The description for Crystalline Nautilus lacks a mention that it is susceptible to all burn, including divisibleoptions, which includes a fair amount of cards not in the category of "would kill it anyway". 1 might still be the correct grade though.
I think Drift of phantasms deserves a 1. To quote the recent Making Magic article: "[Transmute'] biggest issue is that the ability is worth a good chunk of the value of the card, so making transmute cards that look good on the surface is difficult". Drift can transmute to Necromancy or Frantic Search in UB reanimator, Propaganda or Oblivion Ring in a control deck, etc. It is also possible that it can help enable some "combo" decks, or decks that are reliant on specific key cards to work.
Typo:In the description for Disruptive Student, you write "Disruptive Student strictly better"
I dropped Fettergeist at the last minute, it was right on the border for me, I have no issues as a 2.
Guard Gomozoa - I think I overvalue decent blockers. I like them, but I don't think that is the consensus, so it can drop to 2.
Headless Skaab was another one I had on the border between 1 and 2. Unless someone wants to argue and save it, it can go down to 1.
Frost Lynx - I love this guy, I'm probably biased. Prior to Stitched Mangler I would have noticed if this was missing, but you are right in that there are other options for similar effects (though the fact that this builds your board I think pushes it a little ahead of some of those others).
Horzion Drake - I'm probably being a bit harsh on heavy colour commitments. In hindsight this guy is fine and can be a 2.
Court Hussar - For me, I see getting something as effective as a close analogue in mono-colour, which makes me shy away from it. But that might just be me. Err on the side of inclusion is my motto, so I'll make it a 1.
Dewdrop Spy was a victim of my 'double-blue arrgh!' thinking. Yeah, it's solid. How would we compare it to Silumgar's Sorcerer and Pestermite? They have other upsides, compared to being able to run this into a spirit token.
Drift of Phantasms can go to 1 for reasons mentioned.
Frost Raptor... I think the answer is no? Paying 2 for shroud doesn't seem worth the upside of other flyers with the same stats. In the early game, you probably don't have the 2 mana available at all times, so it isn't really protected. Late game when you might have the mana lying around, they probably have other targets for whatever they were going to throw at it. I'm all for finding niches for cards, but this one just doesn't seem to add anything significant to your cube compared to a bunch of other flyers at this cost.
Dream Thief, I'm all for going deep on archetypes, so I don't mind this being a 1. But then the anal retentive in me wants to go back and review all the 1 mana cantrips to see if there are any other enablers...
Yeah, Frost Raptor would still not be good enough even if the mana its ability required was generic. But I agree with _i0 that Guard Gomazoa should go all the way down to 1. Wall of Denial this is not because that wall's main benefit over all alternatives is its shroud. Cards like the Gomazoa keep you from losing for a bit but they never contribute directly to winning and unlike Wall of Denial, they are unreliable at what they do.
Frost Raptor is literally 40% of a Morphling, though Its appeal really comes for hard control decks -- it's a reasonable on-curve thing that also has upside on T9 or something. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I've had a lot of decks recently that just run out of threats and lose to deck size, and something like Frosty seems kinda sweet there.
Frost Raptor is literally 40% of a Morphling, though Its appeal really comes for hard control decks -- it's a reasonable on-curve thing that also has upside on T9 or something. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I've had a lot of decks recently that just run out of threats and lose to deck size, and something like Frosty seems kinda sweet there.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'lose to deck size'? Oh... do you mean threats get dealt with by opposing removal and you deck yourself because you can't find threats that stick?
Cloudform seems like it would be better for an evasive hard to target creature at this cost. Slightly harder casting cost, but the hexproof is always on. Marginal downside that the enchantment can be removed and the bear left behind can then be dealt with, but on balance I'd say that is more reliable than holding up mana for Frost Raptor. Plus minor upside if you manifest something relevant you can actually flip up.
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.
