Elusive Spellfist is quite similar in the spells matters archetype, actually its even better because it has 1 power. (0/x might block some stuff, but doesnt prevent attacks which is crucial.)
Spellfist looked quite good for that deck, but actually it underperformed. The archetype wants to remove blockers with burn or bounce and hit hard with its creatures like Nivix Cyclops.
You dont want to fill the deck with slow and squishy creatures, they need to have a big impact.
The Alchemyst works best in slow, grindy matches, like ur control, but it doesnt hit the powerlevel for cubes.
Al probably wants to point out spellfist can't block and do damage in the same round. A vanilla 0/3 is only just barely a relevant blocker, though.
I thought of the spellfist as well when thermo-alchemist was brought up, and I think both cards just don't have enough of an impact for cube. They are on the weaker side of playable.
I remember seeing terrible paradise mantle + blistercoil weird combo decks, I wonder if the alchemist will breathe new (still terrible) life into them. I think that sort of thing was the target audience for this card.
On a positive side, it does come out before the Nivix Cyclops and Wee Dragonauts, so as an On-Curve body, it is fine.
I just am concerned that you are losing a better slot in both you cube and deck with this Thermo-Alchemist. If you get them in picks 10-15 and you already have atleast 5x spells, yeah.. sure.
If not, you don't really build around him, and in your average non-control it is just a Copper Tablet effect. Not the worst, but noone plays Zhur-Taa druid
realistically the scenario you describe is the best possible. you have it early, you dont need to play something better and the opponent attacks you with only 1 small creature or nothing at all. In every other scenario, you need to chumpblock and this thing might have dealt around 2 damage at most. The longer the game goes, the worse this thing gets as a topdeck.
Topan Freeblade is pretty unexciting and the first 2-drop to cut, when we get another good white card.
At its best, the Sentry is a 4/2 that persists into a slightly smaller 3/2. That's a ridiculous buy-in for three mana. And with enchantments floating around as a big part of white's pauper pool, delirium seems relatively easy to turn on. It's got graveyard play to it. It's got resilience. It's a terrific recursive threat when paired with black. Taking a turn off to buyback Disturbed Burial doesn't seem as bad when you have a 3/2 Eldrazi Horror to retain board presence. It's pretty good with my man Unearth. Plus, recurring it at a later stage in the game helps with the probability of delirium.
My bone to pick is how often it gets stuck as a worse Squire. With a heavy emphasis on creature combat in pauper cube, I'm inclined to brush over this flaw since there is almost always something to smash into, and the prevalence of X/1s makes it possible to hold off attackers until delirium turns on and you can go on the offensive.
That said, there's really three main questions and I'm curious to know what you think about them:
1. How often it can trade on defense.
2. How often it can pick up equipment/auras to mitigate stat weakness.
3. How often the token can create card advantage by eating a creature or removal spell.
The problem with white and delirium is that whites enchantments tend to stay on board, because they are either removal or you put tem on a resilent creature. Even if you end up with an enchantment in the grave you probably are lacking instant and/or sorcery.
So it probably stays a squire until you block with it.
Its better in wb sacrifice, but not very outstanding either. And Id prefer gb sac anyway.
1. I probably never trades, just chump
2. As often as every other creature in your deck
3. It will never eat removal, but the token might trade with something (no real advantage)
A 3/2 isn very good on stats, because it trades down very often. A plain 3/2 for 3 can still be aggressive against slower decks or with some removal backup. This thing is pretty slow. Its a durdle card and can be a signal for the wb sac archetype if you want to support it. Powerwise its quite bad.
card looks borderline at best. (needs circumstances to work) it really hurts the pumped creature has to die, so the combat trick is useless most of the time. And a 3/2 at a random point of the game isnt really supporting a stategy either.
You are really off track right now with your evaluations regarding cube AL. You had good arguments in the past and you were right with many subpar card choices i ran in my cube 2 years ago. On the other hand you always had weird arguments regarding gameplay. But lately it seems like you forgot how the meta of powered cube looks like. Is it possible you dont cube anymore and just play normal limited?
card looks borderline at best. (needs circumstances to work) it really hurts the pumped creature has to die, so the combat trick is useless most of the time.
Again you have a super plain view on things. This ard is pretty much the opposite of situative. This card has pretty much 3 modes (sorted by relevance):
@1st mode:
This mode includes the best case scenario of killing the opponents 2 drop with a 1 mana removal...
@2nd mode: Situational, but...
@3rd mode:
This might be, what this card reads like, but it's the least important mode, because as you said it's too situaional, but somtimes, it's nice to have.
