I'm disappointed for the lack of a common Nucklavee, but besides that this is a great expansion for us.
Tandem Lookout seems very good, but blue has so much stuff at that CMC that it will be a difficult choice.
Falkenrath Noble can be very powerfull, we needed something like this for token / sacrifice.
I will include Grixis Slavedriver also. One of my favorite cards back in the day, and 3 bodies +4 damage for one card is nice. Also, graveyard support.
Magma jet is a card I have wanted to be at common for a long time. Very nice, I suppose I will remove Tormenting Voice for it.
Thunderous Wrath seems ridiculous... I expect this to be a thing in pauper constructed also.
I have big guilds, so Call of the Conclave will go instead of Pale Recluse.
Dinrova Horror will go for Recoil, that remained there for nostalgia more than anything.
Spike Jester in for either Deathbellow Raider or Kathari Bomber (I suppose the former as the latter is more fun with sacrifice and stuff)
Burning-three Emissary great for gruul aggro.
Gift of Orzhova the Orzhov card I was lacking in my guild (goodbye Darklit Gargoyle, you were fine but unexciting). Guardian of the Guildpact really likes this.
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Holiday Armadillo... Cloak
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
I use or have used a lot of these downshifted cards in my cube, which is supposed to be somewhere between pauper and peasant power level, but tandem lookout is one I always felt like was really pushing it and was probably too good. If you support anything aggressive in blue it's pretty easy to get a card from lookout the turn you play it, at which point it becomes phyrexian rager meets phyrexian arena.
I've also had falkenrath noble in for a while but he generally seems to underperform, surprisingly.
Dinrova horror at common is sweet. It may not actually be that great but it's always been a personal favorite. Glowing lovecraftian fatties are best fatties.
I had run a small hybrid package of Minister of Impediments/Harvest Gwyllion/Rendclaw Trow/Snakeform before. They were all fine, but Gwyllion was extremely unimpressive. Going to try re-adding them, might go for Desecrator Hag over Trow though. I already play Frostburn Weird but as an Izzet card because UU or RR on a 2-drop is tough to swing if you're not both colors, and both colors have plenty of other options at 1U/1R/1G. I've been happy with it so far. YMMV. The way I managed that aforementioned 4 card package was cutting 1 card from each color involved, so 1 white 1 blue 1 black 1 green, counting each hybrid as "half" a card of each color. I know classifications always are murky and this won't work for everyone!
My current (tentative) update is
Spire Golem > Tandem Lookout
Skittering Horror > Falkenrath Noble
Warren Pilferers > Grixis Slavedriver
Searing Spear > Magma Jet
Fervent Cathar > Scorched Rusalka
Sprinting Warbrute > Scourge Devil
Branching Bolt > Burning-Tree Emissary
Hopeful Eidolon > Gift of Orzhova
Peregrine Drake > Snakeform
Mark of the Vampire > Minister of Impediments
Basking Rootwalla > Rendclaw Trow
I think I may want to try out Desecrator Hag over Trow and go back to Warren Pilferers over Gravedigger, as another option.
Scorched Rusalka is no Goblin Bombardment. Giving up board position is only good when you are on the verge of winning. Otherwise it's just sitting there, occasionally turning your opponent's kill spells into a 1-damage feedback, if you can even afford to leave mana open. A not-bad late-game drop but there are better options.
I'm not familiar with pauper cube (though I'm well versed in pauper constructed) but the cards that stand out as all around good cards are:
Tandem Lookout - Solid in peasant cube, assuming you have blue decks that have a plan-a to attack it will be very good in pauper too (keen to see how it plays out in constructed)
Falkenrath Noble - I rated it as top20 for black in peasant, auto-include for pauper. You have to play with cards like this and Blood Artist to appreciate how powerful they actually are, especially if you build around it.
Dinrova Horror - Not sure how UB stacks up in pauper but this sees play in peasant so I would assume it's up there.
Spike Jester - If your RB decks are low curve aggro this is good
im happy you peasant guys give us some insight on the shifted cards. im convinced by the lookout for now and add it to my t1. rip wormfang drake, but i have to admit it was the weakest least played 3-drop in my blue section, although its really strong in the right deck. but it really kinda got replaced by wretched gryff.
dont know about the noble though. sure it also triggers on opponents stuff, but idk. i need some more arguments. for now it looks like it might trigger around 2 times before it gets handled. which isnt much better than bloodhunter bat unless you build around it
This is a card that plays so much better than it reads in most normal games of magic. If you play it and a single trade occurs in combat, it's a Bloodhunter Bat already. That's not exciting, but it's acceptable. But then consider that it drains any time you use a kill spell, is a removal magnet on its own, doesn't get effectively answered by Pacifism effects, has a reasonable if unexciting body to get in for damage... it's really hard to race this card and it adds a lot of incremental value to any kind of creature deck. I'm fully on board the hype train for this card even without archetype support.
