Wait, Volcanic Fallout as unplayable? No, definitely not. The fact that it deals damage to players is just not a sufficient justification because its instant speed and even uncounterability are much more relevant considerations.
The downside of can't block isn't a downside when you're putting it on your opponent's creature. I got decent mileage out of this in an earlier iteration of my cube, and there's nothing else quite like it. It's not as good as Rancor, but I wouldn't say it's unplayable in aggro decks either. I'd give it at least a 1.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I made a blunder here. I'm not sure we would go deep enough for Steam Blast, but maybe some larger cubes might want it. I'll put that to 1. I definitely failed to notice that Volcanic Fallout was an instant, I thought it was sorcery, and that makes a massive difference.
I can see Undying Rage being ok actually now that I reconsider it. Either smash face if the way is clear, or get that blocker out of the way because you probably don't care if it is bigger. It can go to 1.
4 - Staple - Cards with enough base power that your cube is less powerful from their omission. They are cards that are likely to never rotate out of your cube unless you ban them for being too good. 3 - Strong - These are solid cards that get the job done. Their exclusion is probably an indicator that you are actively not supporting a popular deck / archetype / effect. 2 - Playable - These are good cards, but they are either interchangeable (e.g. lots of removal, aggressive red 2-drops) or are build-around cards that need a little support to be good (Favorable Winds). 1 - Niche - These cards aren't usually considered great, but might be included to support some obscure archetypes, specific interactions, or if going deep on a particular type of deck / archetype / effect. Unplayable - There isn't a reason to play these over other options, except in extreme cases where you are intentionally depowering an effect.
Abzan Falconer - 2 Description - Base stats aren't exciting, but there is some reasonable upside to be had. With a mild +1/+1 theme in your cube, you might put this down and then just swing your team over the top, but it is also fine in a board stall where you can afford to outlast it for a few turns; a 4/5 or larger flyer is probably going to be challenging for most decks. Anchors - +1/+1 counters Supports -
Archetype of Courage - 2 Description - The upsides look high. Aggro might lay this down before swinging, turning what would be trades into wins. On defense, it can make you very hard to attack into. You need to be aware of the downside though, which is the potential for blowouts if this gets removed after blocks that you were relying on. Anchors - Supports - Enchantments Matter
Attended Knight - 2 Description - It's ok if not thrilling. It puts 3 power and toughness on the board for 3 mana, and the first strike is not irrelevant. It's hardly an optimum blink / bounce target, but it has synergies there as well as providing 2 bodies for sacrifice effects, or go wide effects like Soltari Champion. Anchors - Supports - Sacrifice, Blink / Bounce
Auramancer - 1 Description - You need to go a little out of your way to support an enchantment theme of some sort (preferably the types that will make their way to the graveyard) to consider it, but it is pretty obvious which decks it supports. Anchors - Enchantments Matter Supports -
Aven Riftwatcher - 2 Description - It's decent stats for a flyer. Unchecked, it generates an 8 point life swing, or it might just be a tool in the early game to stall aggro. If you support any life gain matters cards, this is probably worth investing in for the double triggers. You might consider Aerial Responder, but this does provide guaranteed life gain in the face of removal which may be important for your defensive decks, and is easier to cast if you are monitoring your double mana spells. Anchors - Supports -
Aven Sunstriker - 1 Description - With equipment or other ways to pump this it can be a solid attacker or blocker. Unpumped, it is still going to die to anything with more than 1 toughness. There is a 5 mana difference between the baseline and megamorphing it, so you probably don't want to rely on that being the default mode. You can go Skyhunter Skirmisher if you don't care for morph. Anchors - Pants Supports -
Avian Changeling - 1 Description - It will depend entirely on your density of tribal lords, but you might find this gets almost accidentally better than a Wind Drake often enough. Anchors - Supports -
Azorius Herald - 1 Description - You would never play this as just a white card. Life boost plus an unblockable creature is nice, which could you race, though not exciting compared to other Azorius options. Anchors - Supports -
Ballynock Cohort - 1 Description - The closest comparison is Attended Knight which also gives you a 2/2 first striker with upside. That card always give you the third power and insurance by being across 2 bodies. Still, a 3 power first striker is going to be better on the attack. Base white aggro decks that are laying down threats quickly may benefit from having this guy on their team, but is probably less consistent than other options. Anchors - Supports -
Banisher Priest - 2 Description - Decent removal on a stick for white. High upside in that you remove a threat while laying down one of your own which can be a solid tempo hit. Offset by downside of not really being a 2 for 1, and removal on it in the middle of combat might make things ugly for you depending on what they get back. Still very solid. Fairgrounds Warden is likely better on the basis of an easier casting cost, but you might prefer Banisher Priest if you want a slightly more aggressive version. Anchors - Supports -
Aven Mindcensor - A 2/1 flying flash is just not quite good enough without something else, and the 'search' clause won't come up that often in peasant cubes, If your cube breaks rarity for shocklands, this might gets a bit better.
