yeah i wonder whether surveil becomes a thing, but its very likely it stays for the ravnica sets and 3 are a lot. still doubtful it will reach critical mass for regular cubes, but who knows.
that said, dimir seems much better than all the other guilds and although id prefer to play golgari, ill go for dimir on pr instead.
Centaur Mediator 1GW Common
Creature - Centaur Cleric
When ~ enters the battlefield, each player gains 4 life.
Another boros guy. This has mentor and cannot attack or block alone. Meh.
this guy actually doenst seem too bad. To make use of mentor you want to attack with something else anyway and 3/3 for 3 is very reasonable. seems somewhat playable in token decks.
Watcher is a nice twist on sphinx. Nice for enabling graveyard stuff, even if just a little bit.
I wouldn't say that Piston-Fist Cyclops is simply a worse Nivix Cyclops. Yes, it lacks the combo kill potential if it's thing in your cube, but this is at least just as good in more regular tempo style decks. Though the benefits are limited to once per turn vs cyclops. It also is a lot better on defense. While it loses a single toughness it default has 4 power to help hold off possible attackers. It also flexible casting-wise and goes in a lot more decks than nivix can.
Patrol looks decent. Best mentor card so far probably.
The patrol I'm still undecided about. It is the best mentor card so far, but it needs to have a 1 power creature attacking with it. Which I think hurts it. It would be great for spirit and birds (and I suppose the other ground soldier/ human tokens). But I don't know if that's enough to warrant it a spot. Yes equipment and auras help. But if you need a second card to make it work, is it really worth it?
Parhelion Patrol: On the bubble. It's a strong collection of abilities on its face.
Dimir Informant: It's a stretch. I like my roadblock deck-smoothers to have the ability to come down on turn two so that they can do both of those jobs consistently.
Wojek Bodyguard: This seems like the baseline for mentor at common. I do like my Coursers, but I also like cards that aren't literal do-nothings by themselves (why did this need the blocking drawback too? Mentor only works on attack anyway!)
Artful Takedown: Another callback to UB's odd removal ability. Overcosted by one (I would have liked to see this at 1UB with -1/-3 instead, though). So close to being Dimir's Jilt.
Garrison Sergeant: If you double up on Gates, this is a shoo-in I guess.
Notion Rain: Could be very strong. Divination+ effects usually are. How much better is this than the Dominarian instant Dark Bargain? (bonus question: is Dark Bargain better than Foresee?)
Rosemane Centaur: Nice, but vanilla beef is not really needed in a multicolor slot (unless it's undercosted).
Sumala Woodshaper: On the bubble for me. The ETB effect is nice, but the card is overcosted.
Whisper Agent: I like this a lot. Flash + deck filtering on a decently-statted body. Can serve as removal or fog in a pinch. Playable in multiple decks.
Dimir Locket and co: Just a little on the underpowered side. If they cost CCC to activate, they would be marvelous. I could be wrong and these represent a decent form of manafixing + card draw, but what color pairs would actually want to activate one? Most guilds have at least one color that's good at it, shoring up your weakness. The ones I would look to (Boros, Rakdos, Orzhov, maybe a couple others) generally lean towards aggro and thus have little to no need for overcosted fixing or overcosted draw.
I think the best lockets are the green ones for ramp. Green can play them T2 with a manaelf and lacks carddraw in the lategame.
Ledev Guardian. Its a solid filler card, but not for cubes. When i tap my creature base to cast sth I want to have it more board impact than a vanilla 2/4
Parhelion Patrol. Tried the Kirin a while and 2 power on a 4 drop is just not enough, even with some added abilities. The problem is the mentored creature has to attack as well, otherwise it would be a solid grind creature.
Loxodon Restorer I actually like it more than the Guardian. 3/4 is more aggressive and 4 life helps you stabilize. But I doubt its much better than Faithbearer Paladin
Piston-Fist Cyclops nice to see a new spells matters card, but toughness 3 is infinitely worse than 4 and it doesnt have evasion
IMHO I think this is incorrect. The sizzle can hit a lot more important targets (3/4 fliers, guardian of the guild pact, green reach x/4 spiders, etc). But you can also cast Sizzle as a draw two on an empty board. Cunning requires a creature to target.
I know... I just hate the memery associated with that kind of name. For the same reason some players exclude bad art or Future Sight frames, I greatly dislike what some people might consider the dumbing down or Hearthstone-izing of Magic's aesthetic and naming conventions. The game designer David Sirlin explains it far better than I ever could. I don't want Clown Shoes Robot in my game.
