judgment - meh
Makeshift Battalion - might be quite good in the tokendecks
Rambunctious Mutt - better than kor sanctifiers imo. the beefier stats are worth the additional mana
Revitalize - sb card against red, we dont run those
Secure the Scene - i dont understand this card. its awful
Staunch Shieldmate - much stats for a onedrop. thats it
Swift Response - white spellbased premium removal
Valorous Steed - id consider it if it was double 3/3. as is a kinda worse Gallant Cavalry
Warded Battlements - it has potential in the token deck, but i feel its overcosted by 1 or lacks an additional toughness
powpercube Johnny https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Cancel - usually worse than the UX counter
Capture Sphere - too pricey
Frantic Inventory - useless in cubes, unless you break singleton
Frost Breath -reprint
Keen Glidemaster - might just run Wingcrafter
Library Larcenist - not enough impact, very fragile. will often at least replace himself.
Lofty Denial - not too shabby in the flyerdeck.
Mistral Singer - a pretty decent wind drake, but cmc3 is contested hard.
Opt - weakest of the cantrips. add this one last.
Rain of Revelation - reprint
Read the Tides - we get both effects much cheaper
Rewind - reprint
Roaming Ghostlight - i assume chillbringer is better, because lategame the bounce doesnt matter much and only neglects one combat.
Rookie Mistake - too gimmicky imo
Rousing Read - worse cartouche
Spined Megalodon - best blue finisher yet and i ran benthic giant + Aqueous Form for quite some time. the scry is quite useful
Teferi's Protege - im not a friend of the fragile and useless 1/1 looter for combat, so i did run the 2/1s if anything. since i dont wanna loot every turn either, i might favor the protege.
Tome Anima - i dont know what to think of extra draw bonusses. probably too situational. i dont need unblockables anyway, so meh.
Vodalian Arcanist - has the same problems as the green guys. if you spend the mana u cant block or attack. and the limitation to spells hurt as well.
Wall of Runes -reprint
Wishcoin Crab - reprint
powpercube Johnny https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Alchemist's Gift - A little too weak. Better than Coat in Venom. I prefer Grotesque Mutation if I'm looking for a black lifelink instant.
Blood Glutton - 3 toughness puts this in target range for most red removal.
Caged Zombie - The ability is too costly.
Crypt Lurker - Could be useful. Mostly I think there will be a lack of adequate fodder. Good sideboard tech against Pacifism. Discarding creatures might be negligible with Font of Return, Wander in Death and Death Denied.
Deathbloom Thallid - A body in a pinch.
Duress - Still sees play.
Fetid Imp - From a lineage of nothing imps.
Finishing Blow - Overcosted Murder because planeswalkers don't exist at common (excluding Mystery Booster nonsense).
Gloom Sower - That's a big common. Could be used with Morgue Burst? Probably too susceptible to removal despite being immune to Doom Blade and too slow for rush.
Grasp of Darkness - Reprint. Double pips make this a sad card. Still alright, though cards such as Victim of Night are much better.
Infernal Scarring - Err... Kind of weak.
Liliana's Steward - Interesting take on Raven's Crime. Good with Ghoulcaller's Chant. Probably could find a home in a cube built around taking advantage of this. Otherwise not.
Masked Blackguard - This is no Ambush Viper.
Mind Rot - Plenty of better cards than this.
Rise Again - Not much worth reanimating outside for the aforementioned Spined Megalodon.
Sanguine Indulgence - Getting the cost reduction is a little difficult. Much too overcosted otherwise.
Skeleton Archer - More of a sideboard card. Good in some match ups (ones with plenty of targets), Hill Giant in others.
Village Rites - Cheap and playable.
Walking Corpse - Definitely not. Need more brains.
Bone Pit Brute - Most red decks just want to Fireball when they get to 6 mana. This seems fine at being a game ender. Double red keeps it from being easily splashable.
Burn Bright - Fine as a second copy of Dynacharge. The white versions of this effect are much stronger.