Aven Trailblazer - The toughness won't be high enough on a consistent enough basis compared to other options.
I'm surprised by the 3 for Banisher Priest because I've never been a fan of it. It seems like a great tempo play, but it's so easy to get blown out by a surprise blocker when the opponent has instant speed removal for this, and it does die to pretty much anything. Even in retail limited where there's a lot less instant speed removal this is pretty risky to play. I can see the appeal, but I don't feel my cube is weaker for not having this. Am I out to lunch here?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Agree with Auramancer=1, and that Riftwatcher is still relevant due to single white cost.
Feel Apex Hawks could be a 1. Flexibility and all. Wind Drake is a perfectly fine play on t3 and this has late game upside plus potential +1/+1 counter synergies.
Unless there is another white card that fills this role?
Riftwatcher is relevant not so much because of the easier cost, but because it's guaranteed lifegain vs removal.
Banisher Priest is great, the "blowout" scenarios are pretty rare and easily mitigated by smart players. A 360 cube needs either Priest or Fiend Hunter if you're just playing cards by power level, so I think it's a definite 3.
Yeah that wall is so very very bad.
Azorius Herald is probably good enough for 1 as an Azorius card, decent combo of evasion + lifegain. Just don't try to Unearth it.
Yeah, it removes a creature until they spend a removal spell on it. That's a tempo play (usually) and a 1 for 1 unless you decide it doesn't have to be.
I dont think fiend hunter is necessarily better either. I agree with io that all you have to do is play safe/smart/aggro and you can make the body relevant a decent number of games.
It's a weird borderline case of a 2 or 3, but I've never really thought to cut it
It's hard forcing thousands of playable magic cards into scores of either 1, 2, or 3... but I'm like 10000% confident that Banisher Priest is significantly better than Ballynock Cohort and whatnot, and should be graded as such.
Aven Riftwatcher I'll chuck to 1 for the reason i0 stated; Whitehawk is probably better (I might remember its actual name sometime), but Riftwatcher might be better in a chumping situation or against removal.
Alabaster Wall - I probably overestimate how much impact damage prevention has on combat. I should throw Squee's Toy in sometime and actually find out. But not this. 0.
Apex Hawks - The 'flexible' cards can be hard to rate. The flexibility can be nice, but often whichever mode you choose you aren't entirely happy. I can't imagine seeing an Apex Hawks in a pack and thinking 'I need a card like that to help me smooth out my curve'. Sometimes these types of cards make it, but I don't think Apex Hawks is one of them. If you want to support +1/+1 counters, you can get Abzan Falconer which isn't flying out of the starting gate but is a better enabler. So I'm inclined to keep this at 0.
Avian Changeling I'll move up to 1 for the incidental lord support which most of us have.
Banisher Priest obviously got a lot of discussion going. Like i0, I don't think blowouts happen that often, but even if you do get blown out you've often got value from the card, as maijikin pointed out. If Banisher Priest is not in a position to enter combat, don't put him in combat and he can act like Journey to Nowhere which is already good enough. But if you are in a position to enter combat, it's effectively a 2 for 1, even if it's only temporary. An aggressive tempo deck that can keep their creatures off the board / tapped down / detained while being able to swing in is where I like to see Banisher Priest. If they use removal on it, you are still at card parity. Yes, the blowouts can happen, but I think that adds to the strategic play of the card.
I also don't think Fiend Hunter is necessarily better, though I've only played with Banisher Priest. Priest has an extra point of power which can matter in the aggro / tempo decks. Hunter can block better so probably wants to be in more defensive decks and may be slightly more resilient to removal depending on your removal suite (Disfigure, Staggershock etc). However I'd also say it fits in decks that want the game to go longer, and even if he doesn't get into combat your opponent has more time to draw an answer.