Rusalka is no Bombardment, for sure, but we have one or two playable one-drops in red, right? Getting in for a couple points of early damage or a chip shot here or there is totally reasonable, and gaining a couple points of damage to close out the game or when removal is used (or afterwards, again in the case of the aura based removal) seems like it's enough to crack the red section. I'm not as convinced as I am with Noble, but I think this card will be a solid role player in red-based creature decks.
Multicolor-wise, this set is obviously a huge boon. But with a 3-card section it's very hard to break into. I did think about moving up to 4 cards per section because of the excellent downshifts, and will probably do that in the long run.
If Mortician Beetle gets to 2/2 in an average game, it's done its job. In occasional games where you get a critical mass of sacrifice effects, it'll be a monster. 3/3 or 4/4 for B is an insanely good rate.
Fleshbag Marauder gets the beetle to a 3/3 all on its own, while edicting your opponent. Seems like the support necessary is minimal.
If Mortician Beetle gets to 2/2 in an average game, it's done its job. In occasional games where you get a critical mass of sacrifice effects, it'll be a monster. 3/3 or 4/4 for B is an insanely good rate.
Fleshbag Marauder gets the beetle to a 3/3 all on its own, while edicting your opponent. Seems like the support necessary is minimal.
Maybe a better play in peasant cubes, but pauper still has Innocent Blood, and Abyssal Gatekeeper for people who really want to go deep on the sac theme
If Mortician Beetle gets to 2/2 in an average game, it's done its job. In occasional games where you get a critical mass of sacrifice effects, it'll be a monster. 3/3 or 4/4 for B is an insanely good rate.
Fleshbag Marauder gets the beetle to a 3/3 all on its own, while edicting your opponent. Seems like the support necessary is minimal.
"Here's exactly one way to make this creature a 3/3" really doesn't prove your point about minimal support.
I'm just never going to play Beetle in a deck without REPEATABLE sacrifice outlets. Certainly not gonna put it into some random deck that has Spiketail Drakeling and Diabolic Edict, and hope that I can find all my combo pieces so I'm not just playing a 1-mana 1/1.
dont forget Gavony Unhallowed. but i think the beetle is better because its early enough on the board to profit from some triggers. often enough i found unhallowed joined the table too late to get 1 or 2 triggers.
I would cut Selesnya Evangel instead of Travel Preparations. I understand that you have a more wide-focused green than I do, but even so Travel Preparations is the better card.
Regarding Stitched Drake, it's ******* hard! n.n I personally dislike control-only cards like Drift of Phantasms and Halimar Wavewatch, but I understand they are good cards too.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Holiday Armadillo... Cloak
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
Magma Jet - as a "dub, good burn spell"
Lookout - I will go further below
Gifts of Orzhova - another Amarillo Cloak
Thunderous Wrath - Aggro topdeck winner
Lookout constantly pairing over and over is game warping. You put it on a 1/1 that they have to chump or give you a card. Put it on a 5/5 that will survive. Put it on evasion for constant cards. Imo, it WILL change Blue Tempo.
Magma Jet - as a "dub, good burn spell"
Lookout - I will go further below
Gifts of Orzhova - another Amarillo Cloak
Thunderous Wrath - Aggro topdeck winner
Lookout constantly pairing over and over is game warping. You put it on a 1/1 that they have to chump or give you a card. Put it on a 5/5 that will survive. Put it on evasion for constant cards. Imo, it WILL change Blue Tempo.
Let's not get too crazy! "Chumping" a 1/1 is not exactly a difficult ask. If you have a 5/5, well, you're in a pretty damn good spot in pauper already, with almost no creature that can contest it. The best value will come from evasive creatures, and with all the flyers in blue, that should happen often enough
The best part for me is as you said, the ability to soulbond repeatedly. Assuming a base rate of Goblin Piker for 1U, you're already net-positive because the first instance of soulbond nets you one Curiosity's worth of free mana, with every future instance netting you more free mana. The fact that you're getting free copies of Curiosity without even having to clutter your deck with them is pretty strong
Tandem Lookout seems very good, but blue has so much stuff at that CMC that it will be a difficult choice.
Falkenrath Noble can be very powerfull, we needed something like this for token / sacrifice.
I will include Grixis Slavedriver also. One of my favorite cards back in the day, and 3 bodies +4 damage for one card is nice. Also, graveyard support.
Magma jet is a card I have wanted to be at common for a long time. Very nice, I suppose I will remove Tormenting Voice for it.
Thunderous Wrath seems ridiculous... I expect this to be a thing in pauper constructed also.
I have big guilds, so Call of the Conclave will go instead of Pale Recluse.
Dinrova Horror will go for Recoil, that remained there for nostalgia more than anything.
