It isn't disingenuous to say the deserts hold is better than arrest, plenty of people run the black desert, and a couple of people run the white one or plain desert.
I didn't say it's disingenious, but if you run one or two deserts, "strictly better" in this case means exactly the same in 99% of all situations. You might not run any. It's technically correct to call the card strictly better, but given the marginal upside it doesn't really mean anything in this case.
I mean, you even have to be able to draft a very small number of other cards to even have chance of getting your marginal upside at all.
I can't imagine Banewhip Punisher not being good enough. Whether it is better than tooth collector, I'm not sure, but tooth collector has been very solid for me. Depends on the density of X/1's in your cube I suppose, as if you balways "hit", you'd rather have +1 power than the second ability.
While the +1 power is indeed nice if you hit on curve, I'm starting to think Punisher might be better than I originally thought. The upside of Collector over Punisher on turn 3 is smaller than the upside of Punisher over Collector when you draw it any later in the game.
Puncturing Blow - ??? Description - Is there an argument for a deal 5? I think this is cheapest of those off the top of my head. Maybe a specific metagame choice?
I run Roast as a deal 5 in a de-powered removal environment, and it plays pretty well. That said, I don't think I'd consider it at double the cost and still sorcery speed.
Where did my last comment disappear to? Why does this keep happening to me? Sigh...
Agree with Leelue that Desert's Hold is strictly better in a purely mechanical sense than Arrest, though with a reasonable likelihood of no Deserts being a cube, Arrest has better aesthetics in those environments, so I will list them together and point that out. And if some people are playing it, I should give the White Desert a 1.
Errr... looks like I just forgot blue non-creauture spells entirely back on page 63. Blue keeps getting the shaft, next on the list is going back to do 5cmc blue spells because I somehow skipped them altogether too... I'll have a look at the Hour of Devastation spells in the next couple of days.
EDIT: Though is Riddleform called out because you think it is worth considering? A 3/3 flyer for 2 is certainly good, but not so far above the curve that missing triggers isn't going to hurt. And I wouldn't have thought the scry makes up for it, but maybe there is enough there?
I mean a 3/3 flyer for 3 is unheard of without a drawback (Necrogen Scudder) and is still OK at four mana (Phantom Monster), so at two it's a hell of a deal.
I'd put Riddleform at 1 or 2, it's a pretty solid "spells matter" payoff at its cost.
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. No reason to cube - There isn't a reason to cube these over options. You might find some perfectly 'playable' cards here, but there is little reason to put them into your cube in the first place unless you are intentionally depowering an effect.
Riddleform - 2 Description - A 3/3 flyer for 2 is obviously great, but only if it is on consistently enough. If it is only every other turn it equates to 1.5 damage per turn, but there are a couple of other upsides. With mana open and cards in hand, they might choose not to attack into it, which might make it worth the 2 mana even without a lot of actual activations. It can also provide insurance against sorcery speed removal and sweepers if those are prevalent in your environment. Anchors - Supports -
Supreme Will - 2 Description - It's two good 2-mana effects (Mana Leak & Impulse) tacked onto a modal spell for an extra mana. The flexibility of being a counterspell that can dig you for an answer for a permanent if that is what you need instead is usually worth the extra mana. Anchors - Supports -
Countervailing Winds - You need to do a lot of work to resemble a decent counterspell.
Tragic Lesson - In the vast majority of cases it is worse than plenty of other draw spells. You can make a case for inclusion in landfall heavy themes or with sufficient 'discard for effect' cards in your cube, but they just aren't prevalent enough.
Imaginary Threats - Sleep is going to be more consistent at pushing damage through, as you get two attacks out of it. You can make an argument here that they are forced to attack and you can eat some of their creatures, but sometimes you can just win with Sleep, and Sleep can also buy you a turn if you are behind, which this certainly can't do.
And the blue 5cmc spells that I need to catch up on.
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. No reason to cube - There isn't a reason to cube these over options. You might find some perfectly 'playable' cards here, but there is little reason to put them into your cube in the first place unless you are intentionally depowering an effect.