Chandra's Magmutt - I think this is solid. Being able to tick away for 1 in a stall is exactly what red wants to do.
Crash Through - Red decks tend not to be creature centric enough for this.
Destructive Tampering - Seems fine as an anti-artifact sideboard card.
Furor of the Bitten - Fine in angry rush. The downside of removal tends to be too much however.
Goblin Arsonist - Alright fodder. Not good at all otherwise.
Goblin Wizardry - Seems like a fine addition to Delver of Secrets builds.
Hobblefiend - Sacrifice outlet in red. I'm not that keen on this, but other people seem to think it's fine.
Igneous Cur - I prefer Weaselback Redcap. Comparable to Immolating Souleater. Often I'd rather spend the mana for something else most of the time.
Onakke Ogre - Functional reprint of something. Worse than Brazen Wolves.
Pitchburn Devils - These can block well. 5 mana is too much.
Scorching Dragonfire - Searing Spear is better most of the time.
Shock - Galvanic Blast is strictly better. Generally it's worth spending the extra 1 mana for a Incinerate for better reach.
Spellgorger Weird - Fine with spells. Grows well and comes out early enough in the game to see some action. Typically draws removal.
Sure Strike - You want Lightning Strike instead of this.
Thrill of Possibility - Filters well and plays nicely with instant speed things (namely countermagic).
Turn to Slag - If equipment were more problematic we'd play this.
Turret Ogre - Ok 4 drop. Finding enough 4 power or greater creatures can be problematic, especially when they keep dying to removal. The extra effort mostly isn't that worth it unless 4 power or greater gets pushed quite a bit.
Gatherer has them listed as common which is the official definition of common. I assume it is that way as an elaborate scheme to break our format for anyone who runs Mystery Booster cards and Un-cards.
How bizarre lol. I actually have no idea which ones make it in Pauper Cube. My first instinct was naturally "All of them!" but there are actually a fair few that suck. Some of them seem innocuous but are likely overpowered if you build around them. But the damn cards are way too expensive for Pauper cube IMO (similar to Bonders Ornament on mtgo lol)
Blood Glutton - yeah. no. Id rather take the 4 toughness on Scrounger of Souls
Caged Zombie - there are only so much creatures to die and we have similiar effects for free.
Crypt Lurker - great card in the value cube. fuels gy and cycles useless meat.
Deathbloom Thallid - reprint
Duress - reprint
Fetid Imp - reprint
Finishing Blow - too pricey
Gloom Sower - biggest black creature, thats about it
Grasp of Darkness - Reprint.
Infernal Scarring - rp
Liliana's Steward - i dont see a reason why you want this.
Masked Blackguard - flash is a good mechanic and shade is as well. but 2/1s are too weak.
Mind Rot - rp
Rise Again - i like to see reanimation at commom. cmc 5 is too much thoug and white already does it better.
Sanguine Indulgence - its a nice tempogain if you trigger this.
Skeleton Archer - rp
Village Rites - nice trick, but i dont have room for this
Walking Corpse - black has better bears by now
powpercube Johnny https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Burn Bright - reprint
Chandra's Magmutt - a 2/2 in red is below curve rn and pinging the player is unexciting as well. get a real tim
Crash Through -rp
Destructive Tampering - an artifact removal thats also a mb card. not too shabby if you run problematic artifacts.
Furor of the Bitten - i quite like it. it really pushes aggro. the thoughness boost makes it annoying to deal with. .
Goblin Arsonist - rp
Goblin Wizardry - spells matters topcard
Hobblefiend - sac in red enables unfair threaten plays
Igneous Cur - essentially another 3/2 that grows with your manadevelopment and offers a nice sink. toughness of 2 makes it playable, but not great.