Also, as creatures get better over time fewer aggro guys will have either 1 toughness or 2 power, making fiend hunters skewed stats less and less relevant.
Riftwatcher should be a 2, it's in a lot of lists and still works well. Like, it's not great at anything but it's way closer to "playable" than "niche" if that's the metric being used.
I can accept Apex Hawk at zero, but then I am a little bit surprised to see Avian Changeling at 1. Weeell, I guess it's correct, since it is much more of a unique card. Maybe on power level they are the same (within the uncertainty of our scientific method), but I guess more cubists are going to be looking for a "low floor playable that can give incidental support to tribal synergies" than to a "flexible wind drake curve filler in white". Carry on.
I'd agree with all of what Phitt77 has to say about Banisher Priest. By virtue of being 2 toughness creature it's much easier to remove than Journey to Nowhere, and my comments about being blown out by instant speed removal on BP assumes that you're not making foolish attacks with BP himself, but making any attack whatsoever into open mana while counting on BP to keep that creature out of the way. Banisher Priest and Fiend Hunter's unreliability due to their vulnerability to removal make it far worse than any Man-O'-War variant available in cube. White doesn't have that many options for removal on a stick, so I can see the appeal here, but white has so many better removal options available that Banisher Priest and Fiend Hunter seem completely unnecessary to me. I'd rather run better removal and better creatures than Banisher Priest just to have removal on a creature.
BP seems like a 2 to me.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
@ phitt
Because even though there are a lot of quote unquote downsides, the times that they are truly very bad are not going to appen in a majority of cases and the time it's good it is REALLY good.
And yes, a 2/2 stays more relevant for trading than a 1/3 if more creatures start looking like 3/1s or 3/2s or even 4/2s (like a bunch of new black 4 drops). When more creatures are 2/1s or 2/2s, a 1/3 has great value. Once you cross those thresholds to 3/2 or 3/1 either it's a wash (that favors a 2/2 sinc eat least it can attack for more) or favors the 2/2 straight up. If you get a bunch of 2/3s then the 1/3 is much better but that isn't what's happening.
@Spike
Actually, once you've gotten a turn or so into the card being on the board, or into a deep board state late game, attacking into open mana is less and less of a foolish thing to do.
Once again, thanks for the all the feedback. Banisher Priest is perhaps the most divisive (but civil) commentary this thread has seen in a while. At this point, I'd just change it to the consensus even if I didn't agree, but it seems close to down the line. So I'll leave it at 3 for now. This is a pretty long form exercise (would you believe we've been at this for 18 months!), so once we get to the 'end' I'm sure there will be lots of comparison of already rated cards (and new cards released in the interim) that it's virtually guaranteed there will be some shifts. Maybe Priest will be on the downgrade list.
4 - Staple - Cards with enough base power that your cube is less powerful from their omission. They are cards that are likely to never rotate out of your cube unless you ban them for being too good. 3 - Strong - These are solid cards that get the job done. Their exclusion is probably an indicator that you are actively not supporting a popular deck / archetype / effect. 2 - Playable - These are good cards, but they are either interchangeable (e.g. lots of removal, aggressive red 2-drops) or are build-around cards that need a little support to be good (Favorable Winds). 1 - Niche - These cards aren't usually considered great, but might be included to support some obscure archetypes, specific interactions, or if going deep on a particular type of deck / archetype / effect. Unplayable - There isn't a reason to play these over other options, except in extreme cases where you are intentionally depowering an effect.
