Yeah, Zephyr Sentinel is such an upgrade over blue's '2/1 with flying and a niche/minor upside for 2' that is is not even funny.
Hmm. With all the big Prototype artifact creatures and other huge artifact creatures coming in, I wonder if I might have reason to cut remaining huge Eldrazi and put Tinker back in just for fun...
I like Third Path Iconoclast and apart from Electrolyze I have no cards in my Izzet guild section that I'm really attached to, so I might give it a try. I don't think it will create more tokens than Pyromancer 90% of the time though, which may be a bit lackluster for a guild card.
Zephyr Sentinel is the best 2/1 flyer for 1U we have in blue, so it's an auto-include. The comparison to Kor Skyfisher doesn't make much sense though as 2/1 is very different from 2/3, especially for a flyer.
Obstinate Baloth is rather weak unless you can expect the second ability to trigger, and that isn't true in a cube setting.
Combat Thresher is interesting. Voltron decks often run into problems if the opponent has too much removal, so card draw on etb is nice. On the other hand dropping a creature on turn 3 is slow for such a deck and the 7 mana full mode is at least one mana too expensive to be useful. Will think about it.
Tinker is a card I have been thinking about including for a while and it keeps getting a little better each release (for example, the artifact creatures from Neon Dynasty). The top end targets are lacking (no Blightsteel Colossus), but its a very unique effect and the lack of win-now cards makes it feel fair.
That's a good point about Tinker. Tinker is powerful but it's not *all* that different than Reanimate and the like, which I've run without issue.
Tinker has gotten some pretty solid targets in the last couple years (Sphinx of the Guildpact, Walking Skyscraper, etc.) the main issue with including the card is you need an above average size artifact section to support it (I run 25 colourless artifacts and have a small blue artifact subtheme), however if there are enough of these modal artifact creatures that are playable then they could end up acting as the enablers AND the targets, which would be pretty interesting.
The comparison to Kor Skyfisher doesn't make much sense though as 2/1 is very different from 2/3, especially for a flyer.
I guess the main reason for the comparison is I want these cards for 2 reasons: enabling bounce and being a 2 mana 2 power flyer. Zephyr does both well, but Skyfisher often can't reasonably be played aggressively as it usually loses you too much tempo; so in my eyes Zephyr is more useful to my cube as Skyfisher is more of a midrange option (which is fine, but not what I want). At this point I've already filled Skyfisher's slot with Fearless Fledgling anyways...
I would say Saheeli is much much better, hybrid and avoinding creature removal is what makes the card busted. I don't run it because I find opressive with 5 loyalty and making so many blockers. Third Path Iconoclast is a sweet card but I don't even know if Izzet needs that redundancy with Yong Pyro and Murmuring Mystic already.
Obstinate Baloth isn't actually very good I don't think, although I might just cut my worst green card since it does have a very high floor.
Gruesome Realization is the perfect card for my cube with its millions of tokens. drown in sorrow is just not good and the fact this doesn't hit your own stuff is insanely good.
Zephyr Sentinel seems great, the 1 toughness is an issue since I have a lot of spirit tokens but I also have a lot of soldiers in white, the most value being Traben inspector. The more flyiers the better.
Gruesome Realization is the perfect card for my cube with its millions of tokens. drown in sorrow is just not good and the fact this doesn't hit your own stuff is insanely good.
Giant Slagmaw (4/3 Trample, players can't gain life for 2R) is boring, but efficient. There was a time when I ran Brazen Wolves in my cube. I assume nowaydays Coastline Marauders is a better card with a similar effect. A bit less reliable, but with a higher ceiling. Still, not a bad card.
I really like this set so far, there might not have been too many peasant staples in it, but the draft environment is really unique. Cubes with unconventional archetypes get some sweet cards.
The whole set has been spoiled, and it's been ...interesting. I kinda like the set - I certainly don't hate it like a certain previous set, but it comes with its own problems. First and foremost, the powerstones. Powerstones are fairly garbage in any but the most artifact-heavy cubes ("This mana can't be spent to cast a nonartifact spell"), but they affected the set in a few other ways. Due to the abundance of mana rocks, a lot of artifacts and activated abilities had to be overcosted, making them less good in a cube that isn't saturated with powerstones. That cycle with the 7-mana activated abilities? The mana values for the Unearth and full-size Prototype artifacts? Most of these aren't worth considering outside of this particular limited environment.
