Well, now that we are starting to have a few common cards from Theros, let's begin!
Akroan CrusaderR
Creature - Human Soldier Heroic — Whenever you cast a spell that targets Akroan Crusader, put a 1/1 red Soldier creature token with haste onto the battlefield.
1/1
Cavern Lampad3B
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
Bestow 5B(If you cast this card for its bestow cost, it's an Aura spell with enchant creature. It becomes a creature again if it's not attached to a creature.)
Intimidate
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has intimidate.
2/2
Lampad is our first Bestow creature and it's just a bit too expensive to be worth it.
The Crusader is highly interesting, though. Unfortunately, I don't think we have enough spells that beneficially target your own creatures, especially in red (so much buuuuurn), to make it worth it. In general, Heroic effects need to be strong enough that even 1 activation makes them worth it for them to be cubeable.
I feel its a good sign for pauper. Black I don't think was ever going to just get an out right beater, but I really want to see what greens commons look like with this mechanic.
I wish Heroic had triggered off any spell targeting that creature, not just yours. Makes it much more interesting, and far more playable, without too much of a flavor hit.
But, of course, simplicity is good design, so I won't complain too much.
Out of all of the mechanics we have to play with, I am most interested in Bestow. Cmoooooon Aura subtheme!
Voyages End1U
Instant
Return target creature to its owner's hand. Scry 1.
Won't have a place in smaller cubes, but the larger cubes that run cards like Call to Heel might have a place for this, not sure about it, but worth a try.
Voyage's End in 360 is competing with Into the Roil and Repeal for the 'single effect +' side of things. Into the Roil does have the overall 'no card loss' factor, but when you half the cost... I dunno, it definitely is usable
I actually like the Lampad. 2/2 Intimidate for 3B is like Bladetusk Boar, yes -1/-0 but the versatility is something.
Yep. Read the Bones is definitely an auto-include. Might even edge out Sign in Blood in smaller cubes like my own: I'm looking for ways to trim the number of double-black costed cards so it's more in line with other colors.
Even at 360 I can't imagine cutting Sign in Blood. I would rather cut one of the redundant kill spells in black than cut one of the few good sources of card advantage. I think both Sign in Blood and Read the Bones should have places at 360 and cuts can easily be found elsewhere. Good card draw is a rarity at the pauper level.
Two-Headed Cerberus is the first time we've ever had a common creature with double strike (Springjack Knight only conditionally involves double strike). It doesn't look particularly cubeable, but hopefully this means we start getting more double strike cards in the future.
We have had a few things that grant Doublestrike. The issue is at Common I doubt we will see 2+ Power on anything less than a 5 drop. First strike is just fine for what is out there.
Double wants pump, but it is also just chumped w/o much tempo gained
Omenspeaker seems like an auto-include. It's an (edit:almost) better Sea Gate Oracle when played turn 2 and definitely not bad after that.
Gods Willing is an almost strictly better Stave Off, for what that's worth. Still probably not better than Apostle's Blessing or Shelter, which means it probably won't make the cut in most cubes.
I'm guessing Nessian Asp won't end up making the cut, but it's not too shabby. Monstrosity in general seems like it has a ton of potential for us.
I think that Death's Duet finally has to say goodbye.
Yeah, this seems like a good swap to make.
Neither the Asp nor Omenspeaker really interests me. Sea Gate Oracle is much better than the Omenspeaker. I don't think it's particularly close, but I have no experiences with Omenspeaker, so I'll have to decide that later.
Putting a Hyena Umbra on Wingsteed Rider sounds pretty good. Not sure how many helpful other good targets there are for it in the cube. I'll probably have to take account of that at some point. People have been calling for a good ramp target and the Asp is at least a step closer to something that seems enticing enough. Omenspeaker definitely seems like a good creature for early blue control plays.
Hidden Strings might also need to be reconsidered if more good Heroic common cards are spoiled. Repeatedly giving your guy vigilance and enabling its heroic effect each turn seems pretty solid if it comes together. Getting to +1/+1 vigilance and untap one of your lands with Hidden Strings on Wingsteed Rider seems very enticing.
So why is a 4/5 Reach not able to compete with a 5/5 at an easier mana cost.. AND it is fine when you flood/ramp?