Spike Jester in for either Deathbellow Raider or Kathari Bomber (I suppose the former as the latter is more fun with sacrifice and stuff)
Burning-three Emissary great for gruul aggro.
Gift of Orzhova the Orzhov card I was lacking in my guild (goodbye Darklit Gargoyle, you were fine but unexciting). Guardian of the Guildpact really likes this.
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
I use or have used a lot of these downshifted cards in my cube, which is supposed to be somewhere between pauper and peasant power level, but tandem lookout is one I always felt like was really pushing it and was probably too good. If you support anything aggressive in blue it's pretty easy to get a card from lookout the turn you play it, at which point it becomes phyrexian rager meets phyrexian arena.
I've also had falkenrath noble in for a while but he generally seems to underperform, surprisingly.
Dinrova horror at common is sweet. It may not actually be that great but it's always been a personal favorite. Glowing lovecraftian fatties are best fatties.
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My current (tentative) update is
Spire Golem > Tandem Lookout
Skittering Horror > Falkenrath Noble
Warren Pilferers > Grixis Slavedriver
Searing Spear > Magma Jet
Fervent Cathar > Scorched Rusalka
Sprinting Warbrute > Scourge Devil
Branching Bolt > Burning-Tree Emissary
Hopeful Eidolon > Gift of Orzhova
Peregrine Drake > Snakeform
Mark of the Vampire > Minister of Impediments
Basking Rootwalla > Rendclaw Trow
I think I may want to try out Desecrator Hag over Trow and go back to Warren Pilferers over Gravedigger, as another option.
Level 1 Judge
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
Scorched Rusalka is no Goblin Bombardment. Giving up board position is only good when you are on the verge of winning. Otherwise it's just sitting there, occasionally turning your opponent's kill spells into a 1-damage feedback, if you can even afford to leave mana open. A not-bad late-game drop but there are better options.
This set demands a re-evaluation of multicolor in pauper - at a glance, Call of the Conclave, Spike Jester, Burning-Tree Emissary, Gift of Orzhova and Dinrova Horror are all top 3 material
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
dont know about the noble though. sure it also triggers on opponents stuff, but idk. i need some more arguments. for now it looks like it might trigger around 2 times before it gets handled. which isnt much better than bloodhunter bat unless you build around it
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Rusalka is no Bombardment, for sure, but we have one or two playable one-drops in red, right? Getting in for a couple points of early damage or a chip shot here or there is totally reasonable, and gaining a couple points of damage to close out the game or when removal is used (or afterwards, again in the case of the aura based removal) seems like it's enough to crack the red section. I'm not as convinced as I am with Noble, but I think this card will be a solid role player in red-based creature decks.
Multicolor-wise, this set is obviously a huge boon. But with a 3-card section it's very hard to break into. I did think about moving up to 4 cards per section because of the excellent downshifts, and will probably do that in the long run.
Level 1 Judge
Fleshbag Marauder gets the beetle to a 3/3 all on its own, while edicting your opponent. Seems like the support necessary is minimal.
Custom Set
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hu9uNBSUt92PwGhvexYlwFvsh6_SJBlEEIUV3H9_XyU/edit?usp=sharing
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Maybe a better play in peasant cubes, but pauper still has Innocent Blood, and Abyssal Gatekeeper for people who really want to go deep on the sac theme
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
"Here's exactly one way to make this creature a 3/3" really doesn't prove your point about minimal support.
I'm just never going to play Beetle in a deck without REPEATABLE sacrifice outlets. Certainly not gonna put it into some random deck that has Spiketail Drakeling and Diabolic Edict, and hope that I can find all my combo pieces so I'm not just playing a 1-mana 1/1.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Regarding Stitched Drake, it's ******* hard! n.n I personally dislike control-only cards like Drift of Phantasms and Halimar Wavewatch, but I understand they are good cards too.
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
Lookout - I will go further below
Gifts of Orzhova - another Amarillo Cloak
Thunderous Wrath - Aggro topdeck winner
Lookout constantly pairing over and over is game warping. You put it on a 1/1 that they have to chump or give you a card. Put it on a 5/5 that will survive. Put it on evasion for constant cards. Imo, it WILL change Blue Tempo.
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Let's not get too crazy! "Chumping" a 1/1 is not exactly a difficult ask. If you have a 5/5, well, you're in a pretty damn good spot in pauper already, with almost no creature that can contest it. The best value will come from evasive creatures, and with all the flyers in blue, that should happen often enough
The best part for me is as you said, the ability to soulbond repeatedly. Assuming a base rate of Goblin Piker for 1U, you're already net-positive because the first instance of soulbond nets you one Curiosity's worth of free mana, with every future instance netting you more free mana. The fact that you're getting free copies of Curiosity without even having to clutter your deck with them is pretty strong
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters