This is true. As more and more good legendary creatures enter my Cube, Iwamori becomes less relevant, and with Commander Legends bringing maybe 5 new legendaries... I will have to cross fingers each time I'll play Iwamori.
The same with Cast Down. I'll be looking at these two cards to see if they are becoming unplayed.
Coastline Marauders - Very powerful three drop that works both in aggro and midrange decks.
Halana, Kessig Ranger - I really dislike when there is weird stuff like the partner ability on a card, but this is too good to pass. A 3/4 reach is already good value for 3G and the ability can take over the game. Repeatable removal in green is even more valuable than it would be in other colors.
Reyav, Master Smith - Double strike creatures are usually pretty crappy on their own, so it's not that big of a downside that equipment or auras are a requirement. Only works in one deck, but it's powerful when it works and a good signpost for the Boros equipment/pants deck.
Tuya Bearclaw - The average case is probably a 5/5 when you attack. Lack of trample hurts and she's bad on an empty board, but on the plus side she can become huge and will basically fork your pump spells. Manaplasm works great in my cube and it's a fun card and this is probably easier to trigger consistently. Also great support for the rg pump deck. Gruul has some nice guild cards, but Ghor-Clan Rampager can go.
Considering:
Kangee, Sky Warden - This is basically a slightly better Serra Angel with a powerful anthem effect tacked on it. That is powerful and I like it more than any of the other skies lords we have. But it's hard to find room for it in Azorius and skies is a deck that doesn't really need that much support to work.
Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith - Not bad, but I really don't have room for another three drop, it has the odd partner ability and red has plenty of great removal. Most likely won't make the cut.
Feast of Succession - Powerful, but I don't like monarch as an ability. Another good wrath effect in black is something I want and I think monarch can be great here, but not sure yet whether I really want it.
Slaughter the Strong - Completely misread that card at first ('each player chooses any number of creatures with power 4 or less') and thought it was completely useless. But total power? That sounds much better. On the other hand it's a bit weird as it's hard to say where it would actually work well. Pure control decks don't benefit that much from it.
Kangee's Lieutenant - If I don't add Kangee himself this may be worth testing. I always have room in the white 3 cmc section and it's a very decent creature for a skies midrange deck or generally a lot of white midrange decks.
Tormod, the Desecrator - For my taste it's a bit too hard to get any value out of this. You don't cast reanimation and similar spells in black every turn and if you're out of luck it's just a vanilla 4/2. If it works it can be great, but I believe in 50% of games it will just sit around as a 4/2 for 4 doing nothing.
Fall from Favor - Dislike the monarch ability and don't want more pseudo removal in blue, but good card.
Prava of the Steel Legion - Not bad, but requires too much mana and/or setup to be good enough for my taste.
Gilt-Leaf Winnower - I wouldn't mind removing Shriekmaw and Bone Shredder eventually as I dislike the non-black clause, but the uneven power/toughness non-elf clause is just as random, so this is not the replacement.
Alhura, Solemn Ritualist - While the spirit tokens help this will often be a bad Relief Captain. You can't even put the counters on a token if you want the full value, which is what I often do when I cast Relief Captain.
Frenzied Saddlebrute - I like Charging Monstrosaur more. Trample and one more toughness help a lot more than a haste effect on a 5 mana creature. And I don't even run Monstrosaur anymore.
Oh, I missed that Gilt-Lead Winnower was a new downshift even if I did stop at it and go 'I am sure I had considered whether this was good enough'. I imagine I must have been thinking of some other kill spell with a similar clause. Could well be good enough to include if I still have colour-limited back removal. This might still have a restriction but I like it a lot better than anything 'non-black' or similar.
25) Frenzied Saddlebrute- Good stats and a good ability, but that only makes this the ~5th best red 5-drop, and there's no room for that.
I feel you can make the case that Monstrosaur or Rite of the Raging Storm is better (depending on what you want of your red 5 drops), but that's about it. Which cards would you consider the top 5?
I think my internal list put it 4th among red 5 drops. Behind Charging Montrosaur (which I am currently playing), Rite of the Raging Storm (which I am not), and Garbage Elemental (d), which is the 3/3 with cascade that also deals the opponent d6 damage.
I mostly wanted to be careful that I did not forgot anything else, so top 5 to be conservative.
I personally think both Montrosaur and Sdadlebrute are the kind of cards your opponent needs to kill in 2 turns regardless, and in that case, I would rather have the 5-toughness trampler over the extra haste on Saddlebrute.
Feast of Succession is also getting a bit of talk, but honestly, I like it less. I prefer my wraths to be less than six mana, especially if they aren't unconditional or one-sided. If this were Languish, I would run it in a heartbeat, but two extra mana is a lot to ask. There will be games where you really need to cast it now but only have five mana. I'd rather the cheaper cost without the card draw. The closest thing to this in my cube is Slice and Dice, which is essentially the same cost for the same wrath, but it offers a much more flexible card because you can cycle for 2R to draw a card and top off 1 damage to each creature (perhaps post combat to even kill bigger things). For everyone who's been extolling the flexibility of the MDFCs from Zendikar, I'd recommend Slice and Dice over Feast of Succession.
I also run Slice and Dice, but I really like Feast of Succession because it feels like a control deck finisher. And it being a more powerful card than Languish at the extra two mana is more in line with Peasant-level power. Languish would probably be too good, since it would not give the aggro decks enough time to do anything.