So, on 2 of your 3 modes you admit that they are situational and for your best cast scenario you also need a CC1 removal, which you might not want to throw on a 2-drop.
Actually your view on this card is pretty plain, because you read it like a R 3/2 creature, but aggro cannot rely on it getting a 3/2 early and in midrange or control its not a great card either.
Actually the best case scenario is the plain read of this card. To trade your creature with a blocker because of the pump, if your opponent falls for it.
Id cube and play Brute Force or similar combat tricks anytime before it.
what you mean its playable, not absolute garbage. in terms of card rating its definitely not cubable, but borderline.
But ok, checking your ratings again you rated Brute Force bad and many mediocre cards cubable.
Otherworldly Outburst is reasonably reliable as a 3/2 for 1 on T3 or T4 for a red aggressive deck (with a high creature count). Things die in combat and removal is thrown around, it's not too complicated.
Getting a mid-game 3/2 for super cheap is enough upside that I still like the card despite the fact that it can obviously go wrong or be a horrible draw on some boards.
It's similar to Undying Evil. Less upside (with Mulldrifter and friends), but nice that you can combine it with your own removal. I'd be pretty thrilled in most games where I can go:
T1 1-drop
T2 2-drop
T3 Outburst during a combat trade + 2-drop, or Outburst my opponent's creature then use removal
Adding +1/+0 is nearly irrelevant, but will come up occasionally.
I think otherworldly outburst is clearly a good card for aggro. You are attacking with creatures that are comparable to or even worse than a vanilla 3/2.
I think outburst is overall a bit weaker than unnatural endurance, giant growth and brute force (which are all great IMO) because it doesn't let a 2/2 take down a 4/4 and it can't be used to lava spike your opponent with an unblocked creature. However, the ability to give you a 1-mana 3/2 when you incinerate something is pretty cool
If the card gave +2/+0 it would honestly be amazing. But at least the +1/+0 greatly increases the instances of creatures trading.
It's kind of like a 3/2 for R with the serra avenger ability, but probably better than that. At the very least it's playable and I really appreciate how interesting it is.
I wasn't really considering the card initially but now I might cut rubblebelt maaka for it... Cuts are always so hard. I love all the cards.
As said, Brut Force got rated bad by Al and its miles better than this card.
But feel free to add it to your cubes and test it. My prediction is that it will be a card that never gets drafted or almost never makes the cut into decks. That indeed makes it similar to Undying Evil.
As said, Brut Force got rated bad by Al and its miles better than this card.
But feel free to add it to your cubes and test it. My prediction is that it will be a card that never gets drafted or almost never makes the cut into decks. That indeed makes it similar to Undying Evil.
Brute force is straight up a good card.
In your cube, yeah, something like otherworldly outburst won't get run because you run 25 mono red burn spells in a 360 card cube, and it's pretty hard to justify a combat trick over a burn spell.
As said, Brut Force got rated bad by Al and its miles better than this card.
But feel free to add it to your cubes and test it. My prediction is that it will be a card that never gets drafted or almost never makes the cut into decks. That indeed makes it similar to Undying Evil.
Brute force is straight up a good card.
In your cube, yeah, something like otherworldly outburst won't get run because you run 25 mono red burn spells in a 360 card cube, and it's pretty hard to justify a combat trick over a burn spell.
Have fun with that.
id love to have burn a viable archetype btw i run bf as well
I have found pumpspells perform better in fast aggrodecks than plain burn, because it allows you to smash your team into the opponent and ignore their blockers. Then youre in a good spot to either kill them or get more damage in. Burn especially any "shocks" often wont kill the blocker or you have to sacrifice your attacker as well. It also allows you to protect your creatures against toughness based removal.
Spellfist looked quite good for that deck, but actually it underperformed. The archetype wants to remove blockers with burn or bounce and hit hard with its creatures like Nivix Cyclops.
You dont want to fill the deck with slow and squishy creatures, they need to have a big impact.
The Alchemyst works best in slow, grindy matches, like ur control, but it doesnt hit the powerlevel for cubes.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
I thought of the spellfist as well when thermo-alchemist was brought up, and I think both cards just don't have enough of an impact for cube. They are on the weaker side of playable.
I remember seeing terrible paradise mantle + blistercoil weird combo decks, I wonder if the alchemist will breathe new (still terrible) life into them. I think that sort of thing was the target audience for this card.
I just am concerned that you are losing a better slot in both you cube and deck with this Thermo-Alchemist. If you get them in picks 10-15 and you already have atleast 5x spells, yeah.. sure.