Onakke Ogre - rp
Pitchburn Devils - rp
Scorching Dragonfire - can find a place in gy heavy cubes
Shock - rp
Spellgorger Weird - rp
Sure Strike - rp
Thrill of Possibility - i dont like mediocre effects to break the colorwheel. splash in black or blue instead
Turn to Slag - burn that doesnt hit players should be a nono
Turret Ogre - even if you guarantee the trigger it only hits players, so meh.
powpercube Johnny https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
They basically make a whole different format. Most of them are good enough, but since I have no care to get them and play them, I can't be bothered picking through them to fine what is playable. Most of them are in line with what a good rare does, although they intentionally haven't been balanced so play will be a bit wonky.
Drowsing Tyrannodon - Slows down non-evasion creatures. Turns to attack fine. Too easily disrupted to be reliable. And requires more hoop jumping than necessary. I prefer Terrain Elemental. Green has already a good selection of 2cmc creatures and isn't in need of any Returned Phalanxes.
Garruk's Gorehorn - 7 is a lot of power. 3 is not much toughness. Dies too easily to combat and red removal.
Gnarled Sage - Bitterbow Archers comparison. I see this as primarily a Blue/Green creature. While I am hesitant at considering this, attacking as a vigilance 4/6 is certainly tempting. Could be worth giving a trial, although it could succumb to requiring too much deck building to be practical.
Hunter's Edge - 4 mana removal is a lot for Green considering the relatively low cost of splashing a colour. I think the cost will be prohibitive more often than not.
Life Goes On - Sideboard tech for burn. Might be worth it if your deck is built to stabilise. Ultimately, this is card disadvantage and is niche.
Llanowar Visionary - Excellent padding between early to mid-game. Card draw is similar in strength to land searching. Being a mana-source as well enables playing out much quicker than Civic Wayfinder.
Ornery Dilophosaur - Idk, deathtouchy. Dies to red removal. Deathtouch is much more efficient on smaller bodies. 4 mana starts competing against Imperiosaur.
Portcullis Vine - It wall not that well. Mostly there aren't enough other defenders which you would want to mulch.
Pridemalkin - Too small. Though trample is nice.
Ranger's Guile - The effort of holding mana for something can be too much at times, especially because of the aforementioned rush decks and tempo decks. Even many of the midrange decks. Occasionally is a blowout. More often than not this is lacklustre.
Return to Nature - Generally Naturalize with a creature body attached is wanted.
Run Afoul - Anti-flying tech. Fine but niche. Sideboard cards tend to fall by the wayside unless they are a counter to an important threat.
Sabertooth Mauler - Grows to be pretty fearsome. Mostly I would prefer creatures which start off big. Untapping is a nice. Costs the same as Festerhide Boar.
Setessan Training - Too trivial. Maybe could do something with Ancestral Mask.
Snarespinner - If cheap fliers are a threat, this is a solution. Otherwise far too weak.
Titanic Growth - Occasional tricks. Mostly for quick kills. Groundswell is preferred over this.
Track Down - Green Shimmer of Possibilities. Actually much better because of the scry. This is an interesting effect that we haven't had available before, so I'd looking forward to seeing how it will play.
Trufflesnout - Anti-rush 3cmc creature. Fine at being maindeckable. Helps shore up Searing Blaze matches.
Drowsing Tyrannodon - its kinda interesting in green rush decks, if you have a certain amount of 4/x at cmc3 as well. Dont actually turn the race if youre against red, so its a pass for me.
Garruk's Gorehorn - much stats, but too weak
Gnarled Sage - its too tough to reliably draw 2 unless you have a looter. green has better things that dont rely on that.
Hunter's Edge - green removal is crap and this sx real hard.
Life Goes On - 8 life is a lot, but this is sb only stuff. meh.
Llanowar Visionary - best card of the set. helps mitigate the valueloss for ramp a little.
Ornery Dilophosaur - nah
Portcullis Vine -3 toughness isnt enough in cubes anymore to really block stuff.
Pridemalkin - weird combination of effects, especially for a petcat. any mode is unexciting
Ranger's Guile - rp
Return to Nature - its a sb card against a lot of decks, but still sb stuff.
Run Afoul - sb tech and more of a constructed one.
Sabertooth Mauler - i can see some decks might want this. stuff that grows is always scary. lacks trample though.
Setessan Training - a good way to grant trample. some cubes need this.
Snarespinner - cute, but doesnt survive much.
Titanic Growth -rp
Track Down - so blue bleeds into green now, which is a good thing. 2 mana cantrips are not.
Trufflesnout - a 3/3 for 3 is okay if youre the aggrodeck and 2/2 plus life nice if youre the controldeck, so the flexibility in nice. in limited. our decks can focus on one strategy directly and find better stuff
powpercube Johnny https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Broadly: I cut some hexproof creatures as well as auras and effects that made more sense in a meta with more hexproof. I removed some removal, as I had more than I intended (there's still plenty). To add the 5 Thriving Grove, etc. lands, I cut a card from each color. And I added Escape cards.
Questions:
1
Pristine Talisman -> Gingerbrute
B
Duress -> Thriving Moor
Hand of Silumgar -> Boot Nipper
Blind Zealot -> Underworld Charger (Escape)
Slum Reaper (Hexproof-related) -> Bushmeat Poacher
G
Ainok Survivalist -> Thriving Grove
Jungle Lion -> Wildwood Tracker
Kujar Seedsculptor -> Mosscoat Goriak
Primal Huntbeast (Hexproof) -> Voracious Typhon (Escape)
Jade Guardian (Hexproof) -> Fierce Witchstalker
Rhox Maulers -> Llanowar Visionary
R
Thunderous Wrath -> Thriving Bluff
Viashino Slaughtermaster (Hexproof/aura-related) -> Underworld Rage-Hound (Escape)
Run Amok -> Spelleater Wolverine
U
Benthic Giant (Hexproof) -> Thriving Isle
W
Benalish Cavalry -> Thriving Heath
Bonds of Faith -> Sentinel's Eyes (Escape)
Fencing Ace (Hexproof/aura-related) -> Lone Missionary
Aven Riftwatcher -> Ardenvale Tactician // Dizzying Swoop
Ironclad Slayer -> Daybreak Chimera
Kor Sanctifiers -> Rambunctious Mutt
RU
Nivix Cyclops -> Mystic Sanctuary (a bit of a stretch to place this in RU, but it similarly supports "spells matter")
B
Victim of Night (remove removal) -> Ill-Gotten Inheritance
Grasp of Darkness (remove removal) -> Dross Golem (I draft with fewer players, so fewer monocolor decks, but I think it still works)
Dead Reveler -> Vampire Envoy
Predatory Nightstalker -> Silumgar Scavenger (I think I previously misread the +1/+1 trigger as being on Exploit only)
G
Edge of Autumn -> Symbiosis (I like having some combat tricks)
Silhana Ledgewalker -> Winding Way (a lot of targets in G)
Treetop Ambusher -> Nantuko Shaman
Peema Outrider -> Festerhide Boar
Hooting Mandrills -> Stampeding Elk Herd
R
Rift Bolt (remove removal) -> Cosmotronic Wave
Forked Bolt (remove removal) -> Bogardan Dragonheart
Viashino Pyromancer -> Frenzied Rage (similar to Madcap Skills)
U
Saltwater Stalwart -> Wretched Gryff
One With the Wind (Hexproof-related) -> Mnemonic Wall
Spectral Flight (Hexproof-related) -> Salvager of Secrets
Rush of Knowledge -> Peregrine Drake
W
Sandsteppe Outcast -> Attended Knight
UW
Momentary Blink -> Deft Duelist (there are few ETB effects worth dedicating a card to repeat)
2. The worst case is still a 2 mana ramp spell, which is fine. I think there is no harm in testing it.
3. White creatures and bascially everything is getting pretty stacked. I personally have huge problems finding even a single cut. The Martyr is pretty weird as it requires 3 creatures already on board, which you aren't guaranteed to have early on, where it would be the most impressive. It also eats up an attack step. Apart from that it wants to be in a swarm deck with a lot of tokens, but these decks would rather spend cards to go wider instead of casting "big" creatures. It's definitely not bad, I'm only trying to find reasons why it's not making the cut for many people. Also there is of course the fact, that not everyone runs a swarm theme and without stuff like Raise the Alarm it's not actually that attractive.