And yet, there are still some exciting cards.
Anyway, here's what I'm considering:
Almost Certain Zephyr Sentinel - A flash flyer that can rescue a creature or reset an ETB. I only have 11 soldiers, so that may be mostly flavor text, but there are some interesting interactions - I particularly like it with Loyal Sentry. Third Path Iconoclast - There's no shortage of Izzet signpost cards; if anything, there are so many that it becomes harder to choose because of the competition. Maybe But Unlikely Gaea's Gift - A +1/+1 counter and temporary keyword soup lets you protect a creature and possibly even yourself (from flying), or you can use it to punch through some extra damage. Combat Thresher - I don't love it, but it can work favorably with blink. I'd certainly feel better blinking it with a repeatable effect (like Soulherder) rather than spending 2 cards (Thresher and a blink) to draw 2 cards. Bushwhack - Like VariSami said, modal cards can be very decent.
Some interesting cards that have not been mentioned yet:
Skyfisher Spider The lifegain is not that relevant, but Bone splinters (which hits all nonlands) on a spider are not too bad. Mask of the Jadecrafter Worse mana value than Beast Attack, but much more flexible. I don´t hate it. Haywire Mite Really great! Dont overlook this one, one of the best artifact-removing creatures ever printed. Combat Courier Think Twice on a creature. Emergency Weld Is a 1/1 Gravedigger for 2. I might just run this one.
I agree that a lot of the stuff ended up being overcosted because of the expectation that you will have tons of powerstones lying around. Though, I think that powerstones can also be nice additions to cube as a means to support mana sink activated abilities.
Staple: Recruitment Officer: Discussed early and still among the stronger effects for white 2/1s for 1. Zephyr Sentinel: Same as above - almost a strict upgrade over alternatives in terms of sheer efficiency.
Likely Inclusion: Meticulous Excavation: I think that this kind of effect has value. You cannot use it against removal on an opponent's turn but you can also bounce stuff that they try to kill in combat and there is value in the ability to self-bounce, especially in white. Very borderline on this, though, since it is inefficient. Recommission: There are some damn fine artifacts that you might want to get back and it is not overcosted reanimation for small key creatures, either. Combat Thresher: Still worth it for the Prototype. Gruesome Realization: Good modal options. Gurgling Anointer: Synergy with boosts to power and a growing evasive creature. Ashnod's Harvester: Good enough on the front, especially for colourless, and a cheap enough Unearth to be worth it. Giant Cindermaw: Efficient. Horned Stoneseeker: 2/2 with pseudo evasion and gives mana for abilities, equipment, and equip abilities. Scrapwork Mutt: A bit similar to the Harvester. Bushwhack: Also a good modal card. Third Path Iconoclast: Boring but an extra Young Pyromancer is good for that archetype. Demolition Field: Old design but still good for redundancy.
Interesting: Yotian Frontliner: Rather unlikely but not impossible. Fallaji Archaeologist: Could be interesting even if it has the usual issues with the chance of whiffing. But even then, it would be milling unlike many of those cards. Thopter Mechanic: Possibly. Does several things without starting at 1 power. Combat Courier: 1 more mana on the front side for a Think Twice on a stick. While the body is unimpressive, it definitely helps. Hulking Metamorph: The static P/T is often an issue but could prove interesting. Emergency Weld: Indeed a cheap small Gravekeeper (that also gets back artifacts) even if it does require you to have something in your GY to play it. Thraxodemon: I do not remember if there are more efficient versions of this on usable bodies. Scrapwork Rager: Could be interesting. Bitter Reunion: Interesting design space for this effect. Notably, you do not discard if it gets countered. Obstinate Baloth: Probably not good enough for this format but it is an interesting downgrade, still. Especially for a standard set. Haywire Mite: Efficient but I would prefer a somewhat better body for a niche card. Especially when it cannot even target artifact creatures. Mask of the Jadecrafter: Yeah, non-creatures with Unearth are interesting and this is not terrible in concept. Hero of the Dunes: Probably not but I like reanimation on a stick and anthems. Levitating Statue: The evasion matters, as does being colourless rather than white.
I agree with Funky Dragon. I would have loved to get some more playable artifacts from an artifact set like this, but the powerstones ruined it for us. I will add Zephyr Sentinel and most likely Third Path Iconoclast, but that's it.
EDIT: I completely forgot Recruitment Officer, of course I'll add that one as well.
1 card in each colour, this set is very specific in its design which makes it not a good fit for generic cubes. But still some useful cards. I prefer my artifact creatures have evasion, so even the value creatures just seem too small as 1/1s
Thinking about it: Scrapwork Mutt, Combat Courier, Recommission & Horned Stoneseeker: Seems interesting if I ever want an artifact package in my cube. Combat Thresher: Cool card for blinking. I have just no idea what to cut. Arbalest Engineers: I only play 2 cards per guild but I would seriously consider this if I had 3 cards per guild. No One Left Behind: Is this better then Stitch together or Dread Return? Goblin Blast-Runner: I do play rare lands including fetch in my cube but I still think this guy might not trigger enough. On the other hand in a more aggro version of aristocrats it probably only needs to trigger twice to be worth it.
Oh, I somehow missed the 'Menace' on Horned Stoneseeker. I think that that warrants an inclusion, then, yeah. I liked the concept before then but pseudo evasion makes it worthwhile, for sure. Mostly useful for abilities and possibly equipment stuff.
Not a bad set. Not interested in powerstones, but I appreciate that the set seems fairly balanced and interesting without obvious power creep.
Testing:
Recruitment Officer > Dryad Militant[/card]: Each new set seems to introduce a new uncommon Savannah Lion with slight upside. This time it came down to Dryad Militant vs Mardu Woe-Reaper for the cut. Dryad Militant gets dropped because of the hybrid color. Zephyr Sentinel > Sicarian Infiltrator[/card]: Zephyr Sentinel is a great tempo card. It also fits in W/U flyers. Third Path Iconoclast > Enigma Drake: Second Young Pyromancer is great. Better potential fit with aggro over Saheeli, Sublime Artificer. Combat Thresher > Blade-Blizzard Kitsune: Combat Thresher offers more upside (especially for blink) than Kitsune, although base 1/1 is not ideal. Gurgling Anointer > First-Sphere Gargantua: As others have pointed out, Gurgling Anointer is pretty interesting and pairs well with blue. It will be interesting to see how often the reanimation clause is relevant.
Also, I do not think anyone mentioned it, but Dreams of Steel and Oil seems borderline to me. Divest never made my cube before, but the potential for a two for one seems pretty tempting and exile can be relevant against reanimator.
It is (one of) the (6) most wonderful times of the year- a new booster product is among us for Peasant cube. This time we have gone back to the Brothers' War, a story in the past with present power levels. Speaking of power levels, they made a lot of interesting artifact designs to consider with a lot of giant artifacts to boot. I know vertigo451 talked about Tinker as an option for us and while I think that may be a Razortide Bridge too far, I do believe the existing package of ramp, reanimation, and blink can make the Prototype artifacts an interesting consideration. Even without those artifacts, there are a lot of super cool cards to add for our Cubes. As always, I rank these cards based on my personal interest and I tend towards unique designs over boring goodness. I have a 512 card cube, 6 spells per guild, 3 duals per guild and here is My Too Early Top 20 for the Brothers' War.
20) Urza's Rebuff, Bushwhack, and No One Left Behind- I appreciate the fact that both Rebuff and Bushwhack have a mode that plays to the board along with their other mode. With No One Left Behind, I enjoy that you can throw this into a graveyard deck and play grindy to extend the game by returning cheap creatures or hit a big creature that tries to win the game.
19) Rust Goliath- An ideal card to try and cheat out since it hits so hard in its base 10/10 mode. With that said, being an artifact creature with no built-in protection is rough. And the Prototype body is meh at best. That said, I will always be interested in 10-power creatures for Peasant.
18) Audacity- As you can probably tell, I love the card Rancor. Just like with 10/10 creatures, I will always love a Rancor variant. While this one does not replace itself with a card as good as Rancor, it at least replaces itself.
17) Symmetry Matrix- An expensive card draw engine that does not impact the board at all. BUT triggers with about half the creatures in my Cube and multiple times with token makers. I doubt there will ever be the time to make this work, but imagine if there was.
16) Gurgling Anointer- I understand the hype. A growing cheap threat that replaces itself when it dies. I checked my black section, and there are 7 cards that can draw another card, meaning this is a pseudo-Dimir card for me. Interesting, but I do not see the support there currently.
15) Ashnod's Harvester- After doing so much work to strength graveyard decks, I have wondered if they need a natural counter-measure. This is certainly a decent one that also combines well with sacrifice effects via its unearth ability.
14) Horned Stoneseeker- Per my numbers, each color has about 10 different cards to spend Powerstone mana on, along with 40+ artifacts. It is plenty reasonable that a deck has 2-4 mana sinks in it. While it lacks all the upside of Mayhem Patrol, this 1R 2-power menacer might have a place.
Needs Extra Space
13) Haywire Mite- I play a lot of powerful artifacts and enchantments and love good maindeck options that check their power. That said, I think Mite is such a nothing creature unless it is exiling a noncreature artifact/enchantment. ArBoR4817 brought up Thrashing Brontodon in comparison to Mite. My favorite thing about Brontodon is that as a 3/4 for 1GG, it blocks, kills, and survives against over 70% of 1-, 2-, and 3-mana creatures in combat. Mite feels like a 1G sorcery that hits artifacts/enchantments or a speedbump against aggro and not much else.
12) Hulking Metamorph- The limitation of copying just your own creatures always severely limits a Clone's power. But 3/3 is an upgrade to lots of good ETB creatures and the dream scenario of blinking this into a 7/7 is always possible.
11) Skyfisher Spider- A weird card to evaluate because it depends so much on the board. Possibly more powerful and probably less reliable than a Binding the Old Gods.
10) Junkyard Genius- I am really fond of menace when going wide since it messes with combat math so much. As much as I like the sacrifice and go-wide synergies of Junkyard Genius, it is really hard to overlook the two excellent options Rakdos got from just one set prior.
9) Hero of the Dunes- I dislike value for value's sake, so it helps the Hero also fits smoothly into a go-wide Orzhov deck using tokens and/or death triggers.
8) Blanchwood Prowler- A very interesting side-grade to Satyr Wayfinder. From my review, going down from 4 cards to 3 cards is a ~9% dip in the chances of seeing at least 1 land. That gets replaced by the ability to make Prowler a 2/2 instead of grabbing a land. Very interesting comparison without a clear-cut winner.
7) Obstinate Baloth- I definitely understand that Baloth feels a lot less powerful than it would have just 3 years ago. What still draws me to Baloth is that very few bulky green value creatures cost under 5 mana. Jumping from 4-mana to 5-mana is not insignificant and that alone could have more upside than an Arborback Stomper or a Blossom Prancer.
Prepared for Ignition
6) Combat Thresher- A creature that synergizes with everything white wants to do. Plays great with the variety of anthems and +1/+1 counter granters. A really nice blink target for 3-mana that gets extra value while becoming a bigger creature. A little weaker for my cube given my de-emphasis on blink effects.
5) Thopter Mechanic- This ability has been really good on Faerie Vandal and should still be good on a ground creature. It also makes another relevant body when it dies.
4) Giant Cindermaw- A big, beefy trampler for only 3-mana that also turns off one good method for beating aggro. Another in the continuing series of strong red aggro 3-drops.
Three 2/1s... Blastoff
3) Recruitment Officer- Another stellar 2/1 for W. Probably not the best one of these, but certainly in the top 5, which makes it hard to deny a spot in Cube.
2) Third Path Iconoclast- Extremely powerful and fits seamlessly into what Izzet is already doing.
1) Zephyr Sentinel- THIS is what real upside on a 1U 2/1 flier looks like. Flash is good, re-using a creature's ETB is good, saving another creature is good. And this is all without the minor upside when combined with white's Soliders (or Sicarian Infiltrator.)
Echoing what others have said: It's sad that so many cards died for the sins of Powerstones. I was really hoping to get an artifact theme going in my cube, but that's tough to do when all the artifacts are artificially +2 CMC. Let's hope for New Phyrexia?