Feast of Succession has some interesting counter-play built in. Aggro decks get more time to utilize their early creature and a better change to play x/5s that would survive.
Maybe I'm undervaluing the wrath on Feast of Succession itself, but betting on your opponent to not have even 10% of the cube by t6+ doesn't feel like good odds to me. Obviously this isn't the full story (holding up removal, using x/5s yourself, haste creatures played beforehand, death triggers, flash, etc.), but if a average deck has 2 ways to get the monarch immediately, they are 55% to have drawn 1 by t6.
Well, you said it already: if it's a haste creature you're worried about, they need to have not already played it by now. so that 55% is not remotely useful as a benchmark.
But, ultimately, I hate monarch. The game is suddenly a home-rules version of magic and it leads to some pretty crazy snowballing.
I also think that I agree with the assessment of the saddlebrute being 4th after those three. Garbage elemental d is almost in my cube and this new creature's haste-granting is only really mouth-watering paired with green's 7 drops.
But, ultimately, I hate monarch. The game is suddenly a home-rules version of magic and it leads to some pretty crazy snowballing.
I think the snowball is a reason to run this. It lets control decks seal a win easier against midrange while being late enough that the aggro deck was probably already out.
Sure, there is a chance of spending $4 on a booster and getting the Mythic Rare $30 super card. There is also a chance of surviving putting your tongue in a light socket.
Deep Analysis > Fall from Favor - More slick removal for blue. I saw a post a while back ragging on Deep Anal and I can't really argue against it. It's not like F3 doesn't draw cards either. Cunning Sparkmage > Coastline Marauders - I want more aggro 3's. Sparkmage seems like the least fun of the non-attacking 3's so it gets the cut. Sulfurous Blast > Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith - Sick card. Red can stand to have more creatures. Tomebound Lich > Araumi of the Dead Tide - Lich is obviously good value, but this is spicier and that's important to me in a guild card. I like the art on Baleful Strix too much also. Penumbra Spider > Halana, Kessig Ranger - It's sick. Spider seems like an easy swap. Not that I dislike it, just that I like Halana better. Iwamori is also on the chopping block but if anything I'd just swap him back to green Calciderm (I've forgotten it's name) Mist Raven > Merchant Raiders - I don't know if this is an upgrade in power, but I'm willing to try it. The number of pirates in my list is slowly creeping up (5 blue, 2 red) so there is a non-zero chance of getting more than one guy with this. Basalt Monolith > Guildless Commons - I think lands are easier to play than the Monolith, and one karoo takes up less space than a full cycle. Fireball > Crimson Fleet Commodore - This seems like an awesome curve topper for red aggro decks. Who else is better placed to keep the crown? ob Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted -> Feast of Succession - I've said my piece on this. It's good.
Cards I like but haven't added: Breeches, Brazen Plunderer - waiting in the wings for more good red pirates. Kangee, Sky Warden - impressive but I don't want to cut any of my UW cards Prava of the Steel Legion - If blocking tokens is too much of a clog I could see swapping this for Intangible Virtue. I'd actually have to play with my cube to know :^) Armix, Filigree Thrasher - The support isn't there yet, but maybe in a year or two we'll have enough coloured artifacts scattered around that this can start spitting out Disfigures >30% of the time. Shimmer Myr - I like it (and the art is slick) but see Amix. I look forward to the day when I finally add this. Tormod, the Desecrator - I think as magic's design space grows, the grave as a resource will become more and more prominent. At some point this may creep into the mainstream. Fun with Dr Teeth.
I do worry that the density of Monarch may be too high now. I don't know if I want it coming up every game. Again, I'd have to actually playtest to know.
I really do dislike Monarch as a mechanic, especially in our format. However, Feast of Succession excites me so much as a control finisher where I might add it into my cube on a short leash. SHOOOORTTT leash.
Maybe I'm undervaluing the wrath on Feast of Succession itself, but betting on your opponent to not have even 10% of the cube by t6+ doesn't feel like good odds to me. Obviously this isn't the full story (holding up removal, using x/5s yourself, haste creatures played beforehand, death triggers, flash, etc.), but if a average deck has 2 ways to get the monarch immediately, they are 55% to have drawn 1 by t6.
Well, you said it already: if it's a haste creature you're worried about, they need to have not already played it by now. so that 55% is not remotely useful as a benchmark.
If you want to be picky about the numbers then lets even discount haste creatures entirely (which is probably similarly inaccurate). That's about 20 cards in your cube. Counting stuff in your cube outside of haste creatures + x/5+s that would also steal monarch after it's cast gives me a bit more than 20 cards (entirely ignoring manlands too). Including x/5+s (20ish), that's around 10% of your cube, which puts the number at >55% again if played spells average 10% of them. You can debate how much each card counts, but if Feast of Succession -> get monarch taken is a bad case 55% is ridiculously high. That's 55% on t6 too (where your opponent is even on the play!), so if you're not casting it on curve the higher chance you run into a Rhythm of the Wild or a Goblin Trenches.
If someone doesn't like the monarch ability of Fall from Favor or Feast of Succesion, delete that mechanic from those cards. But to say, "I pass" on the best wrath we have in black seems hard.
Also I like Frenzied Saddlebrute and should run it. But maybe Rite of the Raging Storm is better. The problem with Rite, in my opinion, is that you are playing a cmc 5 that doesn't do anything. Yes, probably will give you the match, the card is good for midrange, control, aristocrats... but it doesn't have a big impact as it arrives.
If someone doesn't like the monarch ability of Fall from Favor or Feast of Succesion, delete that mechanic from those cards. But to say, "I pass" on the best wrath we have in black seems hard.
Some of us have a hard time just putting an errata on a card or house ruling something. At least I would never do that, simply because it would drive me mad on an aesthetic level. I will agree with you that it's just the best wrath I've ever seen in black. I would even play this if it was printed without monarch.
1) There is an argument that Feast is really good, especially because the Monarch mechanic can really snowball things. There is also the idea that Feast would be good enough without Monarch. Even an argument that Feast might be not good because you might not be able to defend the Monarch.
I just think it is obviously good if you untap the next turn as the Monarch and it is probably okay enough if you just kill two creatures, draw a card, and then lose the Monarchy next turn. Sometimes, you just have to survive and catch up and Feast is a great catch-up card with Monarch. I also think losing the Monarch ability would end my interest in cubing Feast.
2) Feast is also a matchup dependent card. With the discussion of how easy it is to take back the crown next turn, it should be noted that some decks might not have any good answers, at which point Feast is basically a game winner. It might even be a card you board out sometimes. Which I am fine with on a 6-mana sorcery spell.
Been meaning to write-up another set review for a while and, wow, what a set we have here. WotC really allowed themselves to push the uncommons in Commander Legends both from a design and a power level standpoint, and Peasant cubers are a big beneficiary.
Stable/Solid Slaughter the Strong - Not the best white wrath we could have gotten, but it’s the best we’ve got right now. This seems like a slam dunk for every Peasant cube that is interested in supporting slower white decks, simply on the merit of being a completely unique effect. Currently there are very few ways to get punished for dumping an entire hand of creatures onto the battlefield, so I think having access to cards like Slaughter are generally good for a format.
Merchant Raiders - I’m evaluating this (and similar pirate-triggering cards) assuming no bonus Pirate synergy and this one still seems really, really good. It is effectively Fairgrounds Warden (a comparison I look at favorably) in a color which has little access to creature removal, and the Raiders are even less susceptible to blowout situations (opponents don’t get ETBs, no shenanigans mid-combat). If you can get any incidental pirate triggers the card becomes nuts. A relevant body means additional tension in deciding if blocks are worth running into combat tricks and losing your 'snare'.
Gilt-Leaf Winnower - As with others, I’ve trimmed out all removal with the “non-black” clause which has left somewhat of a dearth of Nekrataal-style cards. The Winnower won’t always answer the threat you need it to, but it shouldn’t be difficult to find something to target and make this a reliable 2-for-1. The base body is also very relevant and menace is just a great keyword. Feast of Succession - The card that is going to compel to me break from my aversion to Monarch, and it seems I'm not alone. I feel that Monarch is a fantastic mechanic in multiplayer, but for 1v1 it has two main issues 1) it completely warps the gameplay decisions from the point it’s played and 2) is the oft mentioned “snowballing” problem where the Monarch can completely dominate a player that has stumbled out the gate. All that being said, this type of game-warping effect is much more palatable on a 6-mana sorcery than on, say… a three mana removal spell *cough*. And since Feast has a spell effect that we have been desperately needing in Peasant, I’ll be running this until we finally get our Languish downshift.
Quick shoutout to Carrion Grub, one of the few black creatures that survives Feast and has just generally been an solid performer. I don’t think it got enough love when M21 first rolled through.
Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith - In addition to being absolutely hilarious, this card looks like a ton of fun to play with. It’s not quite simple enough to say that this has “Landfall: draw 2: Shock” as the tap requirement is a real cost, but it’s pretty close to that. Fortunately, Toggo can sling rocks around himself so it’s a pretty reasonable base case to assume that’s what he’ll be doing on most turns. There are so many little interactions possible from just this one card, I kind of can’t believe this was printed at uncommon. Probably my favorite card from the set and I suspect I’ll be finding unique lines of play with Toggo for years to come. Breeches, Brazen Plunderer - Another effect I’m somewhat surprised, but very pleased, to see at uncommon. This has to be the best card-advantage-on-hit creature in red we have access to, especially considering it has built-in evasion. Spinning the wheel on an impulse draw is already exciting, but impulse draws from your opponent's deck sounds like a blast. There’s really no comparable effect that exists at 4-mana currently in red, so I expect Breeches to be a big addition in red midrange strategies. Volcanic Torrent - Speaking of red midrange, this card seems insane. I had to read it a couple times because I couldn’t believe it only affected your opponents stuff. A one-sided pyroclasm for 4R would already be decent, but tacking on cascade means this is going to represent a massive swing on most board states. I’m always looking for more playable sweepers, and this goes way beyond playable.
Halana, Kessig Ranger - Much has been said since this was one of earliest spoiled cards, but I think it looks like a slam dunk. I am a big fan of main-deckable reach creatures to help shore up green’s biggest weakness. Halana has a very solid base body, and while the triggered ability is a little costly the fact that the fight is one-sided puts this over the top.
Cubable/Borderline Prava of the Steel Legion - An archetype card, but it’s an archetype that basically every cube runs which might push this higher in the rankings. Prava should make it into more decks than something like Intangible Virtue (strong but narrow), because it doesn’t require as much of a critical mass of tokens to justify a deck slot. I’m always a big fan of cards that are both an enabler and a payoff for a given archetype and this fits the bill. Alharu, Solemn Ritualist - Another archetype card, primarily for +1/+1 counters but also small cross synergies with tokens, flicker, and sacrifice. There’s enough going on for this to belong in the conversation with Elite Scaleguard / Basri's Acolyte (Relief Captain surprisingly being a step below Acolyte in my testing), and I should have room to test Alharu as well.
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator - One of many Wind Drake+ variants that have been printed lately, and I think this one gets there. Plays well in any sort of U/x tempo deck, as well as UW fliers and UG ramp. We haven’t had access to this type of repeatable Treasure generation before, making it somewhat hard to evaluate, but thinking about how well Treasures should play alongside counterspells makes me like Malcolm even more. Daring Saboteur - Speaking of U/x tempo, here is a very welcome downshift. Seems like this checks enough boxes (good on curve, good on a stalled board, trades well in a pinch) to have a pretty solid average case, especially since blue two-drops aren’t exactly stacked.
Coastline Marauders - I would have been much more excited about this card if we hadn’t just gotten Skyclave Geopede one set ago. They fill a similar role but function differently enough that I should have room to run both. Geopede can actually trade reasonably as a blocker, but the Marauders have higher upside and Encore is definitely relevant. Frenzied Saddlebrute - I wasn’t completely sold on this card until I heard it compared to Urabrask the Hidden. Yes, the opponents-creatures-enter-tapped clause is a very significant part of Urabrask, but the Saddlebrute is easier to cast, has one more power… and it’s an uncommon! As a curve-topper you’d clearly rather be casting Charging Monstrosaur, but if you aren't necessarily expecting the game to end when you land your 5-drop (R/G midrange, any R/x control shell) this represents a threat that must be dealt with. Dargo, the Shipwrecker - Obviously should play great in the sacrifice deck, but Dargo has enough small interactions going on that I expect him to be playable outside of the dedicated archetype. Seven power of trample will end the game fast, and the ability to cheat on mana should never be overlooked. Excited to run this in a deck with Kazuul's Fury.
Juri, Master of the Revue - A very solid payoff to the Rakdos sacrifice archetype, with some obvious synergy going on between her two abilities and some less obvious ones as well (+1/+1 counters matter, other ways to modify power). Juri needs to reliably get at least one counter, as her floor is pretty poor, but in the right deck she can get out of control fast. Reyav, Master Smith - Probably the best aura/equipment matters payoff we’ve seen in Boros, and a fun way to spice up the guild beyond the more common go-wide archetype. Similar to Juri but with a better floor, if you can reliably get at least one double-strike trigger Reyav should have earned his keep, and beyond that he starts to look really impressive. Araumi of the Dead Tide - I dislike how much more text needed to be on this card to template it for multiplayer, but the effect is unique and certainly can be powerful in the right circumstances. It’s awkward that Araumi has great blocking stats but you have to use its tap ability on your turn, and most creatures without an ETB or death trigger are not going to be worth the mana investment. I’ll be testing this but my expectations are fairly muted. Thalisse, Reverent Medium - I seem to be higher on this card than most, which probably due to the fact that my Orzhov archetypes are among the least defined in my cube. I’ve been pushing support for tokens primarily in the Mardu colors, while trying to find ways to keep the Orzhov style of tokens distinct from Rakdos Sacrifice and Boros Go-Wide style. Thalisse helps push the idea of Orzhov as most of a value-oriented token strategy, with the goal to slow the game down and overwhelm with value from your token generators. I’m hoping a good comparison will be Tatyova, another understated gold 5-drop, but one that can generate an insane amount of value if it stays alive.
Guildless Commons
Interesting design. While it’s strictly worse than any given colored bounceland, it is much easier to break into a colorless cube slot than a guild cube slot. Plays very well with the recent addition of the excellent MDFC lands, and gives every color potential access to the fun trick of bouncing them back to your hand.
Fringe Tormod, the Desecrator
I've come down on this a lot from when it was initially spoiled. There’s too many things that need to go right and the upsides don’t make up for the fail cases. If the base body was better I think this could have found a home, but a 4/2 that you’re playing primarily for the triggered ability is effectively never going to get into combat and that’s not good enough for a 4-drop. Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel
One of many cards that are sadly one mana too expensive. I can imagine some magical-christmas-land scenarios in an aristocrats deck, but at the end of the day it’s a 6-mana 3/3 with no immediate impact on the board.
Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
So you’ve already jumped through the hoops of getting multiple creatures in play with +1/+1 counters, and the big payoff is… a discounted vanilla 5/5 which lets me flood the board with even more creatures? Mana reduction abilities are always worth looking at, but this just seems like the definition of “win more”. Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty
Even the heaviest ramp decks are only going to be running a handful of 6CMC+ cards. Unless your format is exceptionally slow, this seem like a non-starter. Kangee, Sky Warden
Azorius is already really tight, and I can’t see this beating out Migratory Route at 5CMC or Empyrean Eagle as a flyers support card.
Fall from Favor
Not personally interested in this for my format, but if you are evaluating strictly on power-level this has to be mentioned.
Conclusions
Woah that turned out to be a lot of words, so here's just a few more. Red midrange seems to be the biggest winner by far, but white and black get huge additions in the form of much neededsweepers. And while I initially discounted the idea of multiple pirate triggers, it's not too crazy to think that Malcolm and Breeches could be the beginning of a fun sub-archetype in Izzet. Overall a big win for Peasant cubes, both in the form of interesting / unique effects to play with but also a promising sign of what WotC is willing to print at lower rarities (even if we have to wait for supplemental sets for the splashiest effects).
Quick shoutout to Carrion Grub, one of the few black creatures that survives Feast and has just generally been an solid performer. I don’t think it got enough love when M21 first rolled through.
Doesn't this card just average out as like a 4 mana 3/5 that mills you for 4? With the upside of being like a 4/5 and the downside of occasionally being a 0/5?
It's definitely a card that plays a lot better than it looks, and I'd recommend anyone supporting a graveyard-matters theme to test it out as it fits the bill of being both an enabler and a payoff for the archetype.
Five toughness is massive, especially in black. Just because the Grub may start as a 2/5 or 3/5 doesn't mean it will stay that size. It blocks incredibly well until you're ready to turn the corner and by that time it has usually grown larger.
This is true. As more and more good legendary creatures enter my Cube, Iwamori becomes less relevant, and with Commander Legends bringing maybe 5 new legendaries... I will have to cross fingers each time I'll play Iwamori.
The same with Cast Down. I'll be looking at these two cards to see if they are becoming unplayed.
My Omniscience Draft Cube[/b]
My Commander Cube
My Pai Gow Cube
My Two-Headed Giant Cube
Coastline Marauders - Very powerful three drop that works both in aggro and midrange decks.
Halana, Kessig Ranger - I really dislike when there is weird stuff like the partner ability on a card, but this is too good to pass. A 3/4 reach is already good value for 3G and the ability can take over the game. Repeatable removal in green is even more valuable than it would be in other colors.
Reyav, Master Smith - Double strike creatures are usually pretty crappy on their own, so it's not that big of a downside that equipment or auras are a requirement. Only works in one deck, but it's powerful when it works and a good signpost for the Boros equipment/pants deck.
Tuya Bearclaw - The average case is probably a 5/5 when you attack. Lack of trample hurts and she's bad on an empty board, but on the plus side she can become huge and will basically fork your pump spells. Manaplasm works great in my cube and it's a fun card and this is probably easier to trigger consistently. Also great support for the rg pump deck. Gruul has some nice guild cards, but Ghor-Clan Rampager can go.
Considering:
Kangee, Sky Warden - This is basically a slightly better Serra Angel with a powerful anthem effect tacked on it. That is powerful and I like it more than any of the other skies lords we have. But it's hard to find room for it in Azorius and skies is a deck that doesn't really need that much support to work.
Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith - Not bad, but I really don't have room for another three drop, it has the odd partner ability and red has plenty of great removal. Most likely won't make the cut.
Feast of Succession - Powerful, but I don't like monarch as an ability. Another good wrath effect in black is something I want and I think monarch can be great here, but not sure yet whether I really want it.
Slaughter the Strong - Completely misread that card at first ('each player chooses any number of creatures with power 4 or less') and thought it was completely useless. But total power? That sounds much better. On the other hand it's a bit weird as it's hard to say where it would actually work well. Pure control decks don't benefit that much from it.
Kangee's Lieutenant - If I don't add Kangee himself this may be worth testing. I always have room in the white 3 cmc section and it's a very decent creature for a skies midrange deck or generally a lot of white midrange decks.
Honorable mentions:
Araumi of the Dead Tide - Good value, but not what I'm looking for in Dimir.
Tormod, the Desecrator - For my taste it's a bit too hard to get any value out of this. You don't cast reanimation and similar spells in black every turn and if you're out of luck it's just a vanilla 4/2. If it works it can be great, but I believe in 50% of games it will just sit around as a 4/2 for 4 doing nothing.
Fall from Favor - Dislike the monarch ability and don't want more pseudo removal in blue, but good card.
Merchant Raiders - Decent card, but I'm not a big fan of Fairgrounds Warden and friends and this is basically the same in blue.
Prava of the Steel Legion - Not bad, but requires too much mana and/or setup to be good enough for my taste.
Gilt-Leaf Winnower - I wouldn't mind removing Shriekmaw and Bone Shredder eventually as I dislike the non-black clause, but the uneven power/toughness non-elf clause is just as random, so this is not the replacement.
Alhura, Solemn Ritualist - While the spirit tokens help this will often be a bad Relief Captain. You can't even put the counters on a token if you want the full value, which is what I often do when I cast Relief Captain.
Frenzied Saddlebrute - I like Charging Monstrosaur more. Trample and one more toughness help a lot more than a haste effect on a 5 mana creature. And I don't even run Monstrosaur anymore.
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
I think my internal list put it 4th among red 5 drops. Behind Charging Montrosaur (which I am currently playing), Rite of the Raging Storm (which I am not), and Garbage Elemental (d), which is the 3/3 with cascade that also deals the opponent d6 damage.
I mostly wanted to be careful that I did not forgot anything else, so top 5 to be conservative.
I personally think both Montrosaur and Sdadlebrute are the kind of cards your opponent needs to kill in 2 turns regardless, and in that case, I would rather have the 5-toughness trampler over the extra haste on Saddlebrute.
I also run Slice and Dice, but I really like Feast of Succession because it feels like a control deck finisher. And it being a more powerful card than Languish at the extra two mana is more in line with Peasant-level power. Languish would probably be too good, since it would not give the aggro decks enough time to do anything.
Feast of Succession has some interesting counter-play built in. Aggro decks get more time to utilize their early creature and a better change to play x/5s that would survive.
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
Well, you said it already: if it's a haste creature you're worried about, they need to have not already played it by now. so that 55% is not remotely useful as a benchmark.
But, ultimately, I hate monarch. The game is suddenly a home-rules version of magic and it leads to some pretty crazy snowballing.
I also think that I agree with the assessment of the saddlebrute being 4th after those three. Garbage elemental d is almost in my cube and this new creature's haste-granting is only really mouth-watering paired with green's 7 drops.
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 think the snowball is a reason to run this. It lets control decks seal a win easier against midrange while being late enough that the aggro deck was probably already out.
Cunning Sparkmage > Coastline Marauders - I want more aggro 3's. Sparkmage seems like the least fun of the non-attacking 3's so it gets the cut.
Sulfurous Blast > Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith - Sick card. Red can stand to have more creatures.
Tomebound Lich > Araumi of the Dead Tide - Lich is obviously good value, but this is spicier and that's important to me in a guild card. I like the art on Baleful Strix too much also.
Penumbra Spider > Halana, Kessig Ranger - It's sick. Spider seems like an easy swap. Not that I dislike it, just that I like Halana better. Iwamori is also on the chopping block but if anything I'd just swap him back to green Calciderm (I've forgotten it's name)
Mist Raven > Merchant Raiders - I don't know if this is an upgrade in power, but I'm willing to try it. The number of pirates in my list is slowly creeping up (5 blue, 2 red) so there is a non-zero chance of getting more than one guy with this.
Basalt Monolith > Guildless Commons - I think lands are easier to play than the Monolith, and one karoo takes up less space than a full cycle.
Fireball > Crimson Fleet Commodore - This seems like an awesome curve topper for red aggro decks. Who else is better placed to keep the crown?
ob Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted -> Feast of Succession - I've said my piece on this. It's good.
Cards I like but haven't added:
Breeches, Brazen Plunderer - waiting in the wings for more good red pirates.
Kangee, Sky Warden - impressive but I don't want to cut any of my UW cards
Prava of the Steel Legion - If blocking tokens is too much of a clog I could see swapping this for Intangible Virtue. I'd actually have to play with my cube to know :^)
Armix, Filigree Thrasher - The support isn't there yet, but maybe in a year or two we'll have enough coloured artifacts scattered around that this can start spitting out Disfigures >30% of the time.
Shimmer Myr - I like it (and the art is slick) but see Amix. I look forward to the day when I finally add this.
Tormod, the Desecrator - I think as magic's design space grows, the grave as a resource will become more and more prominent. At some point this may creep into the mainstream. Fun with Dr Teeth.
Cards that are cute but not what I want:
Juri, Master of the Revue - too much work required. Not impactful on its own.
Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty - I want to like this but I think the format isn't set up for it.
Frenzied Saddlebrute - In a larger cube I'd add it happily.
Thalisse, Reverent Medium - This chick should move to the north pole because she's BUILT FOR CHRISTMAS.
I do worry that the density of Monarch may be too high now. I don't know if I want it coming up every game. Again, I'd have to actually playtest to know.
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
My Peasant Cube thread !!! (380 cards)
Draft my Peasant Cube on Cube Cobra !!!
I will run:
Prava of the Steel Legion
Slaughter the Strong
Halana, Kessig Ranger
Coastline Marauders
Gilt-Leaf Winnover
Fall from favor
Feast if Succesion
Reyav, Master Smith
I have douts with Araumi of the Dead Tide for my dimir section and Kangee, Sky Warden for azorius. I'm not sure if they are better than what I have now.
Also I like Frenzied Saddlebrute and should run it. But maybe Rite of the Raging Storm is better. The problem with Rite, in my opinion, is that you are playing a cmc 5 that doesn't do anything. Yes, probably will give you the match, the card is good for midrange, control, aristocrats... but it doesn't have a big impact as it arrives.
My Omniscience Draft Cube[/b]
My Commander Cube
My Pai Gow Cube
My Two-Headed Giant Cube
Some of us have a hard time just putting an errata on a card or house ruling something. At least I would never do that, simply because it would drive me mad on an aesthetic level. I will agree with you that it's just the best wrath I've ever seen in black. I would even play this if it was printed without monarch.
My Peasant Cube thread !!! (380 cards)
Draft my Peasant Cube on Cube Cobra !!!
1) There is an argument that Feast is really good, especially because the Monarch mechanic can really snowball things. There is also the idea that Feast would be good enough without Monarch. Even an argument that Feast might be not good because you might not be able to defend the Monarch.
I just think it is obviously good if you untap the next turn as the Monarch and it is probably okay enough if you just kill two creatures, draw a card, and then lose the Monarchy next turn. Sometimes, you just have to survive and catch up and Feast is a great catch-up card with Monarch. I also think losing the Monarch ability would end my interest in cubing Feast.
2) Feast is also a matchup dependent card. With the discussion of how easy it is to take back the crown next turn, it should be noted that some decks might not have any good answers, at which point Feast is basically a game winner. It might even be a card you board out sometimes. Which I am fine with on a 6-mana sorcery spell.
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
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
Stable/Solid
Slaughter the Strong - Not the best white wrath we could have gotten, but it’s the best we’ve got right now. This seems like a slam dunk for every Peasant cube that is interested in supporting slower white decks, simply on the merit of being a completely unique effect. Currently there are very few ways to get punished for dumping an entire hand of creatures onto the battlefield, so I think having access to cards like Slaughter are generally good for a format.
Merchant Raiders - I’m evaluating this (and similar pirate-triggering cards) assuming no bonus Pirate synergy and this one still seems really, really good. It is effectively Fairgrounds Warden (a comparison I look at favorably) in a color which has little access to creature removal, and the Raiders are even less susceptible to blowout situations (opponents don’t get ETBs, no shenanigans mid-combat). If you can get any incidental pirate triggers the card becomes nuts. A relevant body means additional tension in deciding if blocks are worth running into combat tricks and losing your 'snare'.
Gilt-Leaf Winnower - As with others, I’ve trimmed out all removal with the “non-black” clause which has left somewhat of a dearth of Nekrataal-style cards. The Winnower won’t always answer the threat you need it to, but it shouldn’t be difficult to find something to target and make this a reliable 2-for-1. The base body is also very relevant and menace is just a great keyword.
Feast of Succession - The card that is going to compel to me break from my aversion to Monarch, and it seems I'm not alone. I feel that Monarch is a fantastic mechanic in multiplayer, but for 1v1 it has two main issues 1) it completely warps the gameplay decisions from the point it’s played and 2) is the oft mentioned “snowballing” problem where the Monarch can completely dominate a player that has stumbled out the gate. All that being said, this type of game-warping effect is much more palatable on a 6-mana sorcery than on, say… a three mana removal spell *cough*. And since Feast has a spell effect that we have been desperately needing in Peasant, I’ll be running this until we finally get our Languish downshift.
Quick shoutout to Carrion Grub, one of the few black creatures that survives Feast and has just generally been an solid performer. I don’t think it got enough love when M21 first rolled through.
Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith - In addition to being absolutely hilarious, this card looks like a ton of fun to play with. It’s not quite simple enough to say that this has “Landfall: draw 2: Shock” as the tap requirement is a real cost, but it’s pretty close to that. Fortunately, Toggo can sling rocks around himself so it’s a pretty reasonable base case to assume that’s what he’ll be doing on most turns. There are so many little interactions possible from just this one card, I kind of can’t believe this was printed at uncommon. Probably my favorite card from the set and I suspect I’ll be finding unique lines of play with Toggo for years to come.
Breeches, Brazen Plunderer - Another effect I’m somewhat surprised, but very pleased, to see at uncommon. This has to be the best card-advantage-on-hit creature in red we have access to, especially considering it has built-in evasion. Spinning the wheel on an impulse draw is already exciting, but impulse draws from your opponent's deck sounds like a blast. There’s really no comparable effect that exists at 4-mana currently in red, so I expect Breeches to be a big addition in red midrange strategies.
Volcanic Torrent - Speaking of red midrange, this card seems insane. I had to read it a couple times because I couldn’t believe it only affected your opponents stuff. A one-sided pyroclasm for 4R would already be decent, but tacking on cascade means this is going to represent a massive swing on most board states. I’m always looking for more playable sweepers, and this goes way beyond playable.
Halana, Kessig Ranger - Much has been said since this was one of earliest spoiled cards, but I think it looks like a slam dunk. I am a big fan of main-deckable reach creatures to help shore up green’s biggest weakness. Halana has a very solid base body, and while the triggered ability is a little costly the fact that the fight is one-sided puts this over the top.
Cubable/Borderline
Prava of the Steel Legion - An archetype card, but it’s an archetype that basically every cube runs which might push this higher in the rankings. Prava should make it into more decks than something like Intangible Virtue (strong but narrow), because it doesn’t require as much of a critical mass of tokens to justify a deck slot. I’m always a big fan of cards that are both an enabler and a payoff for a given archetype and this fits the bill.
Alharu, Solemn Ritualist - Another archetype card, primarily for +1/+1 counters but also small cross synergies with tokens, flicker, and sacrifice. There’s enough going on for this to belong in the conversation with Elite Scaleguard / Basri's Acolyte (Relief Captain surprisingly being a step below Acolyte in my testing), and I should have room to test Alharu as well.
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator - One of many Wind Drake+ variants that have been printed lately, and I think this one gets there. Plays well in any sort of U/x tempo deck, as well as UW fliers and UG ramp. We haven’t had access to this type of repeatable Treasure generation before, making it somewhat hard to evaluate, but thinking about how well Treasures should play alongside counterspells makes me like Malcolm even more.
Daring Saboteur - Speaking of U/x tempo, here is a very welcome downshift. Seems like this checks enough boxes (good on curve, good on a stalled board, trades well in a pinch) to have a pretty solid average case, especially since blue two-drops aren’t exactly stacked.
Coastline Marauders - I would have been much more excited about this card if we hadn’t just gotten Skyclave Geopede one set ago. They fill a similar role but function differently enough that I should have room to run both. Geopede can actually trade reasonably as a blocker, but the Marauders have higher upside and Encore is definitely relevant.
Frenzied Saddlebrute - I wasn’t completely sold on this card until I heard it compared to Urabrask the Hidden. Yes, the opponents-creatures-enter-tapped clause is a very significant part of Urabrask, but the Saddlebrute is easier to cast, has one more power… and it’s an uncommon! As a curve-topper you’d clearly rather be casting Charging Monstrosaur, but if you aren't necessarily expecting the game to end when you land your 5-drop (R/G midrange, any R/x control shell) this represents a threat that must be dealt with.
Dargo, the Shipwrecker - Obviously should play great in the sacrifice deck, but Dargo has enough small interactions going on that I expect him to be playable outside of the dedicated archetype. Seven power of trample will end the game fast, and the ability to cheat on mana should never be overlooked. Excited to run this in a deck with Kazuul's Fury.
Juri, Master of the Revue - A very solid payoff to the Rakdos sacrifice archetype, with some obvious synergy going on between her two abilities and some less obvious ones as well (+1/+1 counters matter, other ways to modify power). Juri needs to reliably get at least one counter, as her floor is pretty poor, but in the right deck she can get out of control fast.
Reyav, Master Smith - Probably the best aura/equipment matters payoff we’ve seen in Boros, and a fun way to spice up the guild beyond the more common go-wide archetype. Similar to Juri but with a better floor, if you can reliably get at least one double-strike trigger Reyav should have earned his keep, and beyond that he starts to look really impressive.
Araumi of the Dead Tide - I dislike how much more text needed to be on this card to template it for multiplayer, but the effect is unique and certainly can be powerful in the right circumstances. It’s awkward that Araumi has great blocking stats but you have to use its tap ability on your turn, and most creatures without an ETB or death trigger are not going to be worth the mana investment. I’ll be testing this but my expectations are fairly muted.
Thalisse, Reverent Medium - I seem to be higher on this card than most, which probably due to the fact that my Orzhov archetypes are among the least defined in my cube. I’ve been pushing support for tokens primarily in the Mardu colors, while trying to find ways to keep the Orzhov style of tokens distinct from Rakdos Sacrifice and Boros Go-Wide style. Thalisse helps push the idea of Orzhov as most of a value-oriented token strategy, with the goal to slow the game down and overwhelm with value from your token generators. I’m hoping a good comparison will be Tatyova, another understated gold 5-drop, but one that can generate an insane amount of value if it stays alive.
Guildless Commons
Interesting design. While it’s strictly worse than any given colored bounceland, it is much easier to break into a colorless cube slot than a guild cube slot. Plays very well with the recent addition of the excellent MDFC lands, and gives every color potential access to the fun trick of bouncing them back to your hand.
Fringe
Tormod, the Desecrator
I've come down on this a lot from when it was initially spoiled. There’s too many things that need to go right and the upsides don’t make up for the fail cases. If the base body was better I think this could have found a home, but a 4/2 that you’re playing primarily for the triggered ability is effectively never going to get into combat and that’s not good enough for a 4-drop.
Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel
One of many cards that are sadly one mana too expensive. I can imagine some magical-christmas-land scenarios in an aristocrats deck, but at the end of the day it’s a 6-mana 3/3 with no immediate impact on the board.
Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh
Cute design, but needs too much support to reliably perform.
Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
So you’ve already jumped through the hoops of getting multiple creatures in play with +1/+1 counters, and the big payoff is… a discounted vanilla 5/5 which lets me flood the board with even more creatures? Mana reduction abilities are always worth looking at, but this just seems like the definition of “win more”.
Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty
Even the heaviest ramp decks are only going to be running a handful of 6CMC+ cards. Unless your format is exceptionally slow, this seem like a non-starter.
Kangee, Sky Warden
Azorius is already really tight, and I can’t see this beating out Migratory Route at 5CMC or Empyrean Eagle as a flyers support card.
Honorable mentions
Artifact support:
Armix, Filigree Thrasher
Ich-Tekik, Salvage Splicer
Shimmer Myr
Fall from Favor
Not personally interested in this for my format, but if you are evaluating strictly on power-level this has to be mentioned.
Conclusions
Woah that turned out to be a lot of words, so here's just a few more. Red midrange seems to be the biggest winner by far, but white and black get huge additions in the form of much needed sweepers. And while I initially discounted the idea of multiple pirate triggers, it's not too crazy to think that Malcolm and Breeches could be the beginning of a fun sub-archetype in Izzet. Overall a big win for Peasant cubes, both in the form of interesting / unique effects to play with but also a promising sign of what WotC is willing to print at lower rarities (even if we have to wait for supplemental sets for the splashiest effects).
Formerly hedgehogger
Doesn't this card just average out as like a 4 mana 3/5 that mills you for 4? With the upside of being like a 4/5 and the downside of occasionally being a 0/5?
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
Five toughness is massive, especially in black. Just because the Grub may start as a 2/5 or 3/5 doesn't mean it will stay that size. It blocks incredibly well until you're ready to turn the corner and by that time it has usually grown larger.
And as for upside, mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger. In a handful of showings, I've seen it at five, six, seven, even eight power. And while this combo hasn't come together for our group yet, it's only a matter of time before... the dream.
Formerly hedgehogger