For me the Asp looks like it is an auto-exchange right away, yes I can change back, but the ability to encourage another midrange/ramp strategy is awesome. Especially if you run 3+ Mana Dorks, and/or ramp spells. It hits curve, and is a fine topdeck.
I will actually rescind my love for the Lampad over my love for the Asp.
The most recent Mossdog showed how good a better body with reach can be when it has a late game ability. It may not be on the same scale exactly; Asp is my number 1 pick as of now. That will change, but as of now...
I am very doubtful Devotion or Heroic is gonna make it w/o serious overhauls of a Cube. I am not against making heroic good, just add more buyback/rebound stuff, and Hidden Strings, as mentioned above.
To further the above discussion:
What makes a Scry card good? Does it need to add Scry to an existing card w/o adding mana to it? Does it need to be on a body that can be useful w/o it? When does card selection balance out card advantage/parity?
Cards that I will include in my Pauper cube:
Omen Speaker
Read the Bones
Cards that might make it in:
Gods Willing
Voyage's End
Nessian Asp
Btw, Omen Speaker is amazing. Almost like a Wall of Omens / Wall of Blossoms. 1 less toughness, but no defender and 1 power to actually kill small attackers. And scry 2 is almost as good as draw 1 card. This is an instant include, people!
I just realized that scrying cards are better in a rare cube than in a pauper cube. The reason is that the average power level of card is much higher and that there are some total bombs in a rare cube. Therefore, digging for specific cards is better in a rare cube than in a pauper cube, where the power level is lower and generally closer together. In a rare cube, scry 2 is almost the same as drawing a card, while in a pauper cube, drawing a card should be more valuable. So, while Omenspeaker is an instant inclusion in my rare cube, I can see that it is actually worse in a pauper cube.
Regarding Augury Owl: The Owl is not good because it is only a 1/1, while Omenspeaker and Sea Gate Oracle are 1/3s, making them good against small attackers. Most blue decks play for the longer game, where card draw and card advantage matters. To avoid being overrun early, defensive creatures like 1/3s help greatly. So, Omenspeaker is a far better inclusion than the Owl, despite scrying 1 less.
Omenspeaker being a 1/3 makes a huge difference in comparison to Augury Owl in that control decks do want the body - early game it does a ton to stabilize and late game it blocks the smaller attackers you would otherwise let through to block larger threats (or it just chump blocks). Also, even though scry 2 is worse than Sea Gate Oracle'ing, it's still good - early game it digs towards whatever you need and late game it does a lot of prevent bad top decks, both of which control decks almost always have to get right in order to win. And even though it might not be as high-impact as the other 2 drops people play (looters, waterfront bouncer, etc.) there's no reason substitutions have to be made by CMC alone, and the redundancy afforded by having a cheaper but slightly worse Sea Gate Oracle definitely seems good enough to find a spot in most cubes. I really can't think of a U/x control deck I've drafted recently that wouldn't have played this card.
I agree, Omenspeaker is amazing because it's a solid early blocker with a relevant ability. Despite this, I don't think it's better than Merfolk Looter / Thought Courier, but I'm still going to find room for it and run them all.
If I know that I would include this card in any blue control deck I'd make, then I know it's good.
What do folks here think about the Gray Merchant of Asphodel? I've found that the life drain cards, like Bloodhunter Bat and Blind Hunter have been really good. This guarantees a 4 point life swing right away, and would be easy to set up for a 6 or 8 point life swing as well. The 2/4 body for 3BB is a bit disappointing though.
EDIT: I finally got around to a much-needed cube update! It's linked in my sig if anyone is interested.
Akroan Crusader R
Creature - Human Soldier
Heroic — Whenever you cast a spell that targets Akroan Crusader, put a 1/1 red Soldier creature token with haste onto the battlefield.
1/1
Cavern Lampad 3B
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
Bestow 5B (If you cast this card for its bestow cost, it's an Aura spell with enchant creature. It becomes a creature again if it's not attached to a creature.)
Intimidate
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has intimidate.
2/2
Lampad is our first Bestow creature and it's just a bit too expensive to be worth it.
The Crusader is highly interesting, though. Unfortunately, I don't think we have enough spells that beneficially target your own creatures, especially in red (so much buuuuurn), to make it worth it. In general, Heroic effects need to be strong enough that even 1 activation makes them worth it for them to be cubeable.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
But, of course, simplicity is good design, so I won't complain too much.