4. -Wildfire Elemental: I run it, but I didn't had much opporutnity to play my pauper cube lately, so I don't have too much data on it. In theory it seems great. It is similar to Martyr's Soul bound to a swarm theme, which not everyone runs.
-Ruthless Invasion: These "Falter" effects are definitely decent and you can't really go wrong with them, but with a swarm theme, stuff like Trumpet Blast simply has more impact.
-Lifecraft Cavalry: Revolt isn't actually that reliable to trigger and we have got some great 5 drops lately, like Gorilla Shaman, which are simply more consistently better.
-Citanul Woodreaders: Ramp is still not really a thing and greens strength lie in 1 mana ramp, hexproof creatures and some efficient midrange creatures. Citanul Woodreaders is more of a late game value card, that doesn't go that well with the green archetypes and if you were to go for e.g. UG blue simply does card draw a lot better.
5. I'm not the biggest Festerhide Boar fan, because it can be really hard to actively trigger Morbid in green and once you need to play this in the same turn as a removal spell the great cost/stat ratio becomes less relevant. I still think it's the better version of Lifecraft Cavalry, but I would probably go for the other 2.
6. Not really. Since we don't get any new cmc 2 counter spells, especially not at common blue doesn't actually change that much. Cloudkin Seer was by far the most exciting thing we got lately.
7. They seem fine.
Pauper Cube & Artifact Pauper Cube & Multiplayer Cube
Interested in building your own Pauper Cube? Take a look at some of the lists and the following project: The "Evaluate Everything" Project (updated to M21/JMP)
There are enough creatures to activate War Falcon. But it has the same problem as a bunch of the cheap red beaters -- it is one less creature that has to be removed as a threat because once it is alone it can't do anything.
The thing about Priest of Titania is that if you don't get turn 1 elf to pair it with then you're just paying 2 mana for Llanowar Elves.
The dream scenario for 5/4 Martyr of Souls on turn 3 or 4 isn't very probable.
Wildfire Elemental is a strange brew since it needs noncombat damage combined multiple attackers to be worthwhile. It can definitely work..sometimes
Ruthless Inversion -- as Al often writes in the Evaluate Everything threads its "highly situative" and I'm not even sure its the best falter effect
Lifecraft Cavalry -- its one of the best when it works but "when" is the operative word
Citanul Woodreaders -- the appeal is that it doesn't something that green can't do but the downside is that it doesn't really fit anything green is trying to
I think Peema Outrider is the best of those three but it being only a 4/4 is still not ideal. Festerhide Boar is an upside inclusion. I don't think I have anything to add about Nantuko Shaman. Its something like GG2 3/2 etb tapped, draw a card. It also isn't good with bouncing/flickering.
Not sure what sets you're asking about regarding blue. Mystic Sanctuary was only a few sets ago. Its not at its best in Cube but its still a dumb card.
As for your changes I like that you have overarching rationales/goals but I assume you will need to play extensively before you strike a balance you are happy with. My group never gets enough games in to do that lol.
1. Replaced Daring Skyjek with War Falcon (less of a restriction than Battalion if the goal is to attack with a flyer).
2. Replaced Sakura-Tribe Elder (can chump) with Priest of Titania (more ramp, maybe).
3. I don't think I have enough swarm support. I replaced Martyr's Soul with Goldmeadow Harrier.
4. What card did you mean for the 5cc G? (Not Gorilla Shaman)
5. Good point, I'll keep Peema Outriders.
Agree, they might turn out to be too inconsistent – but exciting if not!
When you put it that way, it does sound fairly unexciting. I'll try Gather Courage instead, since I like the flavor of cards like Mutagenic Growth that can surprise opponents when you're tapped out.
Same! I only update my cube once a year now to at least add cards from new sets – but then I end up spending a lot of time reevaluating cards...
Thanks for your reviews of those other cards! I'll leave them out for now.