Force of Will - 3 Description - You two for one yourself most of the time, but it doesn't cost you any mana so it can be a tempo hit for your opponent. A U/x aggro deck is probably happy to play it so it can develop the board while disrupting the opponent… as long as it has a blue card to exile. It's less important at peasant than in rare cubes that are chock full of broken cards, but answering a critical threat for free is still good. Anchors - Supports -
Gush - 3 Description - It's the alternate mode that really makes this card (though you can hard cast it). If you are stuck on 4 lands, you can tap them, return 2 Islands to your hand, then replay one so you cast your 5-drop. Mid to late game, you get to mitigate one of the drawbacks of most draw spells; the tempo loss. In the late game, you can often just cast Gush and then cast 1 or 2 other spells. It also opens up some other lines of play with effects requiring a discard; a Psychatog with a single card in hand might not be too threatening, but if that card is Gush, it can be worth 6 damage. Also consider higher if you care about landfall. Anchors - Supports -
Honden of Seeing Winds - 1 Description - It is one of few cards that, on its own, can draw you a card every turn without any further investment. You could just play Jace's Ingenuity for the same cost for instant cards, but if you've stabilised and heading for the long game you are likely to overwhelm the opponent with card advantage. It can be played on its own, but you are probably only cubing it as part of a Shrines package. Anchors - Shrines Supports -
Jace's Ingenuity - 2 Description - Elegant and efficient. It isn't overly powerful, but is simple and effective enough that it forms a baseline to compare other card draw against. Anchors - Supports -
Mind Control / Persuasion - 3 Description - Control Magic is strictly better, but at 5 mana the ability is still very strong. It can either be a second Control Magic, and some cube owners have been known to 'depower' Control Magic and play this instead. Anchors - Supports -
Pore Over the Pages - 1 Description - Interesting design, in that the untap clause potentially lets you cast something you draw (particularly if you are on more than 5 lands), mitigating some of the drawback of sorcery speed card draw (doing nothing to affect the board that turn), although it nets you less cards than something like Jace's Ingenuity. The discard provides some incidental graveyard matters support, and it will feel more at home in cubes with bouncelands or Wild Growth variants. Anchors - Supports -
Psychic Spiral - 2 Description - It can be a control finisher, as long as you provide it with enough support. If your control decks are full of 1 for 1 trades, or a lot of incidental self-mill or card filtering, then this can be a win condition. Note that it is inherent card disadvantage, and the improvement to card quality will take several turns to equal a card, so don't cube it unless you have decks that can win with it. Anchors - Supports - Graveyard Matters
Quicksilver Geyser - 1??? Description - So, Undo seems a lot better. BUT, this does do instant speed and can hit artifacts and enchantments if it needs to. Enough for niche? Anchors - Supports -
Biting Tether - I suppose it is a somewhat interesting take on Control Magic, but not something you would ever want to cube unless you are depowering the effect.
Corrupted Conscience - You would probably play it, but you probably shouldn’t cube it. It leans more defensively than most Control Magic variants.
Dispersing Orb - 9 mana investment before it does anything AND requires you to sacrifice your board for a short term gain.
Double Take - I wonder if this might actually be good for a reanimator deck cast game 1, given you will be discarding on your first turn, but it is pretty bad.
Drake Umbra - There will be scenarios where this is better than Zephid's Embrace, but not enough to warrant inclusion.
Essence Fracture - I suppose you could cube it if you think Undo is too cheap, but not a card you should generally cube.
Fervent Denial - A counterspell that needs 5 mana before you can cast its first mode is not something you want to play.
Fool's Demise - So one option is you can cast it on one of your creatures, and keep getting it back when it trades / dies, recast and repeat, which might be relevant for sacrifice decks. Or, cast it on an opponents creature so you can gain control of it, repeat. But either way, you really have to have ways to force the creatures to die, otherwise you've invested all this effort in an engine that isn't running.
I don't think pore over the pages is playable.
You can't cast it to dig you out of a hole short on mana, and "Draw 3, discard 1" isn't enough upside over thirst for knowledge/compulsive research/frantic search/even dream cache compared to the downside of only being able to be cast lategame.
So far my impression of riddleform and supreme will is that they are twos
I think Force of Will is a 3. If you run most of the bomb-tier cards (Cloudgoat, Flametongue, Wargear, etc) then having a 0-mana way to answer ANY of them is excellent. It's "color intensive" I guess, but still awesome.
Pore Over the Pages made it in my last update, but I don't think it has seen play (which is due to not being able to cube much rather than the card). I see the position on it not drawing you into lands, but by the same token neither does Jace's Ingenuity which I think most agree is a perfectly playable card. I'll drop it to 1, and I might add an additional comment that the presence of bouncelands or Wild Growth variants in a cube make it a little better.
Guess I should have just kept going with my last post. The rest of the blue 5cmc spells.
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. No reason to cube - There isn't a reason to cube these over options. You might find some perfectly 'playable' cards here, but there is little reason to put them into your cube in the first place unless you are intentionally depowering an effect.
Tidings - 2 Description - Drawing 4 cards is a decent amount; this might be a choice if you want your control decks to take risks and tap out instead of hold counter magic and cast instant speed card draw. If you are in stable position, those extra cards are going to add up. Sits in a similar power level to Jace's Ingenuity and Opportunity, but you'd cube those if you want decks that lean more towards 'draw / go'. Anchors - Supports -
Reverse Engineer - It is going to be very rare that this is better than Concentrate.
Rite of Undoing - Outside of some pretty specific interactions, this is not a card you would ever play.
Rush of Knowledge - Too inconsistent compared to the always on options. It has a reasonable ceiling, but does nothing on an empty board. If you have a Pelakka Wurm out, do you really need to draw 7 cards?
Shrewd Negotiation - You need an artifact which isn't going to happen often enough (though I would note it might work in an environment where people have access to some number of artifact lands as basics.)
Switcheroo - You might not always have the right targets, and sometimes the upgrade will be marginal.
Temporal Fissure - It's sorcery, so taking advantage of the Storm is going to be inconsistent. You could support it with rebound / suspend spells, or any of the myriad of 'free' spells (Mutagenic Growth, Burning-Tree Emissary, Peregrine Drake etc). But it seems like a lot of planning of effort to go to, when you could just have a less convoluted game plan and play Quicksilver Geyser.
Vapor Snare - It's a 'depowered' Control Magic. The only reason to give it consideration is if you have sufficient landfall triggers or similar.
Void Squall - It looks like a tempo finisher, but there are cheaper cards with the 'tap creature, it doesn't untap' effect that is going to have similar results on the game.
Probably a 2. 4 cards is a lot for 3UU, so much so that it will be powerful when you do play it, but it doesn't seem like a necessary inclusion. Calling it a 1 feels weird since that's implying it usually isn't great when in my experience Tidings is a very solid card and very good in the decks that want it which seem to exist, but it's definitely interchangeable with the ones you mention and excluding it is not insane if you have one of the others.
Sounds reasonable to me. I don't think there is a need to dwell on that post.
I'm going to combine everything 6cmc+, starting with black creatures.
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. No reason to cube - There isn't a reason to cube these over options. You might find some perfectly 'playable' cards here, but there is little reason to put them into your cube in the first place unless you are intentionally depowering an effect.