Basilica Guards - 1 Description - It's ok there for stalling while occasionally draining, but it only really fits one game plan. Anchors - Supports - Life Gain Matters / Drain
Benalish Knight - 1 Description - Flash and first strike can make for a nice combination. It's fine, but is only really for more defensive decks. Anchors - Supports -
Blessed Spirits - 2 Description - It's not a bad baseline, and casting even a single enchantment makes it solid. Anchors - Supports -
Burrenton Bombardier - 1 Description - It's reasonable flexibility. If you've already got something evasive in essence you give this card 'haste', though you do open yourself up to getting a 2 for 1 removal. It can act as a combat trick to win a combat, but you still get an upgraded creature. Anchors - Supports - +1/+1 counters
Cloudchaser Kestrel - 2 Description - Good for destroying enchantments while still being a decent evasive threat on its own. Main negative is it is not optional, so it will suck if only you have an enchantment on the board. Anchors - Supports -
Dauntless Cathar - 1 Description - You get 2 bodies, with the first being respectable stats and the second being evasive. Nothing to write home about, but a value card that mildly supports sacrifice or self mill. Anchors - Supports - Sacrifice
Descendant of Kiyomaro - 1 Description - There is some upside here for the right deck. 3/5 that gains life when it blocks can make it hard for your opponent to attack profitably. Still, it isn't quite thrilling enough to draft around, and is probably only worthwhile when paired with blue for some card drawing, or perhaps as a sideboard card against aggro. Anchors - Supports -
Emancipation Angel - 2 Description - Flying and good stats for cost. No flash makes it harder to use, but is still fine for self-bounce decks, or sometimes just getting an extra land drop if you haven't played one that turn. Anchors - Supports - Bounce
Benalish Lancer - A 4/4 with first strike is pretty decent, but not something you want to pay 6 mana for.
Benalish Veteran - I originally though this was one of few white creatures that can attack as a 3/3, but then you could just be playing Cathodian. Maybe if you super fine tuning how power and toughness matches up in your cube.
Benevolent Ancestor - Nyx-Fleece Ram is going to be better most of the time. This can block and help a second blocker survive instead of die, but tha Ram is a mana cheaper and will always gain you life if the opponent doesn't attack.
Chieftan en-Dal - Once this triggers the first strike can't be undone by instant speed removal, but it's not enough to warrant considering this over Archetype of Courage which has more upsides.
Court Street Denizen - The effect means you want to attack. This effect is always turned on for Master of Diversion. There might be occasional times where you get multiple triggers from a token spell or you want to tap blockers but not attack with this guy, but not frequently enough to consider this over Master of Diversion.
Crusader of Odric - The upside seems high, but in reality it is likely to be better than Cathodian infrequently. Even when it gets bigger, you have to be too careful with attacking or blocking with the rest of your team, or he just shrinks.
Dromoka Captain - So when he attacks, he will be a 2/2 first striker, so you would have a worse attack than if you had cast Attended Knight. The upside of repeat attacks might look ok, but the reality of that when he hits the board past turn 3 are greatly diminished.
Eagle of the Watch - It doesn't really fill a role other creatures don’t already do better.
I keep seeing 2/2 flyers for 3 being described as having "decent base stats"/"not bad baseline" ; )
Dromoka Captain seems swingy. If you can play it on turn 3 and have a profitable attack I guess it can do a lot of work. But top-decking this and paying 3 mana for a Tundra wolf that can sometimes suicide-attack for a +1/+1 counter on your other smallest creature... doesn't sound great.
I have a hard time finding anything salvageable among the unplayables this time. I guess Calming Licid is the closest; it can be a creature, or it can always take out their most dangerous attacker by paying WW to hop over. You can also end the effect on their end step to turn your Pacifism-effect into an extra body for an alpha strike. However, probably not good enough, and there are rules issues too. Apparently, the "end this effect" is a "a special action and can’t be responded to".
Jovian, I do lean on statements like 'baseline is ok' or 'base stats not totally embarrassing' somewhat, probably mostly for 2/x's for 2, 2/3's for 3 and 2/2 flyers for 3 without double mana costs. Usually it is attached to creatures that can't get any bigger in the colour without a drawback (e.g. every 2/3 white flyer for 3 costs double white or has a drawback), and have some minor upside you can build around or layer in synergies. I'd expect those types of cards to turn up in decks that at least have the possibility to get some use out of their upside, and rarely in decks that don't have any way to interact with the upside. 2/2 flyers for 3 is probably a bit better because of the evasion that it might make the cut more frequently. But you still wouldn't cube Dawn Gryff. The 'upside' on Apex Hawks is that it can be a... Lucent Liminid (I just struggled to find a 5cc French vanilla 3/3 flyer, nearly everything Wizards has printed has upside). How often is holding out for the +1/+1 counter synergies going to be better than Custodi Squire or Shepherd of the Lost? I don't think the 'flexibility' makes up for it when whichever mode you choose is worse than whatever you could have cast at that cost.
When I first started looking at Licids I thought there could actually be potential, but for the most part I think they are just too slow even if you don't care about rules / complexity.
I think I laid out Benalish Knight for my first attempt at cube but didn't make the final cut (I think). Is there something else that fills the same role (surprise block to eat a guy, and leave a guy behind)? It's like... half a mana more than you want to pay. A 2/1 flash first striker would be pretty nuts. Huh. I went looking for other flash first strikers, and he's it (unless you count Viashino Bladescout)
Blessed Spirits...I feel like incidental upside might happen more frequently than some of the other flying 2/2's but eh, it can go to 1.
To be honest, that last comment on Apex Hawks was more of a joke than anything else. Those comments were just so..visible..after I had argued about the "virtues" of a 2/2 flyer.
The downside of can't block isn't a downside when you're putting it on your opponent's creature. I got decent mileage out of this in an earlier iteration of my cube, and there's nothing else quite like it. It's not as good as Rancor, but I wouldn't say it's unplayable in aggro decks either. I'd give it at least a 1.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I can see Undying Rage being ok actually now that I reconsider it. Either smash face if the way is clear, or get that blocker out of the way because you probably don't care if it is bigger. It can go to 1.
4 - Staple - Cards with enough base power that your cube is less powerful from their omission. They are cards that are likely to never rotate out of your cube unless you ban them for being too good.
3 - Strong - These are solid cards that get the job done. Their exclusion is probably an indicator that you are actively not supporting a popular deck / archetype / effect.
2 - Playable - These are good cards, but they are either interchangeable (e.g. lots of removal, aggressive red 2-drops) or are build-around cards that need a little support to be good (Favorable Winds).
1 - Niche - These cards aren't usually considered great, but might be included to support some obscure archetypes, specific interactions, or if going deep on a particular type of deck / archetype / effect.
Unplayable - There isn't a reason to play these over other options, except in extreme cases where you are intentionally depowering an effect.
Abzan Falconer - 2
Description - Base stats aren't exciting, but there is some reasonable upside to be had. With a mild +1/+1 theme in your cube, you might put this down and then just swing your team over the top, but it is also fine in a board stall where you can afford to outlast it for a few turns; a 4/5 or larger flyer is probably going to be challenging for most decks.
Anchors - +1/+1 counters
Supports -
Archetype of Courage - 2
Description - The upsides look high. Aggro might lay this down before swinging, turning what would be trades into wins. On defense, it can make you very hard to attack into. You need to be aware of the downside though, which is the potential for blowouts if this gets removed after blocks that you were relying on.
Anchors -
Supports - Enchantments Matter
Attended Knight - 2
Description - It's ok if not thrilling. It puts 3 power and toughness on the board for 3 mana, and the first strike is not irrelevant. It's hardly an optimum blink / bounce target, but it has synergies there as well as providing 2 bodies for sacrifice effects, or go wide effects like Soltari Champion.
Anchors -
Supports - Sacrifice, Blink / Bounce
Auramancer - 1
Description - You need to go a little out of your way to support an enchantment theme of some sort (preferably the types that will make their way to the graveyard) to consider it, but it is pretty obvious which decks it supports.
Anchors - Enchantments Matter
Supports -
Aven Riftwatcher - 2
Description - It's decent stats for a flyer. Unchecked, it generates an 8 point life swing, or it might just be a tool in the early game to stall aggro. If you support any life gain matters cards, this is probably worth investing in for the double triggers. You might consider Aerial Responder, but this does provide guaranteed life gain in the face of removal which may be important for your defensive decks, and is easier to cast if you are monitoring your double mana spells.
Anchors -
Supports -
Aven Sunstriker - 1
Description - With equipment or other ways to pump this it can be a solid attacker or blocker. Unpumped, it is still going to die to anything with more than 1 toughness. There is a 5 mana difference between the baseline and megamorphing it, so you probably don't want to rely on that being the default mode. You can go Skyhunter Skirmisher if you don't care for morph.
Anchors - Pants
Supports -
Avian Changeling - 1
Description - It will depend entirely on your density of tribal lords, but you might find this gets almost accidentally better than a Wind Drake often enough.
Anchors -
Supports -
Azorius Herald - 1
Description - You would never play this as just a white card. Life boost plus an unblockable creature is nice, which could you race, though not exciting compared to other Azorius options.
Anchors -
Supports -
Ballynock Cohort - 1
Description - The closest comparison is Attended Knight which also gives you a 2/2 first striker with upside. That card always give you the third power and insurance by being across 2 bodies. Still, a 3 power first striker is going to be better on the attack. Base white aggro decks that are laying down threats quickly may benefit from having this guy on their team, but is probably less consistent than other options.
Anchors -
Supports -
Banisher Priest - 2
Description - Decent removal on a stick for white. High upside in that you remove a threat while laying down one of your own which can be a solid tempo hit. Offset by downside of not really being a 2 for 1, and removal on it in the middle of combat might make things ugly for you depending on what they get back. Still very solid. Fairgrounds Warden is likely better on the basis of an easier casting cost, but you might prefer Banisher Priest if you want a slightly more aggressive version.
Anchors -
Supports -
Auramancer 1. have to go too deep
mindcensor 0
wall -2
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Feel Apex Hawks could be a 1. Flexibility and all. Wind Drake is a perfectly fine play on t3 and this has late game upside plus potential +1/+1 counter synergies.
Unless there is another white card that fills this role?
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)
Banisher Priest is great, the "blowout" scenarios are pretty rare and easily mitigated by smart players. A 360 cube needs either Priest or Fiend Hunter if you're just playing cards by power level, so I think it's a definite 3.
Yeah that wall is so very very bad.
Azorius Herald is probably good enough for 1 as an Azorius card, decent combo of evasion + lifegain. Just don't try to Unearth it.
I think it's a 1 and not a 2, though.
I'd give Avian Changeling a 1. It's not hard to play a few "accidental" tribal lords like Rage Forger or Bramblewood Paragon or Cenn's Tactician (thanks Lorwyn block), and the baseline is still obviously a Wind Drake.
I dont think fiend hunter is necessarily better either. I agree with io that all you have to do is play safe/smart/aggro and you can make the body relevant a decent number of games.
It's a weird borderline case of a 2 or 3, but I've never really thought to cut it
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Aven Riftwatcher is a comfortable 1-2 for me but I'd never play it personally.
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
Aven Riftwatcher I'll chuck to 1 for the reason i0 stated; Whitehawk is probably better (I might remember its actual name sometime), but Riftwatcher might be better in a chumping situation or against removal.
Auramancer at 1.
Aven Mindcensor - 0.
Alabaster Wall - I probably overestimate how much impact damage prevention has on combat. I should throw Squee's Toy in sometime and actually find out. But not this. 0.
Apex Hawks - The 'flexible' cards can be hard to rate. The flexibility can be nice, but often whichever mode you choose you aren't entirely happy. I can't imagine seeing an Apex Hawks in a pack and thinking 'I need a card like that to help me smooth out my curve'. Sometimes these types of cards make it, but I don't think Apex Hawks is one of them. If you want to support +1/+1 counters, you can get Abzan Falconer which isn't flying out of the starting gate but is a better enabler. So I'm inclined to keep this at 0.
Azorius Herald up to 1.
Avian Changeling I'll move up to 1 for the incidental lord support which most of us have.
Banisher Priest obviously got a lot of discussion going. Like i0, I don't think blowouts happen that often, but even if you do get blown out you've often got value from the card, as maijikin pointed out. If Banisher Priest is not in a position to enter combat, don't put him in combat and he can act like Journey to Nowhere which is already good enough. But if you are in a position to enter combat, it's effectively a 2 for 1, even if it's only temporary. An aggressive tempo deck that can keep their creatures off the board / tapped down / detained while being able to swing in is where I like to see Banisher Priest. If they use removal on it, you are still at card parity. Yes, the blowouts can happen, but I think that adds to the strategic play of the card.
I also don't think Fiend Hunter is necessarily better, though I've only played with Banisher Priest. Priest has an extra point of power which can matter in the aggro / tempo decks. Hunter can block better so probably wants to be in more defensive decks and may be slightly more resilient to removal depending on your removal suite (Disfigure, Staggershock etc). However I'd also say it fits in decks that want the game to go longer, and even if he doesn't get into combat your opponent has more time to draw an answer.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
BP seems like a 2 to me.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Because even though there are a lot of quote unquote downsides, the times that they are truly very bad are not going to appen in a majority of cases and the time it's good it is REALLY good.
And yes, a 2/2 stays more relevant for trading than a 1/3 if more creatures start looking like 3/1s or 3/2s or even 4/2s (like a bunch of new black 4 drops). When more creatures are 2/1s or 2/2s, a 1/3 has great value. Once you cross those thresholds to 3/2 or 3/1 either it's a wash (that favors a 2/2 sinc eat least it can attack for more) or favors the 2/2 straight up. If you get a bunch of 2/3s then the 1/3 is much better but that isn't what's happening.
@Spike
Actually, once you've gotten a turn or so into the card being on the board, or into a deep board state late game, attacking into open mana is less and less of a foolish thing to do.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
4 - Staple - Cards with enough base power that your cube is less powerful from their omission. They are cards that are likely to never rotate out of your cube unless you ban them for being too good.
3 - Strong - These are solid cards that get the job done. Their exclusion is probably an indicator that you are actively not supporting a popular deck / archetype / effect.
2 - Playable - These are good cards, but they are either interchangeable (e.g. lots of removal, aggressive red 2-drops) or are build-around cards that need a little support to be good (Favorable Winds).
1 - Niche - These cards aren't usually considered great, but might be included to support some obscure archetypes, specific interactions, or if going deep on a particular type of deck / archetype / effect.
Unplayable - There isn't a reason to play these over other options, except in extreme cases where you are intentionally depowering an effect.
Basilica Guards - 1
Description - It's ok there for stalling while occasionally draining, but it only really fits one game plan.
Anchors -
Supports - Life Gain Matters / Drain
Benalish Knight - 1
Description - Flash and first strike can make for a nice combination. It's fine, but is only really for more defensive decks.
Anchors -
Supports -
Blessed Spirits - 2
Description - It's not a bad baseline, and casting even a single enchantment makes it solid.
Anchors -
Supports -
Burrenton Bombardier - 1
Description - It's reasonable flexibility. If you've already got something evasive in essence you give this card 'haste', though you do open yourself up to getting a 2 for 1 removal. It can act as a combat trick to win a combat, but you still get an upgraded creature.
Anchors -
Supports - +1/+1 counters
Cloudchaser Kestrel - 2
Description - Good for destroying enchantments while still being a decent evasive threat on its own. Main negative is it is not optional, so it will suck if only you have an enchantment on the board.
Anchors -
Supports -
Dauntless Cathar - 1
Description - You get 2 bodies, with the first being respectable stats and the second being evasive. Nothing to write home about, but a value card that mildly supports sacrifice or self mill.
Anchors -
Supports - Sacrifice
Descendant of Kiyomaro - 1
Description - There is some upside here for the right deck. 3/5 that gains life when it blocks can make it hard for your opponent to attack profitably. Still, it isn't quite thrilling enough to draft around, and is probably only worthwhile when paired with blue for some card drawing, or perhaps as a sideboard card against aggro.
Anchors -
Supports -
Emancipation Angel - 2
Description - Flying and good stats for cost. No flash makes it harder to use, but is still fine for self-bounce decks, or sometimes just getting an extra land drop if you haven't played one that turn.
Anchors -
Supports - Bounce
Dromoka Captain seems swingy. If you can play it on turn 3 and have a profitable attack I guess it can do a lot of work. But top-decking this and paying 3 mana for a Tundra wolf that can sometimes suicide-attack for a +1/+1 counter on your other smallest creature... doesn't sound great.
I have a hard time finding anything salvageable among the unplayables this time. I guess Calming Licid is the closest; it can be a creature, or it can always take out their most dangerous attacker by paying WW to hop over. You can also end the effect on their end step to turn your Pacifism-effect into an extra body for an alpha strike. However, probably not good enough, and there are rules issues too. Apparently, the "end this effect" is a "a special action and can’t be responded to".
(typos for Chieftain en-dal and Cho-Arrim Legate. Layout for Disciple of Kangee and its description)
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)
Blessed spirits feels like a 1 to me, but it is finally a good card for this enchantment deck.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
When I first started looking at Licids I thought there could actually be potential, but for the most part I think they are just too slow even if you don't care about rules / complexity.
I think I laid out Benalish Knight for my first attempt at cube but didn't make the final cut (I think). Is there something else that fills the same role (surprise block to eat a guy, and leave a guy behind)? It's like... half a mana more than you want to pay. A 2/1 flash first striker would be pretty nuts. Huh. I went looking for other flash first strikers, and he's it (unless you count Viashino Bladescout)
Blessed Spirits...I feel like incidental upside might happen more frequently than some of the other flying 2/2's but eh, it can go to 1.
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)