Jewel Thief is a mish mash of stuff that looks nice on paper, but it doesn't do anything well. Does a 3/3 really benefit much from vigilance and trample? Don't think so, not without a boost to toughness or power. The treasure token is also nice, but this is a green card that is played in a green deck. It is certainly a good amount of value for 3 mana, but without any boost to power or thoughness it's still just a 3/3 for 3 with a limited ramp built in. Don't think I will play this.
The equip cost difference between Ancestral Blade and Citizen's Crowbar is pretty huge. Unless you are in dire need of more Disenchant effects I would definitely prefer Ancestral Blade.
Patch Up looks nice, but it is probably too hard to get any real value out of it. A one drop that is relevant in the late game like Mother of Runes and a two drop would be great, but that won't happen often. Call of the Death-Dweller seems much better to me as added deathtouch and menace are worth much more than the possible fringe case of three one drops and I think I should actually run it as it can be worth it even if you only have a single two drop as a target.
Inspiring Overseer is absurd. I read it like 3 times just now trying to find the downside, but there just isn't one. It's not just a better Priest of Ancient Lore, it's a better Cloudkin Seer. Card is great on rate AND supports two of the most popular UW archetypes available at peasant (blink and fliers).
I was definitely also floored to see Inspiring Overseer just thrown in there. Very solid.
It seems like this set is for the most part cutting down on mechanical complexity, at least in terms of mechanics themselves.
Hard to say at this point what my inclusions will end up being but vigilance on a 3/3 for 3 is definitely not irrelevant, and neither is either being able to follow up with a 1-drop or boosting you to 5-drops the next turn.
Thus far, my favourite card would probably be... Really hard to decide on. There are a lot of 'solid and kind of interesting but not very exciting' cards here. Scuttling Butler gets an honourable mention, though, even if it might be a pretty bad fit for my CU/be with its limited guild slots.
Inspiring Overseer is pure power creep without feeling oppressive because with one toughness it dies to everything. It's an easy 1-for-1 swap with Priest of Ancient Lore in my cube. I like cards that support multiple archetypes.
This is the first card I know for sure I'll be adding. Still considering a couple others and waiting for more.
A relatively weak set and personally I don't like the flavor of it. I don't mind if they experiment a bit with settings, but the 30s Chicago gangster vibe feels a bit too much out of place in a Magic setting from my pov.
Will add:
Inspiring Overseer - The only no-brainer card of the set. A slightly better Cloudkin Seer in white should be a welcome addition to pretty much any CU/be.
Rumor Gatherer - Card draw in white is always something to consider and while the cc mana cost and especially the single point of thoughness hurt I'm sure this can often do good work in go wide decks that don't normally have access to card draw.
Witty Roastmaster - A 3/2 that can deal quite a lot of damage without attacking in go wide decks should be pretty good.
Maybe:
A Little Chat - Good blue version of Village Rites and I don't think you need specific sacrifice synergies to play this because there is always the option to cast it without casualty, which isn't stellar, but good enough if you hold up the mana anyway. May be hard to find room for it in blue, but I will consider it.
Ah, time for an overview since the full set has been revealed.
Overall: Lots of interesting cards but few true standouts. Really solid base bodies overall but mostly simple mechanics. I wish that there had been new true hybrids available.
Staple: Inspiring Overseer: The best version of this effect in any colour thus far.
Likely Inclusion: Citizen's Crowbar: White still benefits from Disenchants and I like the Ancestral Blade style of 2-drop. Illuminator Virtuoso: Almost certainly better than the Kor for me, and I support this archetype heavily. Mage's Attendant: Interesting potential delay on many spells and token support with good overall P/T ratio. Rumor Gatherer: Solid card draw option, especially with tokens, and even just the filtering is nice. Hypnotic Grifter: I like mana sinks and this is a pretty good one with a low initial investment. Wingshield Agent: Well, would you look at those stats and that upside for this old effect? Night Clubber: My favourite version of this effect yet. Goldhound: Honestly, really hard to assess since it's still a 1/1 for 1 but potentially extremely good. Mayhem Patrol: It's kind of a slow cycling option on an overall decent base body. Riveteers Requisitioner: Nice base body with multiple interesting upsides. Brass Knuckles: Very archetype-reliant but potentially very strong in that archetype.