Dark Hatchling - 2 Description - It's not as efficient as some of the other 'ETB, kill something' creatures, but the fact that it flies is an important difference, particularly given that sometimes you can kill the only thing they have that could block it. Anchors - Supports -
Grixis Slavedriver - 1 Description - There is some value to be had, potentially giving you 4 creatures in total, though it isn't a huge impact when you first cast it. Sacrifice themes in a cube makes it value go up, though just having a stream of blockers to trade with in a control deck might be worth it for some decks. You can discard it for 'value' and unearth it, though that feels like playing a 2/2 for 4 mana with a one-shot attack which isn't thrilling. Anchors - Supports - Sacrifice, Graveyard Matters
Gurmag Angler - 3 Description - It is just a vanilla, but it's a decent size vanilla that can come down cheap enough frequently enough, whether you 'curve' into it, or are able to cast it later in the game for only a few mana alongside another spell. Anchors - Supports - Graveyard Matters
Havoc Demon - 1 Description - A 5/5 flyer is pretty solid if it sticks, but it is quite expensive. The upside here compared to other large (and usually cheaper) evasive threats is that if it dies you are probably wiping out most of the opponents board. Cube it if you are looking for a control finisher with insurance, or possibly a reanimation target. If your cube is loaded up on exile or aura-based removal, you might not consider it as highly. Anchors - Supports -
Morkrut Necropod - 2 Description - It's big and menace makes it hard to chump block it. If they don't have 7 points of power on the board to kill it, they are probably in trouble. Once you can cast it, you can probably afford to sacrifice a few lands. Anchors - Supports -
Noxious Dragon - 1 Description - You could get Sengir Vampire at a mana cheaper, but this comes with an insurance plan, and you are likely to have a target often enough. Fine, but doesn't stand out much against other options. Anchors - Supports -
Phyrexian Gargantua - 2 Description - Reasonable value, though a grounded 4/4 for 6 mana isn't amazing, and might be outclassed. Still, drawing a couple of cards can start getting you ahead. Anchors - Supports -
Sibsig Muckdraggers - 1 Description - At 5 mana it is a decent deal, but it fits in less decks that more 'generic' delve creatures which can usually come down early enough in aggro decks. It might also not gel entirely with your other graveyard based decks, particularly if you focus on repeat recursion, given this empties your graveyard. Anchors - Supports - Graveyard Matters
Sultai Scavenger - 2 Description - It only takes a couple of cards to be a Phantom Monster, which is not impressive but playable, and it can get better from there. Anchors - Supports - Graveyard Matters
Twisted Abomination - 1 Description - You would mostly consider it if you have reanimation spells, allowing you to cycle it and then get back a decent size creature with cheap regeneration, which will be hard for your opponent to keep up with. If you don't have any reanimation spells, it can still act as a finisher but 6 mana is a decent amount. Anchors - Supports -
Corpulent Corpse - Shriekmaw is going to be better a million times.
Corrupted Harvester - 6 power with the option to regenerate is interesting, but not for the costs involved; just get a 6 drop that has better survivability in the first place.
Shambling Attendants - It's hard to imagine this being better cast as early as Ukud Cobra or Keepsake Gorgon often enough.
Skeletal Wurm - I like the cheap regeneration cost, but by the time you can cast this you could have cast any number of 5-7 drops that would be more impactful.
Thorntooth Witch - Interesting effect, but isn't going to come up consistently enough in cube.
Thoughtrender Lamia - Not the card you are looking for if you want an enchantment matters theme.
Toxic Nim - You might consider it as a control finisher, but they can always just ignore they first 2 hits (pump spells notwithstanding), and it is otherwise not impactful enough.
Getting the first Delve card in your deck -- even with no special enablers other than casting spells and your creatures dying -- is great, and if you have any sort of loot/dredge they're just absurd.
Yeah you're getting into some tricky territory outside of UB with 2+ delve creatures, but the first one is almost always awesome. Very few decks that can make the mana are casting them for full or anywhere close to full.
Given I may be underestimating delve, what about Sibsig Muckdraggers? I'd guess a 1? The delve doesn't lend itself to pairing it with Eternal Witness etc for grindy recursion, but that is probably a reflection of my play preference...
I could see myself testing it out but it does feel overpriced by maybe one mana in terms of the baseline and obviously, being forced to exile things in your graveyard to play a Gravedigger variant presents a bit of a dilemma. Still, a potentially very underpriced 3/6 with an ETB effect for value is nothing to sneer at.
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
I mean, you even have to be able to draft a very small number of other cards to even have chance of getting your marginal upside at all.
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
While the +1 power is indeed nice if you hit on curve, I'm starting to think Punisher might be better than I originally thought. The upside of Collector over Punisher on turn 3 is smaller than the upside of Punisher over Collector when you draw it any later in the game.
I run Roast as a deal 5 in a de-powered removal environment, and it plays pretty well. That said, I don't think I'd consider it at double the cost and still sorcery speed.
My cube discussion thread
Agree with Leelue that Desert's Hold is strictly better in a purely mechanical sense than Arrest, though with a reasonable likelihood of no Deserts being a cube, Arrest has better aesthetics in those environments, so I will list them together and point that out. And if some people are playing it, I should give the White Desert a 1.
And Puncturing Blow can be a 0.
EDIT: Though is Riddleform called out because you think it is worth considering? A 3/3 flyer for 2 is certainly good, but not so far above the curve that missing triggers isn't going to hurt. And I wouldn't have thought the scry makes up for it, but maybe there is enough there?
I'd put Riddleform at 1 or 2, it's a pretty solid "spells matter" payoff at its cost.
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.
No reason to cube - There isn't a reason to cube these over options. You might find some perfectly 'playable' cards here, but there is little reason to put them into your cube in the first place unless you are intentionally depowering an effect.
Riddleform - 2
Description - A 3/3 flyer for 2 is obviously great, but only if it is on consistently enough. If it is only every other turn it equates to 1.5 damage per turn, but there are a couple of other upsides. With mana open and cards in hand, they might choose not to attack into it, which might make it worth the 2 mana even without a lot of actual activations. It can also provide insurance against sorcery speed removal and sweepers if those are prevalent in your environment.
Anchors -
Supports -
Supreme Will - 2
Description - It's two good 2-mana effects (Mana Leak & Impulse) tacked onto a modal spell for an extra mana. The flexibility of being a counterspell that can dig you for an answer for a permanent if that is what you need instead is usually worth the extra mana.
Anchors -
Supports -
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.
No reason to cube - There isn't a reason to cube these over options. You might find some perfectly 'playable' cards here, but there is little reason to put them into your cube in the first place unless you are intentionally depowering an effect.
Force of Will - 3
Description - You two for one yourself most of the time, but it doesn't cost you any mana so it can be a tempo hit for your opponent. A U/x aggro deck is probably happy to play it so it can develop the board while disrupting the opponent… as long as it has a blue card to exile. It's less important at peasant than in rare cubes that are chock full of broken cards, but answering a critical threat for free is still good.
Anchors -
Supports -
Gush - 3
Description - It's the alternate mode that really makes this card (though you can hard cast it). If you are stuck on 4 lands, you can tap them, return 2 Islands to your hand, then replay one so you cast your 5-drop. Mid to late game, you get to mitigate one of the drawbacks of most draw spells; the tempo loss. In the late game, you can often just cast Gush and then cast 1 or 2 other spells. It also opens up some other lines of play with effects requiring a discard; a Psychatog with a single card in hand might not be too threatening, but if that card is Gush, it can be worth 6 damage. Also consider higher if you care about landfall.
Anchors -
Supports -
Honden of Seeing Winds - 1
Description - It is one of few cards that, on its own, can draw you a card every turn without any further investment. You could just play Jace's Ingenuity for the same cost for instant cards, but if you've stabilised and heading for the long game you are likely to overwhelm the opponent with card advantage. It can be played on its own, but you are probably only cubing it as part of a Shrines package.
Anchors - Shrines
Supports -
Jace's Ingenuity - 2
Description - Elegant and efficient. It isn't overly powerful, but is simple and effective enough that it forms a baseline to compare other card draw against.
Anchors -
Supports -
Mind Control / Persuasion - 3
Description - Control Magic is strictly better, but at 5 mana the ability is still very strong. It can either be a second Control Magic, and some cube owners have been known to 'depower' Control Magic and play this instead.
Anchors -
Supports -
Pore Over the Pages - 1
Description - Interesting design, in that the untap clause potentially lets you cast something you draw (particularly if you are on more than 5 lands), mitigating some of the drawback of sorcery speed card draw (doing nothing to affect the board that turn), although it nets you less cards than something like Jace's Ingenuity. The discard provides some incidental graveyard matters support, and it will feel more at home in cubes with bouncelands or Wild Growth variants.
Anchors -
Supports -
Psychic Spiral - 2
Description - It can be a control finisher, as long as you provide it with enough support. If your control decks are full of 1 for 1 trades, or a lot of incidental self-mill or card filtering, then this can be a win condition. Note that it is inherent card disadvantage, and the improvement to card quality will take several turns to equal a card, so don't cube it unless you have decks that can win with it.
Anchors -
Supports - Graveyard Matters
Quicksilver Geyser - 1???
Description - So, Undo seems a lot better. BUT, this does do instant speed and can hit artifacts and enchantments if it needs to. Enough for niche?
Anchors -
Supports -
You can't cast it to dig you out of a hole short on mana, and "Draw 3, discard 1" isn't enough upside over thirst for knowledge/compulsive research/frantic search/even dream cache compared to the downside of only being able to be cast lategame.
So far my impression of riddleform and supreme will is that they are twos
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
--
Lost in the Mist is garbage
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
Riddleform, Supreme Will can go to 2, and Force of Will to 3.
WiJ
Peasant 540 Cube
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.
No reason to cube - There isn't a reason to cube these over options. You might find some perfectly 'playable' cards here, but there is little reason to put them into your cube in the first place unless you are intentionally depowering an effect.
Tidings - 2
Description - Drawing 4 cards is a decent amount; this might be a choice if you want your control decks to take risks and tap out instead of hold counter magic and cast instant speed card draw. If you are in stable position, those extra cards are going to add up. Sits in a similar power level to Jace's Ingenuity and Opportunity, but you'd cube those if you want decks that lean more towards 'draw / go'.
Anchors -
Supports -
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
I'm going to combine everything 6cmc+, starting with black creatures.
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.
No reason to cube - There isn't a reason to cube these over options. You might find some perfectly 'playable' cards here, but there is little reason to put them into your cube in the first place unless you are intentionally depowering an effect.
Dark Hatchling - 2
Description - It's not as efficient as some of the other 'ETB, kill something' creatures, but the fact that it flies is an important difference, particularly given that sometimes you can kill the only thing they have that could block it.
Anchors -
Supports -
Grixis Slavedriver - 1
Description - There is some value to be had, potentially giving you 4 creatures in total, though it isn't a huge impact when you first cast it. Sacrifice themes in a cube makes it value go up, though just having a stream of blockers to trade with in a control deck might be worth it for some decks. You can discard it for 'value' and unearth it, though that feels like playing a 2/2 for 4 mana with a one-shot attack which isn't thrilling.
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Supports - Sacrifice, Graveyard Matters
Gurmag Angler - 3
Description - It is just a vanilla, but it's a decent size vanilla that can come down cheap enough frequently enough, whether you 'curve' into it, or are able to cast it later in the game for only a few mana alongside another spell.
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Supports - Graveyard Matters
Havoc Demon - 1
Description - A 5/5 flyer is pretty solid if it sticks, but it is quite expensive. The upside here compared to other large (and usually cheaper) evasive threats is that if it dies you are probably wiping out most of the opponents board. Cube it if you are looking for a control finisher with insurance, or possibly a reanimation target. If your cube is loaded up on exile or aura-based removal, you might not consider it as highly.
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Morkrut Necropod - 2
Description - It's big and menace makes it hard to chump block it. If they don't have 7 points of power on the board to kill it, they are probably in trouble. Once you can cast it, you can probably afford to sacrifice a few lands.
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Noxious Dragon - 1
Description - You could get Sengir Vampire at a mana cheaper, but this comes with an insurance plan, and you are likely to have a target often enough. Fine, but doesn't stand out much against other options.
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Phyrexian Gargantua - 2
Description - Reasonable value, though a grounded 4/4 for 6 mana isn't amazing, and might be outclassed. Still, drawing a couple of cards can start getting you ahead.
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Sibsig Muckdraggers - 1
Description - At 5 mana it is a decent deal, but it fits in less decks that more 'generic' delve creatures which can usually come down early enough in aggro decks. It might also not gel entirely with your other graveyard based decks, particularly if you focus on repeat recursion, given this empties your graveyard.
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Supports - Graveyard Matters
Sultai Scavenger - 2
Description - It only takes a couple of cards to be a Phantom Monster, which is not impressive but playable, and it can get better from there.
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Supports - Graveyard Matters
Twisted Abomination - 1
Description - You would mostly consider it if you have reanimation spells, allowing you to cycle it and then get back a decent size creature with cheap regeneration, which will be hard for your opponent to keep up with. If you don't have any reanimation spells, it can still act as a finisher but 6 mana is a decent amount.
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Getting the first Delve card in your deck -- even with no special enablers other than casting spells and your creatures dying -- is great, and if you have any sort of loot/dredge they're just absurd.
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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
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Given I may be underestimating delve, what about Sibsig Muckdraggers? I'd guess a 1? The delve doesn't lend itself to pairing it with Eternal Witness etc for grindy recursion, but that is probably a reflection of my play preference...