I've long been a fan of Disfigure, so Fatal Push will definitely at the very least supplant that. I'll probably be giving the Express a test run as well, since I'm a pretty big fan of Renegade Freighter.
I really want to like the Constrictor. It can enable some powerful things, but black's definitely been undersupported in terms of +1/+1 counter themes. Not that there aren't good cards that involve counters, but it doesn't have the good lords of white or high-power playables of green.
Winding Constrictor tickles my fancy. I like these kind of build-arounds, especially when it works fine as an on cuve aggro beater and you only have marginal synergies. +1/+1 is the most obvious, but it is worth noting this is ANY counter, AND it hits artifacts. Probably not a huge amount in our cubes, but Blastoderm sticks around for another turn, you get an extra activation out of Serrated Arrows, you can level up guys twice as fast. Even if you aren't spreading into red or white, you might also be willing to play Shrine of Burning Rage or Loyal Legions for 2 buffs a turn. I'm sure there are a few fun artifacts I'm forgetting.
I think it does accelerate +1/+1 themes in a way we don't get anywhere else. If you support Golgari aggro, you can follow this up with any number of creatures (unleash, green creatures that come with or provide +1/+1 counters). Turn 1 Experiment 1, Turn 2 Winding Constrictor, attack for 3 is nice. Longtusk Cub followed by this will get nasty quick if you get that first hit in (Constrictor even gives you an energy boost). If you can proliferate while this is out, a few creatures that already have +1/+1 counters on them become legitimate threats. I don't play any, but the Outlast guys will get big quick. Blocking or attacking into undying creatures becomes extra painful.
It works with any spike, but Spike Colony is probably my favourite; enters the battlefield as a 5/5, and then you can spend 2 mana to grow your board by +1/+1. You can even target itself.
It's a nombo with Kitchen Finks or other persist creatures though, the ability isn't optional
The Vivids, Gemstone Mine and the storage lands also benefit. Storage lands become ramp pieces, in effect, but there is no BG storage land. edit: I guess Mirrodin's Core is the best land for that.
I really like Pacification Array, to be honest. It's a pretty good fit for the lockdown control deck that u/w or u/b tends to play. Also, you can look at it as a cheaper, more expensive to activate Icy Manipulator, or a slightly more expensive to activate but available to every colour Gideon's Lawkeeper, which is also harder to remove. I think I'd also like it in aggro decks. Also, that Raging Train is bonkers. Went to sleep with the thought that it was a 3/3, then woke up to it being a 4/4. Just nuts.
I'm pretty sure I like Pacification Array more than Icy Manipulator -- vastly easier to find time to cast it in the first place at 1 rather than 4. And by the time Array costs more total mana (after the third activation), it will usually be a late-game scenario where the difference isn't as significant as it would normally be.
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Snake of +1 is interesting, but has synergy with exactly three black cards in my 540 list (two if you count Murderous Redcap as negative-one). Great if it was mono-green, not really what I want in Golgari.
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Hungry Flames is like a Tier 3 burn option that nobody needs.
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Fatal Push is gonna be huge in modern but is pretty unexciting for Cube. Disfigure that can't (always) hit stuff like Flickerwisp, Dauthi Marauder, Tandem Lookout? Or it's a more reliable Tragic Slip to start, but at the cost of missing out on somewhere around 10% of the cards in your cube (I've got 51 5+ cost creatures at 540).
I did some rough math to try and determine the relative effectiveness of Fatal Push and compare that to Disfigure. The math is rough because of situations like 5+ CMC spells that make tokens (Feudkiller's Verdict), cards that make multiple creatures (Whirler Rogue) or cheap creatures that can pump or regenerate (Noose Constrictor and Knight of the Holy Nimbus). Here are my results:
Disfigure kills around 61% of the creatures in my cube.
A normal Fatal Push kills about 44% of the creature in my cube.
A Revolting Fatal Push kills about 82% of the creatures in my cube.
When you take into account that Disfigure can also impact combat against bigger creatures that it does not outright kill, how hard Revolt may be to turn on, and that most of the additional cards that a Revolting Fatal Push kills are higher value targets, I have no definite answer. I think I like Fatal Push just a little more, but would rather try and replace something other than Disfigure.
Thoughts on Renegade Map?
It feels like the best of these artifact basic land searchers, since I most often would rather wait the extra turn and pay no additional mana to search than have to pay an extra mana to search that turn. I suppose you cannot fix on the same turn you play Map, and you also have to miss a land drop if you need to cast Map after you run out of land drops. For any deck that can find room to cast Renegade Map early, it seems excellent for fixing and has those minor upsides of getting another card in your graveyard.
Hate to double post, but I wanted these posts to stand separately.
Map is interesting and something I definitely am considering. It's pretty close to a third copy of Evolving Wilds for CUbe, which is a good starting point. Saving one mana over Twig/Traveler's Amulet is huge for an effect like this.
T2 you're just never going to get "Revolt". T3 it's nice if you can cast it after attacking and trading in combat. Any later than that... it's more feasible to trigger Revolt, but you care less and less about a 2/2 and a 1/1 as the game goes on.
I think I'd much rather have Aviary Mechanic. It's a good enabler for "self bounce" decks, instead of a meh payoff like the Renegade.
Rogue Refiner (1UG 3/2, ETB draw a card and get two energy) is OK. I guess I don't want a third Simic card with that exact cost after Shardless Agent and Trygon Predator, but I also am totally willing to test something new in place of my current #3 and #4 cards, Aether Mutation and Horizon Chimera.