Interesting: Boon of Safety: Protection spells are nice and this is not quite as reactive as a lot of them in white. Raffine's Informant: I likely have enough more interesting white 2-drop creatures without this, though. Brokers Veteran: Can be interesting but rather awkward. Sleep with the Fishes: It's kind of a Necrataal in blue. But not quite. Witness Protection: Rather efficient 'removal' for blue. Cutthroat Contender: Could be comparable to some other black 1-drops. Is one more toughness worth the guaranteed bleed, for example? Sticky Fingers: Pretty interesting aura for just 1 mana. Witty Roastmaster: A little boring but it's solid damage on a solid body. Civic Gardener: Pretty interesting versatility. Jewel Thief: A lot of things with a good base body. Riveteers Decoy: A rare effect to see on an otherwise usable body, and has upside, too. Venom Connoisseur: Maybe a little hard to get that second effect when you need it but it is strong. Arc Spitter: Could be a good deterrent on the cheap. Paragon of Modernity: Not too hard to enable. Quick-Draw Dagger: I probably like this more than the hoverbike as a colourless surprise spell that leaves value on the table. Scuttling Butler: If only I could reliably enable this in my CU/be, it would be bonkers.
Not as impactful as NEO, but ended up being a little better set than I expected. I would point out that if you happen to run Power Word Kill it is worth re-evaluating if you add a fair number of cards from SNC - there are a lot of demons/devils/angels.
Changes I will Test Ancestral Blade > Citizen's Crowbar: More mana intensive, but the flexibility of destroying an enchantment/artifact is a big deal in my cube. Ainok Bond-Kin > Inspiring Overseer: Just good. Power creep is real. Militia Bugler > Rumor Gatherer: Fits into white/X weenie well. 2/1 body is underwhelming sadly. Otherworldly Journey > Patch Up: I think it is worth it to bring reanimation into a second color. Black will always have better options, but there a lot of W/X decks that would like to bring back a key support creature after a sweeper.
Tireless Provisioner > Jewel Thief: I want to see how this plays out. Tireless Provisoner is best when you can quickly ramp - otherwise, it is pretty underwelming. Jewel Thief has a much lower ceiling, but immediately ramps, carries equipment/counters better, and wants to pressure your opponent.
Other Good Stuff Raffine's Informant: A bit of a filler card. Mage's Attendant: I do not have room and I am not sure how often the Mana Tithe effect will be relevant. A Little Chat: A good Altar's Reap variant, but U/X sacrifice is not really a thing in my cube. Sticky Fingers: Does a lot, but auras have a high barrier for inclusion.
Jewel Thief - Just a good body for Ramp and Aggro. Patch Up - I already offer up Mini-Reanimator strategies in Mardu so this provides another great option. Witty Roastmaster - Offers a way to go wide, while still being good in Aggro and Token decks. Dusk Mangler - I like this because its great in Reanimator and Blink Strategies and works as an odd finisher. Inspiring Overseer - No explanantion needed. Goldhound - Carries equipment well. Decent in Aggro strats as well.
Considering
Slip Out the Back I like cards that add +1+1 counters and provide utility. Allows for more diverse synergies. Citizen's Crowbar Have to decide if I like it more than the other equipement in white. A Little Chat The main appeal is getting credit for playing 2 spells. Dig Up the Body Might be good in my graveyards decks. Mage's Attendant Meh, I dont like that I really only want this in Blue/White Raffine's Guidance Not sure I need another of this spell type. Exotic Pets I want this to be good, if both fish got +1+1 counters I love it. Psychic Pickpocket Maybe better than Mist Raven? Illuminator Virtuoso Will have to see how easy it is to trigger. Celebrity Fencer This seems pretty good and under talked about. Mayhem Patrol This is most likely going to be included. Its just not exciting. Night Clubber Meh Rob the Archives I like that this provides 2 spells, so its under heavy consideration.
Another extremely swift spoiler season leads to another Too Early Top 20 for Streets of New Capenna. Unfortunately, for us on the Peasant side, a lot of emphasis went into three-color cards, which very few of us run. Outside of the three-colored cards, most of the mechanics given to these five families were relatively broad, meaning their fit for CUbe is specific to the themes and tastes of the cube owner. My Peasant cube stands as 512 cards, maximized for power, with 6 spells per guild. I veer towards interesting cards and have definitely found a few on the Streets of New Capenna. I have five tiers of cards to discuss, starting now.
20) Queza, Augur of Agonies- A very powerful card that turns late-game control cards like draw spells into extra defense and offense to help close a game. It is hard to justify a three-color card, but this has a lot of power and has a great role for controlling decks.
19) Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer- A lot of the best 2-for-1 spells available in Peasant are not efficient when broken into their component parts, but are staples because you get all of that in a single card. Such is the case here, where a single creature can impact the board so much by finding just a 1-drop, let alone when this scales up to x=3, x=4, or x=5.
18) The Obscura Storefront cycle- Reasonable three-color fixing on their own, along with the incidental life gain. I wanted to specifically call out the synergies provided by hitting 2 land drops in a single turn for Landfall type effects or filling the graveyard for abilities like Delve or Delirium. Plenty of strong cards work well with this land cycle and a Cube chock full of them should consider adding these 5 lands.
17) A Little Chat- Certainly a reasonable card to be cast alone while also being a great way to sacrifice for value. More powerful than similar black spells, but less fit.
16) Jewel Thief- Does a little bit of everything- reasonable body for 3 mana, ramps a little, and wears modifications real well. I find the ramp and counter synergies in green rarely overlap, which makes this hard to play in every green deck.
15) Mage's Attendant- At this point, I think 4/3 of stats for 2W might be a little underwhelming for Peasant. Having this on two bodies is nice for go-wide cards, but is usually done better elsewhere.
14) Hypnotic Grifter- A nice way to generate lots of loots on a one-mana creature that grows over time. It takes a lot of time and mana to create value, making it too slow for decks that want the early looting and too expensive for decks trying to buy time.
13) Goldhound- Similar to Jewel Thief in wearing modifications well and providing some potential ramp. I think aggro red decks can use either part well, depending on the other cards drawn in that game.
Cards That Make Themselves at Home Anywhere-
12) Night Clubber- Reminds me a lot of Bleeding Edge, a potential 2-for-1 at 3 mana. I am not particularly keen on having this effect in my Cube, but this should do work in lots of different black decks.
11) Make Disappear- As compared to A Little Chat, I think this base effect has a home in more blue decks. Although I will say it is less likely to be copied via Casualty, the times you need the copy are going to be real important.
10) Cleanup Crew- These big 6 drops that gain life have always been great stabilizers in retail Limited decks and the added options can only help with that stability.
Cards With a Place to Call Home-
9) Witty Roastmaster- A strong effect in go-wide red decks, an archetype which keeps getting more support. That said, I think the order of operations here is rough, since you need Roastmaster on the board first before the tokens. Still a very strong effect and an okay body along with it.
8) Plasma Jockey- These types of creatures always work by (essentially) making two threats, the Jockey itself and another creature that now cannot be blocked. Unlike Goblin Heelcutter, which had to be immediately answered when Dashed in, this answers itself when Blitzed and likely gives you a much less impactful card.
7) Dusk Mangler- A wonderful reanimation target through and through, as cheating this into play looks incredibly punishing. I do think playing this normally will be tricky, since you have to spend another card yourself to cast it, even if it provides a 3-for-2. Also an obviously insane creature to blink.
6) Rumor Gatherer- Similar to Witty Roastmaster where the order of entry matters a lot. Even though the creature is weaker, the effect per trigger is stronger and also synergizes with itself very well, as you continue to find relevant spells that further trigger the Alliance ability.
5) Riveteers Requisitioner and 4) Mayhem Patrol- Both cards are pretty reasonable on their own for aggressive red decks, but to essentially have sorcery speed Cycling+ means a lot if these cards get drawn at the wrong time of the game.
Three Card Monte
3) Tainted Indulgence- I expected someone to talk this card up before now, but I suppose it is up to me. The lesson that Expressive Iteration taught me is that conditional two mana draw 2s are well worth considering. The condition here is much harder to obtain than on Iteration, but makes up for that by being an instant. I believe every one of my blue-black decks would happily pay UB for Catalog.
2) Citizen's Crowbar- White finally getting more Disenchants on creatures is a very welcome development. I play lots of strong artifacts and enchantments and answering them is very important, even if the equipment part is weaker than Ancestral Blade. Heck, I still play Kor Sanctifiers, so I am certainly looking for more upgrades to that effect.
1) Inspiring Overseer- Just a great card that fits into every white deck, no questions asked. Hard to get much more at 2W.
3) Tainted Indulgence- I expected someone to talk this card up before now, but I suppose it is up to me. The lesson that Expressive Iteration taught me is that conditional two mana draw 2s are well worth considering. The condition here is much harder to obtain than on Iteration, but makes up for that by being an instant. I believe every one of my blue-black decks would happily pay UB for Catalog.
I thought about Tainted Indulgence, but I think the 5 different mana values condition is very hard to fulfill in the average cube deck, harder than Threshold for example. I would still consider it as reanimator support, which is something that Dimir is lacking. A 2 mana Catalog isn't bad in reanimator and later on there is even a realistic chance to draw 2 without discarding. Plus reanimator is a control deck early on, so instant speed is an advantage.
On the other hand there is a mono color card like Chart a Course, where you have the option to discard even if you fulfill the condition and where the condition is easier to achieve to begin with. It's sorcery speed, but I don't think the instant speed makes up that much. That's why I don't think Tainted Indulgence is a great card, but it can be serviceable in the right deck (which would be mainly reanimator, but probably any Dimir control deck with a bit of graveyard synergies).
My cube has a LOT of tokens so cards that are both good with and against tokens are the ones I am adding. The crowbar is almost more than a maybe more of a can I even cut that many cards from white
A relatively weak set and personally I don't like the flavor of it. I don't mind if they experiment a bit with settings, but the 30s Chicago gangster vibe feels a bit too much out of place in a Magic setting from my pov.
Couldn't agree more. I hated the flavor of this set. Also neither the mechanics nor the three-color aspects of the set are conducive to peasant cube imo. I have a fairly large cube, so I'm always interested in 10-15 cards and usually end up adding 5-10. Here however, I'm only considering a handful, and at the end of the day Inspiring Overseer might be the only add. Sad... but I guess it makes things easier, especially after what was - for me at least - a homerun set in NEO (despite certain flavor issues there, the mechanics and the cards themselves were actually good).
I don't think it's reasonable to expect power creep to add a bunch of new cards every set. NEO was certainly a high water mark over the last few years of standard sets.
I've got 6 cards I'm going to include, and another 13 cards I'm ordering to add to my considering pile. That's not too far off from NEO that had 7 includes and maybe 15 considering.
Includes
Citizen's Crowbar - I was just complaining a few sets ago about how White's Naturalize effects were so much worse than Green's considering Kor Sanctifiers was probably White's best version of it. But now they've printed two fairly quickly in Cathar Commando and this card. Now I'm cutting Kor Sancitifers for this.
Inspiring Overseer - Good value all around and another target to flicker. Very surprised White already power-crept Cloudkin Seer.
I've held off posting my final thoughts so I could go over the set for the umpteenth time, hoping I had missed something. I even went through someone's entire box of commons and uncommons but didn't see anything new. This set just isn't very good for peasant. Too many three color cards, and not enough interesting ones.
IN: Inspiring Overseer- card draw and evasion - great for the flicker and skies archetype, but also just a solid piece of value on its own
MAYBE BUT UNLIKELY: Jewel Thief - Generic value but not really interesting. I could see adding it because it's good, but I could also see it being cut as soon as another set brings along something more interesting Mage's Attendant - This one I actually find interesting, but I can only add so many white three-drop creatures. It works in tokens and flicker, and the counter ability could be interesting; obviously, it doesn't surprise anyone, being out in the open, but you could play your second or third best thing in the hopes of baiting the counter sacrifice. Rumor Gatherer - Again, interesting, but another white three-drop creature, and one toughness makes it die to everything.
I don't think it's reasonable to expect power creep to add a bunch of new cards every set. NEO was certainly a high water mark over the last few years of standard sets.
It's not always about power creep; we want interesting cards. I realize that argument may be weakened when the only card I am adding and one that I considered are pure power creep and strictly better than older cards, but it doesn't have to be that way. Looking back at the last several sets, there have been plenty of additions that were interesting and offered choices without being pure power creep.
I don't think it's reasonable to expect power creep to add a bunch of new cards every set. NEO was certainly a high water mark over the last few years of standard sets.
It's not always about power creep; we want interesting cards. I realize that argument may be weakened when the only card I am adding and one that I considered are pure power creep and strictly better than older cards, but it doesn't have to be that way. Looking back at the last several sets, there have been plenty of additions that were interesting and offered choices without being pure power creep.
Yeah fair point but I think there's a lot of interesting new cards in every set that will never make the cut because their power isn't pushed enough. Ultimately to make the cut the new cards need to be on par with some of the most powerful Peasant cards ever printed and that's not something I expect to see from more than a handful of cards in any set.
Includes: Inspiring Overseer - Good card is good. Rumor Gatherer - Not sure if this will stay but it seems decent card draw in white so I'll have to try. Mayhem Patrol - A 2/2 Menace for 2 is a reasonable floor and late game this cycles in a interesting way. Witty Roastmaster - Fits well in W/R go wide decks, but as someone else pointed out it is also decent in B/R aristocrats as a second Spiteful Prankster. Jewel Thief- I want to push Gruul more as a tempo/ramp deck and this seems very good in that deck.
Danitha Capashen, Paragon > Inspiring Overseer: Like everyone else has said Overseer is (unnecessarily) good. Danitha on the other hand just doesn't have a home in my list. Without a density of ways to augment her and take advantage of her cost-reduction ability, she's often been a "worse" Aerial Responder.
Drown in Sorrow > Night Clubber: I try to be mindful of how many of these effects I run and their effect on aggro's viability. Clubber kills a lot less than Drown, but it is one-sided and comes with a 2/2 body or a card. Also, Drown probably hits too much (38% of the creatures in my cube plus most of the commonly made tokens).
Bane of Bala Ged > Dusk Mangler: Bane is the worst of the three colorless reanimator (and ramp) payoffs in my cube, and Mangler is just more interesting.
Civic Wayfinder > Jewel Thief: Thief ramps immediately and is a bigger, more threatening body for RG. It also wears +1/+1 counters better in GW, and still helps enables multicolor green. Meanwhile, Wayfinder's body seems less reasonable for 2G with every new set, and we've gotten way better lands to fix our mana since original Ravnica.
Considering:
Guttersnipe > Witty Roastmaster: Roastmaster is Impact Tremors on a 3 mana 3/2. I expect it to play well in its most obvious homes, RW tokens and mono red. But, even UR will be able to trigger it pretty reliably. On the flip side, Guttersnipe has been underwhelming and felt out of place in its two best homes. It doesn't push damage fast enough compared to Red's other 3's in Mono Red and RW, and UR is usually built more controlling than aggressive. Plus, UR already tons of ways to end the game. Still, not quite ready to pull the trigger on this one yet.
A Red 2 Drop TBD > Mayhem Patrol: As mentioned above, this is a 2/2 Menace for 1R with upside. Not only can you use the +1/+0 elsewhere if needed, but if you draw this late, you can add 1/2 extra points of damage to the board and cycle it in the process. I expect Patrol would play well, but Red's 2s are competitive.
Guttersnipe > Witty Roastmaster: Roastmaster is Impact Tremors on a 3 mana 3/2. I expect it to play well in its most obvious homes, RW tokens and mono red. But, even UR will be able to trigger it pretty reliably. On the flip side, Guttersnipe has been underwhelming and felt out of place in its two best homes. It doesn't push damage fast enough compared to Red's other 3's in Mono Red and RW, and UR is usually built more controlling than aggressive. Plus, UR already tons of ways to end the game. Still, not quite ready to pull the trigger on this one yet.
I've yet not tested Izzet Spellslinger on my cube. Maybe I'll reach to the same conclusion as you if I play Guttersnipe enough times. I'll keep it in mind.
A Red 2 Drop TBD > Mayhem Patrol: As mentioned above, this is a 2/2 Menace for 1R with upside. Not only can you use the +1/+0 elsewhere if needed, but if you draw this late, you can add 1/2 extra points of damage to the board and cycle it in the process. I expect Patrol would play well, but Red's 2s are competitive.
I replacing Gore-House Chainwalker and I see it is also in your cube so might I suggest that one? I think the difference between a 3/2 and a 2/2 menace is already very slim and Mayhem Patrol is better than a 2/2 menace.
The equip cost difference between Ancestral Blade and Citizen's Crowbar is pretty huge. Unless you are in dire need of more Disenchant effects I would definitely prefer Ancestral Blade.
Patch Up looks nice, but it is probably too hard to get any real value out of it. A one drop that is relevant in the late game like Mother of Runes and a two drop would be great, but that won't happen often. Call of the Death-Dweller seems much better to me as added deathtouch and menace are worth much more than the possible fringe case of three one drops and I think I should actually run it as it can be worth it even if you only have a single two drop as a target.
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
WiJ
Peasant 540 Cube
It seems like this set is for the most part cutting down on mechanical complexity, at least in terms of mechanics themselves.
Hard to say at this point what my inclusions will end up being but vigilance on a 3/3 for 3 is definitely not irrelevant, and neither is either being able to follow up with a 1-drop or boosting you to 5-drops the next turn.
Thus far, my favourite card would probably be... Really hard to decide on. There are a lot of 'solid and kind of interesting but not very exciting' cards here. Scuttling Butler gets an honourable mention, though, even if it might be a pretty bad fit for my CU/be with its limited guild slots.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
This is the first card I know for sure I'll be adding. Still considering a couple others and waiting for more.
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
Useful Resources:
MTGSalvation tags
EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter
Will add:
Inspiring Overseer - The only no-brainer card of the set. A slightly better Cloudkin Seer in white should be a welcome addition to pretty much any CU/be.
Rumor Gatherer - Card draw in white is always something to consider and while the cc mana cost and especially the single point of thoughness hurt I'm sure this can often do good work in go wide decks that don't normally have access to card draw.
Witty Roastmaster - A 3/2 that can deal quite a lot of damage without attacking in go wide decks should be pretty good.
Maybe:
A Little Chat - Good blue version of Village Rites and I don't think you need specific sacrifice synergies to play this because there is always the option to cast it without casualty, which isn't stellar, but good enough if you hold up the mana anyway. May be hard to find room for it in blue, but I will consider it.
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
Overall: Lots of interesting cards but few true standouts. Really solid base bodies overall but mostly simple mechanics. I wish that there had been new true hybrids available.
Staple:
Inspiring Overseer: The best version of this effect in any colour thus far.
Likely Inclusion:
Citizen's Crowbar: White still benefits from Disenchants and I like the Ancestral Blade style of 2-drop.
Illuminator Virtuoso: Almost certainly better than the Kor for me, and I support this archetype heavily.
Mage's Attendant: Interesting potential delay on many spells and token support with good overall P/T ratio.
Rumor Gatherer: Solid card draw option, especially with tokens, and even just the filtering is nice.
Hypnotic Grifter: I like mana sinks and this is a pretty good one with a low initial investment.
Wingshield Agent: Well, would you look at those stats and that upside for this old effect?
Night Clubber: My favourite version of this effect yet.
Goldhound: Honestly, really hard to assess since it's still a 1/1 for 1 but potentially extremely good.
Mayhem Patrol: It's kind of a slow cycling option on an overall decent base body.
Riveteers Requisitioner: Nice base body with multiple interesting upsides.
Brass Knuckles: Very archetype-reliant but potentially very strong in that archetype.
Interesting:
Boon of Safety: Protection spells are nice and this is not quite as reactive as a lot of them in white.
Raffine's Informant: I likely have enough more interesting white 2-drop creatures without this, though.
Brokers Veteran: Can be interesting but rather awkward.
Sleep with the Fishes: It's kind of a Necrataal in blue. But not quite.
Witness Protection: Rather efficient 'removal' for blue.
Cutthroat Contender: Could be comparable to some other black 1-drops. Is one more toughness worth the guaranteed bleed, for example?
Sticky Fingers: Pretty interesting aura for just 1 mana.
Witty Roastmaster: A little boring but it's solid damage on a solid body.
Civic Gardener: Pretty interesting versatility.
Jewel Thief: A lot of things with a good base body.
Riveteers Decoy: A rare effect to see on an otherwise usable body, and has upside, too.
Venom Connoisseur: Maybe a little hard to get that second effect when you need it but it is strong.
Arc Spitter: Could be a good deterrent on the cheap.
Paragon of Modernity: Not too hard to enable.
Quick-Draw Dagger: I probably like this more than the hoverbike as a colourless surprise spell that leaves value on the table.
Scuttling Butler: If only I could reliably enable this in my CU/be, it would be bonkers.
Changes I will Test
Ancestral Blade > Citizen's Crowbar: More mana intensive, but the flexibility of destroying an enchantment/artifact is a big deal in my cube.
Ainok Bond-Kin > Inspiring Overseer: Just good. Power creep is real.
Militia Bugler > Rumor Gatherer: Fits into white/X weenie well. 2/1 body is underwhelming sadly.
Otherworldly Journey > Patch Up: I think it is worth it to bring reanimation into a second color. Black will always have better options, but there a lot of W/X decks that would like to bring back a key support creature after a sweeper.
Skinrender > Night Clubber: Removal diversity.
Embereth Shieldbreaker > Mayhem Patrol: Menace is a nice upgrade and Blitz means it can be cycled if drawn later in the game.
Bolt Hound > Witty Roastmaster: Helps token strategies when attacking is not profitable.
Tireless Provisioner > Jewel Thief: I want to see how this plays out. Tireless Provisoner is best when you can quickly ramp - otherwise, it is pretty underwelming. Jewel Thief has a much lower ceiling, but immediately ramps, carries equipment/counters better, and wants to pressure your opponent.
Other Good Stuff
Raffine's Informant: A bit of a filler card.
Mage's Attendant: I do not have room and I am not sure how often the Mana Tithe effect will be relevant.
A Little Chat: A good Altar's Reap variant, but U/X sacrifice is not really a thing in my cube.
Sticky Fingers: Does a lot, but auras have a high barrier for inclusion.
My 2-Player Signed Legacy Cube
My Lord of the Rings Cube
Jewel Thief - Just a good body for Ramp and Aggro.
Patch Up - I already offer up Mini-Reanimator strategies in Mardu so this provides another great option.
Witty Roastmaster - Offers a way to go wide, while still being good in Aggro and Token decks.
Dusk Mangler - I like this because its great in Reanimator and Blink Strategies and works as an odd finisher.
Inspiring Overseer - No explanantion needed.
Goldhound - Carries equipment well. Decent in Aggro strats as well.
Considering
Slip Out the Back I like cards that add +1+1 counters and provide utility. Allows for more diverse synergies.
Citizen's Crowbar Have to decide if I like it more than the other equipement in white.
A Little Chat The main appeal is getting credit for playing 2 spells.
Dig Up the Body Might be good in my graveyards decks.
Mage's Attendant Meh, I dont like that I really only want this in Blue/White
Raffine's Guidance Not sure I need another of this spell type.
Exotic Pets I want this to be good, if both fish got +1+1 counters I love it.
Psychic Pickpocket Maybe better than Mist Raven?
Illuminator Virtuoso Will have to see how easy it is to trigger.
Celebrity Fencer This seems pretty good and under talked about.
Mayhem Patrol This is most likely going to be included. Its just not exciting.
Night Clubber Meh
Rob the Archives I like that this provides 2 spells, so its under heavy consideration.
20) Queza, Augur of Agonies- A very powerful card that turns late-game control cards like draw spells into extra defense and offense to help close a game. It is hard to justify a three-color card, but this has a lot of power and has a great role for controlling decks.
19) Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer- A lot of the best 2-for-1 spells available in Peasant are not efficient when broken into their component parts, but are staples because you get all of that in a single card. Such is the case here, where a single creature can impact the board so much by finding just a 1-drop, let alone when this scales up to x=3, x=4, or x=5.
18) The Obscura Storefront cycle- Reasonable three-color fixing on their own, along with the incidental life gain. I wanted to specifically call out the synergies provided by hitting 2 land drops in a single turn for Landfall type effects or filling the graveyard for abilities like Delve or Delirium. Plenty of strong cards work well with this land cycle and a Cube chock full of them should consider adding these 5 lands.
17) A Little Chat- Certainly a reasonable card to be cast alone while also being a great way to sacrifice for value. More powerful than similar black spells, but less fit.
16) Jewel Thief- Does a little bit of everything- reasonable body for 3 mana, ramps a little, and wears modifications real well. I find the ramp and counter synergies in green rarely overlap, which makes this hard to play in every green deck.
15) Mage's Attendant- At this point, I think 4/3 of stats for 2W might be a little underwhelming for Peasant. Having this on two bodies is nice for go-wide cards, but is usually done better elsewhere.
14) Hypnotic Grifter- A nice way to generate lots of loots on a one-mana creature that grows over time. It takes a lot of time and mana to create value, making it too slow for decks that want the early looting and too expensive for decks trying to buy time.
13) Goldhound- Similar to Jewel Thief in wearing modifications well and providing some potential ramp. I think aggro red decks can use either part well, depending on the other cards drawn in that game.
Cards That Make Themselves at Home Anywhere-
12) Night Clubber- Reminds me a lot of Bleeding Edge, a potential 2-for-1 at 3 mana. I am not particularly keen on having this effect in my Cube, but this should do work in lots of different black decks.
11) Make Disappear- As compared to A Little Chat, I think this base effect has a home in more blue decks. Although I will say it is less likely to be copied via Casualty, the times you need the copy are going to be real important.
10) Cleanup Crew- These big 6 drops that gain life have always been great stabilizers in retail Limited decks and the added options can only help with that stability.
Cards With a Place to Call Home-
9) Witty Roastmaster- A strong effect in go-wide red decks, an archetype which keeps getting more support. That said, I think the order of operations here is rough, since you need Roastmaster on the board first before the tokens. Still a very strong effect and an okay body along with it.
8) Plasma Jockey- These types of creatures always work by (essentially) making two threats, the Jockey itself and another creature that now cannot be blocked. Unlike Goblin Heelcutter, which had to be immediately answered when Dashed in, this answers itself when Blitzed and likely gives you a much less impactful card.
7) Dusk Mangler- A wonderful reanimation target through and through, as cheating this into play looks incredibly punishing. I do think playing this normally will be tricky, since you have to spend another card yourself to cast it, even if it provides a 3-for-2. Also an obviously insane creature to blink.
6) Rumor Gatherer- Similar to Witty Roastmaster where the order of entry matters a lot. Even though the creature is weaker, the effect per trigger is stronger and also synergizes with itself very well, as you continue to find relevant spells that further trigger the Alliance ability.
5) Riveteers Requisitioner and 4) Mayhem Patrol- Both cards are pretty reasonable on their own for aggressive red decks, but to essentially have sorcery speed Cycling+ means a lot if these cards get drawn at the wrong time of the game.
Three Card Monte
3) Tainted Indulgence- I expected someone to talk this card up before now, but I suppose it is up to me. The lesson that Expressive Iteration taught me is that conditional two mana draw 2s are well worth considering. The condition here is much harder to obtain than on Iteration, but makes up for that by being an instant. I believe every one of my blue-black decks would happily pay UB for Catalog.
2) Citizen's Crowbar- White finally getting more Disenchants on creatures is a very welcome development. I play lots of strong artifacts and enchantments and answering them is very important, even if the equipment part is weaker than Ancestral Blade. Heck, I still play Kor Sanctifiers, so I am certainly looking for more upgrades to that effect.
1) Inspiring Overseer- Just a great card that fits into every white deck, no questions asked. Hard to get much more at 2W.
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
I thought about Tainted Indulgence, but I think the 5 different mana values condition is very hard to fulfill in the average cube deck, harder than Threshold for example. I would still consider it as reanimator support, which is something that Dimir is lacking. A 2 mana Catalog isn't bad in reanimator and later on there is even a realistic chance to draw 2 without discarding. Plus reanimator is a control deck early on, so instant speed is an advantage.
On the other hand there is a mono color card like Chart a Course, where you have the option to discard even if you fulfill the condition and where the condition is easier to achieve to begin with. It's sorcery speed, but I don't think the instant speed makes up that much. That's why I don't think Tainted Indulgence is a great card, but it can be serviceable in the right deck (which would be mainly reanimator, but probably any Dimir control deck with a bit of graveyard synergies).
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
Inspiring Overseer
Rumor Gatherer
Night Clubber
Witty Roastmaster
Jewel Thief
Maybe
Citizen's Crowbar
My cube has a LOT of tokens so cards that are both good with and against tokens are the ones I am adding. The crowbar is almost more than a maybe more of a can I even cut that many cards from white
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
Couldn't agree more. I hated the flavor of this set. Also neither the mechanics nor the three-color aspects of the set are conducive to peasant cube imo. I have a fairly large cube, so I'm always interested in 10-15 cards and usually end up adding 5-10. Here however, I'm only considering a handful, and at the end of the day Inspiring Overseer might be the only add. Sad... but I guess it makes things easier, especially after what was - for me at least - a homerun set in NEO (despite certain flavor issues there, the mechanics and the cards themselves were actually good).
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
Includes
Considering
IN:
Inspiring Overseer- card draw and evasion - great for the flicker and skies archetype, but also just a solid piece of value on its own
MAYBE BUT UNLIKELY:
Jewel Thief - Generic value but not really interesting. I could see adding it because it's good, but I could also see it being cut as soon as another set brings along something more interesting
Mage's Attendant - This one I actually find interesting, but I can only add so many white three-drop creatures. It works in tokens and flicker, and the counter ability could be interesting; obviously, it doesn't surprise anyone, being out in the open, but you could play your second or third best thing in the hopes of baiting the counter sacrifice.
Rumor Gatherer - Again, interesting, but another white three-drop creature, and one toughness makes it die to everything.
It's not always about power creep; we want interesting cards. I realize that argument may be weakened when the only card I am adding and one that I considered are pure power creep and strictly better than older cards, but it doesn't have to be that way. Looking back at the last several sets, there have been plenty of additions that were interesting and offered choices without being pure power creep.
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
Useful Resources:
MTGSalvation tags
EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter
Yeah fair point but I think there's a lot of interesting new cards in every set that will never make the cut because their power isn't pushed enough. Ultimately to make the cut the new cards need to be on par with some of the most powerful Peasant cards ever printed and that's not something I expect to see from more than a handful of cards in any set.
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
Inspiring Overseer - Good card is good.
Rumor Gatherer - Not sure if this will stay but it seems decent card draw in white so I'll have to try.
Mayhem Patrol - A 2/2 Menace for 2 is a reasonable floor and late game this cycles in a interesting way.
Witty Roastmaster - Fits well in W/R go wide decks, but as someone else pointed out it is also decent in B/R aristocrats as a second Spiteful Prankster.
Jewel Thief- I want to push Gruul more as a tempo/ramp deck and this seems very good in that deck.
My C/Ube on Cube Cobra
Considering:
What other ways to end the game do Izzet has?
(360, Peasant, Unpowered)
In my cube, Izzet can win a lot of different ways, usually some combination of cheap cantrips, good interactive spells, and:
(360, Peasant, Unpowered)
My C/Ube on Cube Cobra