Illusionary Servant - 1 Description - Evasive and aggressive stats. Many times if your opponent was going to target it they were trying to kill it anyway. Reasonable option for cheap flyer with a drawback if you are looking for density in those. Anchors - Supports -
Illusory Angel - 2 Description - It's conditional, but played turn 4 or 5 alongside something else is solid board development. Sometimes you might be able to live the dream of a turn 3 play alongside Burning-Tree Emissary. Also synergises with suspend or rebound cards. Anchors - Supports -
Jeskai Windscout - 1 Description - You need to support decks that can take advantage of the prowess to make it worth it, but it can be fine there. Anchors - Supports -
Jhessian Thief - 2 Description - A decent saboteur. The base power is not amazing, but with some mana open, you can swing in threatening a combat trick / prowess trigger, or provide it some evasion to keep the cards flowing. Anchors - Supports - Saboteurs
Jorubai Murk Lurker - 1 Description - As a Dimir card, the 2/4 stats are passable as a defensive card. It can be fine against aggro, and the lifelink can thwart some attacks even if you can't outright kill the threats. Once you've developed your board, it can be used to start racing, especially if you have something evasive. However while you don't need that many activations to have a decent effect on your life total, the lifelink is still mana intensive. Anchors - Supports -
Lantern Spirit - 1 Description - With mana open you can dodge removal, or block whatever your opponent throws at you and bounce. That is still a 4 mana investment each turn though. Sadly there aren't enough peasant cards that trigger on other creatures entering the battlefield to really take advantage of it. Anchors - Supports -
Latch Seeker - 3 Description - 3 power for 3 mana with the ultimate form of evasion, while being happy to block if the situation demands it. Great if you want blue aggro to be a thing, but also ok as a clock in control decks if you've otherwise got board control. Anchors - Supports -
Man-o-War - 4 Description - Great in aggro decks played on curve to keep the board clear for your team to get through for damage, essentially being virtual card advantage if they never get the chance to play out their cards. Still fine in control decks against aggro to keep threats off the board long enough to hit your land drops and hit your bigger spells. Anchors - Supports -
Marang River Prowler - 2 Description - Unblockable damage, plus the ability to play repeatedly. Not being able to block means you can't just recast defensively, but it is resilient to removal. Could fit into a Dimir sacrifice deck or graveyard based deck to get maximum benefit. Attacking with it, saccing to something like Vampiric Rites, recasting the same turn, repeat next turn sounds fun. Anchors - Supports - Sacrifice, Graveyard Matters
Hover Barrier - Fog Bank or Guard Gomazoa are likely to fill this role better; minor upside here is it is out of burn range and the occasional midrange trampler, but they can block almost anything. Or go for some flexibility with Drift of Phantasms.
Krovikan Sorcerer - It's not terrible in a Dimir deck that intends to pitch black cards, but you would still probably play Merfolk Looter for the cheaper casting cost even in that deck.
Leech Bonder - So you attack with it, activate it to make it a 2/2 that turn and give an opponents creature -1/-1. Tthe average case is that it will still trade that turn and won't become a 3/3, which doesn't seem great.
Murk Lurker 1, it's just sort of awkward. You want to be slow to have spare mana for lifelink and to take advantage of the 2/4 body, but you need more creatures for its ability to be at its best. It'll basically never show up in a Dimir section, similar to Court Hussar for Azorius, though it still does something good-ish.
Leech Bonder would be cutesy with a tap activation, but the untap stuff is way too awkward for it to be playable.
Man-O-War is whatever we gave Vampire Nighthawk. It's just short of what I want to first-pick, but still an absolute staple.
--
Windscout (and the Shadows Over Innistrad version) should be worth a 1 for the "prowess" archetype.
Murk Lurker 1, it's just sort of awkward. You want to be slow to have spare mana for lifelink and to take advantage of the 2/4 body, but you need more creatures for its ability to be at its best. It'll basically never show up in a Dimir section, similar to Court Hussar for Azorius, though it still does something good-ish.
Leech Bonder would be cutesy with a tap activation, but the untap stuff is way too awkward for it to be playable.
Man-O-War is whatever we gave Vampire Nighthawk. It's just short of what I want to first-pick, but still an absolute staple.
--
Windscout (and the Shadows Over Innistrad version) should be worth a 1 for the "prowess" archetype.
My only experience with Murk Lurker was in one of the old magic ipad games, but it could really turn some games around there. It might not be as good in cube, especially faster cubes, but I could see it working out. But I don't mind dropping it.
I figured Leech Bonder doesn't cut the mustard, but it's a bit weird to evaluate.
Is Windscout good enough even if you are pushing prowess? I feel like it just doesn't quite get there, but I suppose it also isn't that much worse than some of the Wind Drake variants we've been discussing.
There are cards like Knights of the Mist where the best case scenario does look pretty awesome... sometimes a part of me wants to include these dumb cards just so that type of play can happen once so I can claim it actually happened and then remove it. Awesome stories aren't worth the 99% when it will be bad though.
I don't think playing 3 mana for a 1 turn chance at 2 damage and a thing to sac is worth kathari screechers asking price. No matter how deep you go on either theme, there are just better cards
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.
Mistblade Shinobi - 1 Description - It is probably going to be inconsistent and getting additional triggers after the first may be challenging, but could see play in a skies or evasive deck, or support for self-bounce decks. Anchors - Supports - Self-bounce
Neurok Commando - 1 Description - Because you can't target it yourself it makes it harder to get through, but is a little better against control decks full of removal or lockdown effects. Can see play if you support it with other tempo plays, but other saboteurs are likely to be a little more universally playable and consistent. Anchors - Supports - Saboteurs
Neurok Invisimancer - 1 Description - Good fit for an unblockable archetype, and can help get through saboteur creatures, but doesn't stand out elsewhere. Anchors - Supports - Pants / Voltron
Niblis of the Breath - 1 Description - It's not the most efficient, but it is flexible, being able to lock something down if you can't swing in. Anchors - Supports -
Nimbus Naiad - 2 Description - While the baseline is not amazing, being able to bestow it more than makes up for it, essentially giving you evasive hasty +2/+2 that turn. Anchors - Supports -
Pestermite - 2 Description - Can play multiple roles; flash in before combat to tap down an attacker, basic flash in as a surprise blocker or untap another blocker, flash in at end of turn to tap down something they intended to block with while putting an attacker on the board they weren't expecting. Pretty solid given it is also evasive. Anchors - Supports -
Phantom Warrior - 1 Description - It's fine if you really want to push unblockable creatures in blue. You would go Latch Seeker before this and Neurok Invisimancer, unless the second point of toughness is a really important consideration for your removal suite. Anchors - Supports -
Prodigal Sorcerer / Rootwater Hunter / Zuran Spellcaster - 1 Description - They are a little slow, but repeat direct damage with a one-time investment is still fine. Marginally better if your environment has a few first strikers, or other direct damage to pair them with. Anchors - Supports - Pinger Control
Psychic Membrane - It's looks anti-aggro, but a defender with only 3 toughness costing 3 mana isn't quite good enough. Wall of Tears is a better option.
Mistblade can be a 1 for supporting self-bounce/flicker I guess
Invisimancer feels closer to 1 than 2 but it's close. It's about as good as Phantom Warrior, though none of those csrds (like 2-power 3-drop blue shadow dudes) are really needed in CUbe
Niblis is a 1 or a low 2, playable flying body that's a tapper when it would be useless otherwise
Pestermite 2, it's just not a high enough of a pick to be a 3.
I'll make those adjustments, but I'll pick up Pestermite. I appreciate it is not a high pick, but I don't think that automatically means it isn't a 3. It seems like a good 'glue' card that most blue decks will want even if it isn't a high pick. Unless anyone else wants to push for it, I'll make it a 2 though.
Have made the relevant updates. I might be ambitious with a couple of these 1's, but they could fit specific environments.
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.
Riptide Chimera - 1 Description - Narrow. Only in enchantment heavy environment, and even then would need the right enchantments to support it (Sarcomancy comes to mind). Anchors - Enchantment Matters Supports -
Ruination Guide - 1 Description - Only if you are pushing a colorless theme or have a lot of artifact creatures. Anchors - Colorless Matters Supports -
Sage of Fables - 1 Description - Because it doesn't come with any of its own +1/+1 counters it's a little narrow, but can be fine as a draw engine in the right deck. Nice with undying creatures and Lorescale Coatl. Anchors - +1/+1 counters Supports -
Sea Drake - 2 Description - Evasive 4 power for 3 mana is worth investigating as an aggressive option. You will almost never want to play this on turn 3; it's more likely to come down a few turns later alongside something else, or when you miss a land drop that you can replay. It comes with an inherent risk/reward proposition, but it does get a little worse the more bounce or flicker effects in your cube your opponent could target it with, and marginally better if you have landfall effects in your cube. Anchors - Aggro Supports -
Sea Gate Oracle - 2 Description - A solid option to support control decks. The toughness is just enough to hold off some early aggro creatures, and even if you lose it in combat, you are still at card parity and you get the opportunity for card quality. Anchors - Supports -
Seasinger - 1 Description - Most cube designers tend to avoid hosers, but this can play out a little differently than most if you don't mind having some sideboard cards in your cube. It doesn't prevent you from playing the hosed colour, and it doesn't exactly hose blue; you can steal any colour creature (number of islands permitting) which can be very strong. Anchors - Supports -
Serendib Efreet - 4 Description - Perhaps blues premier aggro creature that is also playable in all but the most defensive decks. Great stats for the cost with evasion, with a very manageable upkeep cost. Anchors - Supports -
Shaper Parasite - 1 Description - It is a little on the expensive side, but it can be a 2 for 1 in blue. Anchors - Supports -
Silumgar Sorcerer - 2 Description - It isn't likely to be a massive upgrade over something else you sacrifice, but it does have evasion and provides some synergy with sacrificial lambs and token strategies. You probably won't want to play it without exploiting often, but a 2/1 flyer with flash isn't terrible if they don't cast a creature spell for you to counter. Anchors - Supports -
Spiketail Drakeling - 2 Description - It's a slightly harder to cast Wind Drake, but you are constantly threatening to counter their best spell while also presenting a threat. You might not be able to counter anything in the late game, but at least you still get a creature. Anchors - Supports -
Riptide Survivor - The best case scenario is enticing; you either have an empty hand or a couple of useless cards, and for 6 mana you get to put a creature on the board and draw 3 cards. A 4-for-1 is pretty awesome, but it is going to be a lot worse than that most of the time.
Rishadan Cutpurse - Too inconsistent and leaves behind a bad body for the cost.
Sage's Row Denizen - It isn't going to be a win condition, which relegates it to self-mill, in which case there are options that have enter the battlefield triggers which are better.
Simic Fluxmage - There are some best case scenarios where this will be good, but poor base stats and requiring 2 mana to activate the ability make this unlikely to be a reliable performer.
The description for Crystalline Nautilus lacks a mention that it is susceptible to all burn, including divisible options, which includes a fair amount of cards not in the category of "would kill it anyway". 1 might still be the correct grade though.
I think Drift of phantasms deserves a 1. To quote the recent Making Magic article: "[Transmute'] biggest issue is that the ability is worth a good chunk of the value of the card, so making transmute cards that look good on the surface is difficult". Drift can transmute to Necromancy or Frantic Search in UB reanimator, Propaganda or Oblivion Ring in a control deck, etc. It is also possible that it can help enable some "combo" decks, or decks that are reliant on specific key cards to work.
Typo:In the description for Disruptive Student, you write "Disruptive Student strictly better"
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)
I dropped Fettergeist at the last minute, it was right on the border for me, I have no issues as a 2.
Guard Gomozoa - I think I overvalue decent blockers. I like them, but I don't think that is the consensus, so it can drop to 2.
Headless Skaab was another one I had on the border between 1 and 2. Unless someone wants to argue and save it, it can go down to 1.
Frost Lynx - I love this guy, I'm probably biased. Prior to Stitched Mangler I would have noticed if this was missing, but you are right in that there are other options for similar effects (though the fact that this builds your board I think pushes it a little ahead of some of those others).
Horzion Drake - I'm probably being a bit harsh on heavy colour commitments. In hindsight this guy is fine and can be a 2.
Court Hussar - For me, I see getting something as effective as a close analogue in mono-colour, which makes me shy away from it. But that might just be me. Err on the side of inclusion is my motto, so I'll make it a 1.
Dewdrop Spy was a victim of my 'double-blue arrgh!' thinking. Yeah, it's solid. How would we compare it to Silumgar's Sorcerer and Pestermite? They have other upsides, compared to being able to run this into a spirit token.
Drift of Phantasms can go to 1 for reasons mentioned.
Frost Raptor... I think the answer is no? Paying 2 for shroud doesn't seem worth the upside of other flyers with the same stats. In the early game, you probably don't have the 2 mana available at all times, so it isn't really protected. Late game when you might have the mana lying around, they probably have other targets for whatever they were going to throw at it. I'm all for finding niches for cards, but this one just doesn't seem to add anything significant to your cube compared to a bunch of other flyers at this cost.
Dream Thief, I'm all for going deep on archetypes, so I don't mind this being a 1. But then the anal retentive in me wants to go back and review all the 1 mana cantrips to see if there are any other enablers...
I'll add more detail to Crystalline Nautilus.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'lose to deck size'? Oh... do you mean threats get dealt with by opposing removal and you deck yourself because you can't find threats that stick?
Cloudform seems like it would be better for an evasive hard to target creature at this cost. Slightly harder casting cost, but the hexproof is always on. Marginal downside that the enchantment can be removed and the bear left behind can then be dealt with, but on balance I'd say that is more reliable than holding up mana for Frost Raptor. Plus minor upside if you manifest something relevant you can actually flip up.
But yeah, I forgot Cloudform existed and it pretty much obsoletes the Raptor.
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
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.
Illusionary Servant - 1
Description - Evasive and aggressive stats. Many times if your opponent was going to target it they were trying to kill it anyway. Reasonable option for cheap flyer with a drawback if you are looking for density in those.
Anchors -
Supports -
Illusory Angel - 2
Description - It's conditional, but played turn 4 or 5 alongside something else is solid board development. Sometimes you might be able to live the dream of a turn 3 play alongside Burning-Tree Emissary. Also synergises with suspend or rebound cards.
Anchors -
Supports -
Jeskai Windscout - 1
Description - You need to support decks that can take advantage of the prowess to make it worth it, but it can be fine there.
Anchors -
Supports -
Jhessian Thief - 2
Description - A decent saboteur. The base power is not amazing, but with some mana open, you can swing in threatening a combat trick / prowess trigger, or provide it some evasion to keep the cards flowing.
Anchors -
Supports - Saboteurs
Jorubai Murk Lurker - 1
Description - As a Dimir card, the 2/4 stats are passable as a defensive card. It can be fine against aggro, and the lifelink can thwart some attacks even if you can't outright kill the threats. Once you've developed your board, it can be used to start racing, especially if you have something evasive. However while you don't need that many activations to have a decent effect on your life total, the lifelink is still mana intensive.
Anchors -
Supports -
Lantern Spirit - 1
Description - With mana open you can dodge removal, or block whatever your opponent throws at you and bounce. That is still a 4 mana investment each turn though. Sadly there aren't enough peasant cards that trigger on other creatures entering the battlefield to really take advantage of it.
Anchors -
Supports -
Latch Seeker - 3
Description - 3 power for 3 mana with the ultimate form of evasion, while being happy to block if the situation demands it. Great if you want blue aggro to be a thing, but also ok as a clock in control decks if you've otherwise got board control.
Anchors -
Supports -
Man-o-War - 4
Description - Great in aggro decks played on curve to keep the board clear for your team to get through for damage, essentially being virtual card advantage if they never get the chance to play out their cards. Still fine in control decks against aggro to keep threats off the board long enough to hit your land drops and hit your bigger spells.
Anchors -
Supports -
Marang River Prowler - 2
Description - Unblockable damage, plus the ability to play repeatedly. Not being able to block means you can't just recast defensively, but it is resilient to removal. Could fit into a Dimir sacrifice deck or graveyard based deck to get maximum benefit. Attacking with it, saccing to something like Vampiric Rites, recasting the same turn, repeat next turn sounds fun.
Anchors -
Supports - Sacrifice, Graveyard Matters
Murk Lurker 1, it's just sort of awkward. You want to be slow to have spare mana for lifelink and to take advantage of the 2/4 body, but you need more creatures for its ability to be at its best. It'll basically never show up in a Dimir section, similar to Court Hussar for Azorius, though it still does something good-ish.
Leech Bonder would be cutesy with a tap activation, but the untap stuff is way too awkward for it to be playable.
Man-O-War is whatever we gave Vampire Nighthawk. It's just short of what I want to first-pick, but still an absolute staple.
--
Windscout (and the Shadows Over Innistrad version) should be worth a 1 for the "prowess" archetype.
Opponent: T2 Knight of Meadowgrain
You: T2 Knight of the Mists
OHHHHHH YEAHHHHHHHH
My only experience with Murk Lurker was in one of the old magic ipad games, but it could really turn some games around there. It might not be as good in cube, especially faster cubes, but I could see it working out. But I don't mind dropping it.
I figured Leech Bonder doesn't cut the mustard, but it's a bit weird to evaluate.
Is Windscout good enough even if you are pushing prowess? I feel like it just doesn't quite get there, but I suppose it also isn't that much worse than some of the Wind Drake variants we've been discussing.
There are cards like Knights of the Mist where the best case scenario does look pretty awesome... sometimes a part of me wants to include these dumb cards just so that type of play can happen once so I can claim it actually happened and then remove it. Awesome stories aren't worth the 99% when it will be bad though.
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
My cube discussion thread
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.
Mistblade Shinobi - 1
Description - It is probably going to be inconsistent and getting additional triggers after the first may be challenging, but could see play in a skies or evasive deck, or support for self-bounce decks.
Anchors -
Supports - Self-bounce
Neurok Commando - 1
Description - Because you can't target it yourself it makes it harder to get through, but is a little better against control decks full of removal or lockdown effects. Can see play if you support it with other tempo plays, but other saboteurs are likely to be a little more universally playable and consistent.
Anchors -
Supports - Saboteurs
Neurok Invisimancer - 1
Description - Good fit for an unblockable archetype, and can help get through saboteur creatures, but doesn't stand out elsewhere.
Anchors -
Supports - Pants / Voltron
Niblis of the Breath - 1
Description - It's not the most efficient, but it is flexible, being able to lock something down if you can't swing in.
Anchors -
Supports -
Nimbus Naiad - 2
Description - While the baseline is not amazing, being able to bestow it more than makes up for it, essentially giving you evasive hasty +2/+2 that turn.
Anchors -
Supports -
Pestermite - 2
Description - Can play multiple roles; flash in before combat to tap down an attacker, basic flash in as a surprise blocker or untap another blocker, flash in at end of turn to tap down something they intended to block with while putting an attacker on the board they weren't expecting. Pretty solid given it is also evasive.
Anchors -
Supports -
Phantom Warrior - 1
Description - It's fine if you really want to push unblockable creatures in blue. You would go Latch Seeker before this and Neurok Invisimancer, unless the second point of toughness is a really important consideration for your removal suite.
Anchors -
Supports -
Prodigal Sorcerer / Rootwater Hunter / Zuran Spellcaster - 1
Description - They are a little slow, but repeat direct damage with a one-time investment is still fine. Marginally better if your environment has a few first strikers, or other direct damage to pair them with.
Anchors -
Supports - Pinger Control
Mistblade can be a 1 for supporting self-bounce/flicker I guess
Invisimancer feels closer to 1 than 2 but it's close. It's about as good as Phantom Warrior, though none of those csrds (like 2-power 3-drop blue shadow dudes) are really needed in CUbe
Niblis is a 1 or a low 2, playable flying body that's a tapper when it would be useless otherwise
Pestermite 2, it's just not a high enough of a pick to be a 3.
Blue pingers 1, familiar 0
It's also far more relevant that you have other 1 point removal to back up pingers than first strike
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
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
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
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.
Riptide Chimera - 1
Description - Narrow. Only in enchantment heavy environment, and even then would need the right enchantments to support it (Sarcomancy comes to mind).
Anchors - Enchantment Matters
Supports -
Ruination Guide - 1
Description - Only if you are pushing a colorless theme or have a lot of artifact creatures.
Anchors - Colorless Matters
Supports -
Sage of Fables - 1
Description - Because it doesn't come with any of its own +1/+1 counters it's a little narrow, but can be fine as a draw engine in the right deck. Nice with undying creatures and Lorescale Coatl.
Anchors - +1/+1 counters
Supports -
Sea Drake - 2
Description - Evasive 4 power for 3 mana is worth investigating as an aggressive option. You will almost never want to play this on turn 3; it's more likely to come down a few turns later alongside something else, or when you miss a land drop that you can replay. It comes with an inherent risk/reward proposition, but it does get a little worse the more bounce or flicker effects in your cube your opponent could target it with, and marginally better if you have landfall effects in your cube.
Anchors - Aggro
Supports -
Sea Gate Oracle - 2
Description - A solid option to support control decks. The toughness is just enough to hold off some early aggro creatures, and even if you lose it in combat, you are still at card parity and you get the opportunity for card quality.
Anchors -
Supports -
Seasinger - 1
Description - Most cube designers tend to avoid hosers, but this can play out a little differently than most if you don't mind having some sideboard cards in your cube. It doesn't prevent you from playing the hosed colour, and it doesn't exactly hose blue; you can steal any colour creature (number of islands permitting) which can be very strong.
Anchors -
Supports -
Serendib Efreet - 4
Description - Perhaps blues premier aggro creature that is also playable in all but the most defensive decks. Great stats for the cost with evasion, with a very manageable upkeep cost.
Anchors -
Supports -
Shaper Parasite - 1
Description - It is a little on the expensive side, but it can be a 2 for 1 in blue.
Anchors -
Supports -
Silumgar Sorcerer - 2
Description - It isn't likely to be a massive upgrade over something else you sacrifice, but it does have evasion and provides some synergy with sacrificial lambs and token strategies. You probably won't want to play it without exploiting often, but a 2/1 flyer with flash isn't terrible if they don't cast a creature spell for you to counter.
Anchors -
Supports -
Spiketail Drakeling - 2
Description - It's a slightly harder to cast Wind Drake, but you are constantly threatening to counter their best spell while also presenting a threat. You might not be able to counter anything in the late game, but at least you still get a creature.
Anchors -
Supports -