Out of all of the mechanics we have to play with, I am most interested in Bestow. Cmoooooon Aura subtheme!
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
Read the Bones 2B
Sorcery
Scry 2, then draw 2 cards. You lose 2 life.
Sign in Blood is already highly playable, and this is almost always better (and more splashable)
Instant
Return target creature to its owner's hand. Scry 1.
Won't have a place in smaller cubes, but the larger cubes that run cards like Call to Heel might have a place for this, not sure about it, but worth a try.
This card seems pretty good. I'm always looking for good card draw to add to the cube.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
I actually like the Lampad. 2/2 Intimidate for 3B is like Bladetusk Boar, yes -1/-0 but the versatility is something.
Loose Change Pauper Cube-cast
Pauper Cube Article #1
Pauper Cube Article #2
Personal Enjoyment Cube
I'm also looking at Voyage's End. I'm running a 450 cube, so finding room for it won't be too hard, it's a pretty great tempo card.
Double wants pump, but it is also just chumped w/o much tempo gained
Loose Change Pauper Cube-cast
Pauper Cube Article #1
Pauper Cube Article #2
Personal Enjoyment Cube
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/therosmechanics
Nessian Asp look's pretty legit.
1/3 for 2 with scry?
Very cool.
Gods Willing is an almost strictly better Stave Off, for what that's worth. Still probably not better than Apostle's Blessing or Shelter, which means it probably won't make the cut in most cubes.
I'm guessing Nessian Asp won't end up making the cut, but it's not too shabby. Monstrosity in general seems like it has a ton of potential for us.
Yeah, this seems like a good swap to make.
Neither the Asp nor Omenspeaker really interests me. Sea Gate Oracle is much better than the Omenspeaker. I don't think it's particularly close, but I have no experiences with Omenspeaker, so I'll have to decide that later.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
Hidden Strings might also need to be reconsidered if more good Heroic common cards are spoiled. Repeatedly giving your guy vigilance and enabling its heroic effect each turn seems pretty solid if it comes together. Getting to +1/+1 vigilance and untap one of your lands with Hidden Strings on Wingsteed Rider seems very enticing.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
For me the Asp looks like it is an auto-exchange right away, yes I can change back, but the ability to encourage another midrange/ramp strategy is awesome. Especially if you run 3+ Mana Dorks, and/or ramp spells. It hits curve, and is a fine topdeck.
I will actually rescind my love for the Lampad over my love for the Asp.
The most recent Mossdog showed how good a better body with reach can be when it has a late game ability. It may not be on the same scale exactly; Asp is my number 1 pick as of now. That will change, but as of now...
I am very doubtful Devotion or Heroic is gonna make it w/o serious overhauls of a Cube. I am not against making heroic good, just add more buyback/rebound stuff, and Hidden Strings, as mentioned above.
To further the above discussion:
What makes a Scry card good? Does it need to add Scry to an existing card w/o adding mana to it? Does it need to be on a body that can be useful w/o it? When does card selection balance out card advantage/parity?
Loose Change Pauper Cube-cast
Pauper Cube Article #1
Pauper Cube Article #2
Personal Enjoyment Cube
Omen Speaker
Read the Bones
Cards that might make it in:
Gods Willing
Voyage's End
Nessian Asp
Btw, Omen Speaker is amazing. Almost like a Wall of Omens / Wall of Blossoms. 1 less toughness, but no defender and 1 power to actually kill small attackers. And scry 2 is almost as good as draw 1 card. This is an instant include, people!
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
Regarding Augury Owl: The Owl is not good because it is only a 1/1, while Omenspeaker and Sea Gate Oracle are 1/3s, making them good against small attackers. Most blue decks play for the longer game, where card draw and card advantage matters. To avoid being overrun early, defensive creatures like 1/3s help greatly. So, Omenspeaker is a far better inclusion than the Owl, despite scrying 1 less.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
If I know that I would include this card in any blue control deck I'd make, then I know it's good.
UBRThraximundar, Tribal ZombiesUBR
WURZedruu's Great TradesWUR
EDIT: I finally got around to a much-needed cube update! It's linked in my sig if anyone is interested.
Sig courtesy of Disappointing Signet Inc.
My Cubes:
Goblin Pile Shuffler's 360 Card Pauper Cube - updated 1/4/2014
Goblin Pile Shuffler's 270 Card One-Drop Cube - updated 1/4/2014