Yeah I see a lot of French translations so I know foreign languages get it much worse. Ironically in Japan, the standard for organized constructed games is English cards for the vast majority of players. It makes me wonder if non-English players in other countries do something similar.
I dont think Agony Warp is broken though, its a fine card, but not on the top level of black based removal. Takedown will be reasonable in its limited, because removal is overcosted these days
Notion Rain is quite good, but I think Bargain is a little better since its monocolored and instant, also digs 1 deeper before drawing and its probably better than Forsee as well. Being instant is huge on carddraw.
The golgari card probably "rebellion of undercity" is okayish i guess? Idk seems overcosted and too situational to me. Like you need a token that fights one of your opponents creatures and some other stuff that wouldnt trade otherwise to attack with or its just a horrible prey upon. Its definitely not the guild card we are looking for.
Undercity Revolt: Overcosted pseudo-unblockable plus removal. Not quite what my Golgari wants.
Kraul Prey Snatcher: Interesting, but not really better than something like Angel of Mercy if you're looking for lifegain on a big stick. Since it's Bolt-proof, it's tailor-made to stop red opponents if that's what you're looking for (still not much better than Staunch Defenders in that role imo).
I'm more excited about Rhizome Lurcher. You need two critters in the yard for an acceptable standard of Rumbling Baloth - three dudes or more gives you a genuine shot at playing Juzám Djinn in pauper. With this guy plus Undergrowth Scavenger as backup, there might be something graveyard-based and +1/+1 counter based to dig into. Quarry Hauler wants a few more counters-based cards in the cube to justify inclusion, I think.
The Scavenger was pretty underwhelming in my testings. Unless you run a bunch of selfmill cards which are usually quite bad you can never cast it on curve at an acceptable size. And even with those effects its not guaranteed. In the end its no common Lhurgoyf since it doesnt adjust its size while in play.
Lurcher might be a little better since it starts as 2/2, but on the other hand doenst care for you opponents yards, so its smaller lategame. Not sold on that one either, although a bunch of surveil cards might change that. Still never a T1 cards for me.
Besides, Pauper alrady has a bunch of (better) Juzams, ImperiosaurBlastodermWild LeotauGurmag Angler
A 3/3 flyer is better than a 4/4 vanilla and the angel turned out borderline at best for me in a color that has less strong 5 drops than green. And the turn you can cast it you might be alreay dead against red, so meh.
At first I saw Rhizome Lurcher and thought "crap, a worse Undergrowth Scavenger at golgari". I read it 3 times more, not understanding how they could print something so weak. And the fourth time I read it, I realised it had 2 base power and thoughness
I like it, definitively replacing Rendclaw Trow in my cube.
Private Mod Note
():
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
Rendclaw Trow is pretty sick though. Wither is such a strong mechanic, especially with persist. And it cute combos with Ivy Lane Denizen, but try it. New cards are always fun.
This is a card that proably won't work in cube, as surveil isn't an evergreen ability (for now?).
But this shows that we are getting a number of multicolor common cards this set. And that's nice.
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
that said, dimir seems much better than all the other guilds and although id prefer to play golgari, ill go for dimir on pr instead.
Centaur Mediator 1GW Common
Creature - Centaur Cleric
When ~ enters the battlefield, each player gains 4 life.
3/3
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
~ has double strike if you control a gate
It's a work in progress
Another boros guy. This has mentor and cannot attack or block alone. Meh.
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
this guy actually doenst seem too bad. To make use of mentor you want to attack with something else anyway and 3/3 for 3 is very reasonable. seems somewhat playable in token decks.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Solid common. More color intensive that Sphinx, but surveil is better than scry.
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
you missed
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Worse Nivix Cyclops.
Better Alabaster Kirin.
Meh Staunch defenders.
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
I wouldn't say that Piston-Fist Cyclops is simply a worse Nivix Cyclops. Yes, it lacks the combo kill potential if it's thing in your cube, but this is at least just as good in more regular tempo style decks. Though the benefits are limited to once per turn vs cyclops. It also is a lot better on defense. While it loses a single toughness it default has 4 power to help hold off possible attackers. It also flexible casting-wise and goes in a lot more decks than nivix can.
Patrol looks decent. Best mentor card so far probably.
It's a work in progress
Ledev Guardian: potentially has a spot as another pseudo-Acridian/Colossodon Yearling.
Parhelion Patrol: On the bubble. It's a strong collection of abilities on its face.
Dimir Informant: It's a stretch. I like my roadblock deck-smoothers to have the ability to come down on turn two so that they can do both of those jobs consistently.
Watcher in the Mist: Nice value beater that should see play. Alongside or replacing Cloudreader Sphinx.
Wojek Bodyguard: This seems like the baseline for mentor at common. I do like my Coursers, but I also like cards that aren't literal do-nothings by themselves (why did this need the blocking drawback too? Mentor only works on attack anyway!)
Artful Takedown: Another callback to UB's odd removal ability. Overcosted by one (I would have liked to see this at 1UB with -1/-3 instead, though). So close to being Dimir's Jilt.
Garrison Sergeant: If you double up on Gates, this is a shoo-in I guess.
Hypothesizzle: I'll stick to Cunning Strike, thanks. The dumb name doesn't help.
Notion Rain: Could be very strong. Divination+ effects usually are. How much better is this than the Dominarian instant Dark Bargain? (bonus question: is Dark Bargain better than Foresee?)
Rosemane Centaur: Nice, but vanilla beef is not really needed in a multicolor slot (unless it's undercosted).
Sumala Woodshaper: On the bubble for me. The ETB effect is nice, but the card is overcosted.
Whisper Agent: I like this a lot. Flash + deck filtering on a decently-statted body. Can serve as removal or fog in a pinch. Playable in multiple decks.
Dimir Locket and co: Just a little on the underpowered side. If they cost CCC to activate, they would be marvelous. I could be wrong and these represent a decent form of manafixing + card draw, but what color pairs would actually want to activate one? Most guilds have at least one color that's good at it, shoring up your weakness. The ones I would look to (Boros, Rakdos, Orzhov, maybe a couple others) generally lean towards aggro and thus have little to no need for overcosted fixing or overcosted draw.
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
Ledev Guardian. Its a solid filler card, but not for cubes. When i tap my creature base to cast sth I want to have it more board impact than a vanilla 2/4
Parhelion Patrol. Tried the Kirin a while and 2 power on a 4 drop is just not enough, even with some added abilities. The problem is the mentored creature has to attack as well, otherwise it would be a solid grind creature.
Loxodon Restorer I actually like it more than the Guardian. 3/4 is more aggressive and 4 life helps you stabilize. But I doubt its much better than Faithbearer Paladin
Piston-Fist Cyclops nice to see a new spells matters card, but toughness 3 is infinitely worse than 4 and it doesnt have evasion
Hunted Witness meh
also meh Maximum Velocity
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
IMHO I think this is incorrect. The sizzle can hit a lot more important targets (3/4 fliers, guardian of the guild pact, green reach x/4 spiders, etc). But you can also cast Sizzle as a draw two on an empty board. Cunning requires a creature to target.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
i dont care too much about magic names. since im from germany we had horribly stupid card names since translations were a thing.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
Notion Rain is quite good, but I think Bargain is a little better since its monocolored and instant, also digs 1 deeper before drawing and its probably better than Forsee as well. Being instant is huge on carddraw.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Sorcery
Creatures you control gain deathtouch until end of turn. Target creature you control fights target creature you don't control.
Undergrowth - When Kraul Scavenger enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life for each creature card in your graveyard.
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
the green dude is just crap
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
It's a work in progress
Kraul Prey Snatcher: Interesting, but not really better than something like Angel of Mercy if you're looking for lifegain on a big stick. Since it's Bolt-proof, it's tailor-made to stop red opponents if that's what you're looking for (still not much better than Staunch Defenders in that role imo).
I'm more excited about Rhizome Lurcher. You need two critters in the yard for an acceptable standard of Rumbling Baloth - three dudes or more gives you a genuine shot at playing Juzám Djinn in pauper. With this guy plus Undergrowth Scavenger as backup, there might be something graveyard-based and +1/+1 counter based to dig into. Quarry Hauler wants a few more counters-based cards in the cube to justify inclusion, I think.
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
Lurcher might be a little better since it starts as 2/2, but on the other hand doenst care for you opponents yards, so its smaller lategame. Not sold on that one either, although a bunch of surveil cards might change that. Still never a T1 cards for me.
Besides, Pauper alrady has a bunch of (better) Juzams, Imperiosaur Blastoderm Wild Leotau Gurmag Angler
A 3/3 flyer is better than a 4/4 vanilla and the angel turned out borderline at best for me in a color that has less strong 5 drops than green. And the turn you can cast it you might be alreay dead against red, so meh.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
I like it, definitively replacing Rendclaw Trow in my cube.
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