If not, you don't really build around him, and in your average non-control it is just a Copper Tablet effect. Not the worst, but noone plays Zhur-Taa druid
Loose Change Pauper Cube-cast
Pauper Cube Article #1
Pauper Cube Article #2
Personal Enjoyment Cube
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Topan Freeblade is pretty unexciting and the first 2-drop to cut, when we get another good white card.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
At its best, the Sentry is a 4/2 that persists into a slightly smaller 3/2. That's a ridiculous buy-in for three mana. And with enchantments floating around as a big part of white's pauper pool, delirium seems relatively easy to turn on. It's got graveyard play to it. It's got resilience. It's a terrific recursive threat when paired with black. Taking a turn off to buyback Disturbed Burial doesn't seem as bad when you have a 3/2 Eldrazi Horror to retain board presence. It's pretty good with my man Unearth. Plus, recurring it at a later stage in the game helps with the probability of delirium.
My bone to pick is how often it gets stuck as a worse Squire. With a heavy emphasis on creature combat in pauper cube, I'm inclined to brush over this flaw since there is almost always something to smash into, and the prevalence of X/1s makes it possible to hold off attackers until delirium turns on and you can go on the offensive.
That said, there's really three main questions and I'm curious to know what you think about them:
1. How often it can trade on defense.
2. How often it can pick up equipment/auras to mitigate stat weakness.
3. How often the token can create card advantage by eating a creature or removal spell.
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
So it probably stays a squire until you block with it.
Its better in wb sacrifice, but not very outstanding either. And Id prefer gb sac anyway.
1. I probably never trades, just chump
2. As often as every other creature in your deck
3. It will never eat removal, but the token might trade with something (no real advantage)
A 3/2 isn very good on stats, because it trades down very often. A plain 3/2 for 3 can still be aggressive against slower decks or with some removal backup. This thing is pretty slow. Its a durdle card and can be a signal for the wb sac archetype if you want to support it. Powerwise its quite bad.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
You are really off track right now with your evaluations regarding cube AL. You had good arguments in the past and you were right with many subpar card choices i ran in my cube 2 years ago. On the other hand you always had weird arguments regarding gameplay. But lately it seems like you forgot how the meta of powered cube looks like. Is it possible you dont cube anymore and just play normal limited?
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
So, on 2 of your 3 modes you admit that they are situational and for your best cast scenario you also need a CC1 removal, which you might not want to throw on a 2-drop.
Actually your view on this card is pretty plain, because you read it like a R 3/2 creature, but aggro cannot rely on it getting a 3/2 early and in midrange or control its not a great card either.
Actually the best case scenario is the plain read of this card. To trade your creature with a blocker because of the pump, if your opponent falls for it.
Id cube and play Brute Force or similar combat tricks anytime before it.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
But ok, checking your ratings again you rated Brute Force bad and many mediocre cards cubable.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Getting a mid-game 3/2 for super cheap is enough upside that I still like the card despite the fact that it can obviously go wrong or be a horrible draw on some boards.
It's similar to Undying Evil. Less upside (with Mulldrifter and friends), but nice that you can combine it with your own removal. I'd be pretty thrilled in most games where I can go:
T1 1-drop
T2 2-drop
T3 Outburst during a combat trade + 2-drop, or Outburst my opponent's creature then use removal
Adding +1/+0 is nearly irrelevant, but will come up occasionally.
I think outburst is overall a bit weaker than unnatural endurance, giant growth and brute force (which are all great IMO) because it doesn't let a 2/2 take down a 4/4 and it can't be used to lava spike your opponent with an unblocked creature. However, the ability to give you a 1-mana 3/2 when you incinerate something is pretty cool
If the card gave +2/+0 it would honestly be amazing. But at least the +1/+0 greatly increases the instances of creatures trading.
It's kind of like a 3/2 for R with the serra avenger ability, but probably better than that. At the very least it's playable and I really appreciate how interesting it is.
I wasn't really considering the card initially but now I might cut rubblebelt maaka for it... Cuts are always so hard. I love all the cards.
But feel free to add it to your cubes and test it. My prediction is that it will be a card that never gets drafted or almost never makes the cut into decks. That indeed makes it similar to Undying Evil.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Brute force is straight up a good card.
In your cube, yeah, something like otherworldly outburst won't get run because you run 25 mono red burn spells in a 360 card cube, and it's pretty hard to justify a combat trick over a burn spell.
Have fun with that.
id love to have burn a viable archetype btw i run bf as well
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t