I'd start by assuming the energy is literally useless, then be pleasant surprised if it ever winds up in a deck with Thriving Grubs or whatever "E" cards have made it into your Cube.
It's probably still just worse than those two, but definitely not by a huge margin.
I think Revolt will play out very similarly to Morbid, since that is easily the most consistent way to get permanents to leave the battlefield. With that being said, the Rallier is great since you can play him out post combat and perhaps get a creature that you just had die in combat.
Very solid card with a solid body on it as well. It's nice to have him at 3 power. At a 2/2 it's just strictly a value creature. At least he's more relevant in combat.
I guess the best case scenario for rallier is to invite a trade and then get your half of the trade back. It is also incredibly cute with Sakura-Tribe Elder or even Evolving Wilds.
The blue bandit seems nuts. Straight up good, efficient stats, and then proliferate-support on top of that. Sweet!
I really want to like the Constrictor. It can enable some powerful things, but black's definitely been undersupported in terms of +1/+1 counter themes. Not that there aren't good cards that involve counters, but it doesn't have the good lords of white or high-power playables of green.
Cubetutor Link
My Peasant Cube thread !!! (380 cards)
Draft my Peasant Cube on Cube Cobra !!!
I think it does accelerate +1/+1 themes in a way we don't get anywhere else. If you support Golgari aggro, you can follow this up with any number of creatures (unleash, green creatures that come with or provide +1/+1 counters). Turn 1 Experiment 1, Turn 2 Winding Constrictor, attack for 3 is nice. Longtusk Cub followed by this will get nasty quick if you get that first hit in (Constrictor even gives you an energy boost). If you can proliferate while this is out, a few creatures that already have +1/+1 counters on them become legitimate threats. I don't play any, but the Outlast guys will get big quick. Blocking or attacking into undying creatures becomes extra painful.
It works with any spike, but Spike Colony is probably my favourite; enters the battlefield as a 5/5, and then you can spend 2 mana to grow your board by +1/+1. You can even target itself.
It's a nombo with Kitchen Finks or other persist creatures though, the ability isn't optional
The Vivids, Gemstone Mine and the storage lands also benefit. Storage lands become ramp pieces, in effect, but there is no BG storage land. edit: I guess Mirrodin's Core is the best land for that.
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
WiJ
Peasant 540 Cube
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Snake of +1 is interesting, but has synergy with exactly three black cards in my 540 list (two if you count Murderous Redcap as negative-one). Great if it was mono-green, not really what I want in Golgari.
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Hungry Flames is like a Tier 3 burn option that nobody needs.
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Fatal Push is gonna be huge in modern but is pretty unexciting for Cube. Disfigure that can't (always) hit stuff like Flickerwisp, Dauthi Marauder, Tandem Lookout? Or it's a more reliable Tragic Slip to start, but at the cost of missing out on somewhere around 10% of the cards in your cube (I've got 51 5+ cost creatures at 540).
The downside, of course, is that unlike equipment it's not resilient at all to spot removal. Still a 100% addition for me, though.
Disfigure kills around 61% of the creatures in my cube.
A normal Fatal Push kills about 44% of the creature in my cube.
A Revolting Fatal Push kills about 82% of the creatures in my cube.
When you take into account that Disfigure can also impact combat against bigger creatures that it does not outright kill, how hard Revolt may be to turn on, and that most of the additional cards that a Revolting Fatal Push kills are higher value targets, I have no definite answer. I think I like Fatal Push just a little more, but would rather try and replace something other than Disfigure.
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/peasantsnowcube
-- Updated with Outlaws of Thunder Junction
The PioneWer Peasant CUbe
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/pionewer
-- Updated with Murders at Karlov Manor
It feels like the best of these artifact basic land searchers, since I most often would rather wait the extra turn and pay no additional mana to search than have to pay an extra mana to search that turn. I suppose you cannot fix on the same turn you play Map, and you also have to miss a land drop if you need to cast Map after you run out of land drops. For any deck that can find room to cast Renegade Map early, it seems excellent for fixing and has those minor upsides of getting another card in your graveyard.
Hate to double post, but I wanted these posts to stand separately.
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/peasantsnowcube
-- Updated with Outlaws of Thunder Junction
The PioneWer Peasant CUbe
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/pionewer
-- Updated with Murders at Karlov Manor
WiJ
Peasant 540 Cube
T2 you're just never going to get "Revolt". T3 it's nice if you can cast it after attacking and trading in combat. Any later than that... it's more feasible to trigger Revolt, but you care less and less about a 2/2 and a 1/1 as the game goes on.
I think I'd much rather have Aviary Mechanic. It's a good enabler for "self bounce" decks, instead of a meh payoff like the Renegade.
WiJ
Peasant 540 Cube
It's probably still just worse than those two, but definitely not by a huge margin.
WiJ
Peasant 540 Cube
I think Revolt will play out very similarly to Morbid, since that is easily the most consistent way to get permanents to leave the battlefield. With that being said, the Rallier is great since you can play him out post combat and perhaps get a creature that you just had die in combat.
Very solid card with a solid body on it as well. It's nice to have him at 3 power. At a 2/2 it's just strictly a value creature. At least he's more relevant in combat.
My Peasant Cube thread !!! (380 cards)
Draft my Peasant Cube on Cube Cobra !!!
The blue bandit seems nuts. Straight up good, efficient stats, and then proliferate-support on top of that. Sweet!
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)
Edit: Apparently, there is still some debate about whether the ability is effectively proliferate or only adding one counter on one target.
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)