Made the cut: Prison Sentence - I think people are sleeping on this one, especially if you play with at-all de-powered removal. While it's no a slam dunk on power level, it feels a lot like Arrest + draw a card. Recommission - I'd like to try this out. It certainly looks worse than unearth but not by a ton. If you're hitting a Inspiring Overseer or other flier, the counter looks quite good. Also minor counter synergies. Recruitment Officer - I went into depth on this one earlier. I'm not in love with it but I think it's still good enough. Thopter Mechanic - Strange card, where I expect the first line of text to be mostly flavor text. That said, I think the rate here is good enough. Zephyr Sentinel - Most of the time this is just an efficiently-statted dude that lets you sit with mana up, but I appreciate that sometimes it will do cool flicker things. The soldier line is almost always going to be flavor text. Ashnod's Harvester - Decent stats and easy to cast. It's nice to have as a tech card in specific matchups. Hopefully the start of an artifact theme in black? Giant Cindermaw - The body is good enough, though I'm really hoping for some good creatures in red that aren't quite so boring.
Not quite:
Combat Thresher - I _want_ to like this card, but a 3 mana 1/1 is just not going to cut it given the speed of the format, even with cute blink shenanigans. Gurgling Annointer - The numbers aren't bad on this card, but it's asking you to be in a highly specific situation to be actively desirable. There's just not going to be a lot of situations where these abilities work together effectively. In a word: clunky. Overwhelming Remorse - Love this for pauper, but just doesn't hold a flame to Murderous Cut. Scrapwork Mut - This is close, but I think just isn't powerful enough to justify itself. Bushwhack - I like modal cards where each mode covers the weakness of the other mode, so that the card is always somewhat useful. Unfortunately I feel like there's plenty of situations where I both don't want a land and don't want a fight spell. Arbalest Engineers - The powerlevel is there if the card was mono-color, but I don't think this is interesting or powerful enough to justify a guild slot. Third Path Iconoclast - See Arbalest Engineers. Hero of the Dunes - I like what this is trying to do, but I think it's just too expensive and situational at 5 mana. If I want to do cool things with recurring small creatures, I'm going to stick to unearth and the like. Skyfisher Spider - A surefire hit if Binding the Old Gods didn't exist. I like the body and the ability to recur this guy, but it still feels inferior given the lackluster sac support in GB.
Bad, IMO: Hulking Metamorph - I don't think Clone or Mirror Image are good enough these days, and this is going in the wrong direction. Combat Courier - Think Twice is already a pretty weak card, and not having instant-speed on the backend is not doing this guy any favors. Haywire Mite - There are much better ways to naturalize, and this doesn't even naturalize. This is really clunky, and if you plan on using the body at all, you're giving them the chance to shock it before they expose their artifact or enchantment that matters. Mask of the Jadecrafter - You have to have so much spare mana before this card even approaches good. No thanks.
Hmm. With all the big Prototype artifact creatures and other huge artifact creatures coming in, I wonder if I might have reason to cut remaining huge Eldrazi and put Tinker back in just for fun...
Zephyr Sentinel is the best 2/1 flyer for 1U we have in blue, so it's an auto-include. The comparison to Kor Skyfisher doesn't make much sense though as 2/1 is very different from 2/3, especially for a flyer.
Obstinate Baloth is rather weak unless you can expect the second ability to trigger, and that isn't true in a cube setting.
Combat Thresher is interesting. Voltron decks often run into problems if the opponent has too much removal, so card draw on etb is nice. On the other hand dropping a creature on turn 3 is slow for such a deck and the 7 mana full mode is at least one mana too expensive to be useful. Will think about it.
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
I do not have much to add on Zephyr Sentinel other than white has a good density of soldier creatures and some benefit from bouncing like Thraben Inspector, Fairgrounds Warden, Palace Jailer, and Elite Scaleguard.
For me, Third Path Iconoclast serves a similar role as Saheeli, Sublime Artificer in Izzet. The question is which is better or should I run both?
My 2-Player Signed Legacy Cube
My Lord of the Rings Cube
Tinker has gotten some pretty solid targets in the last couple years (Sphinx of the Guildpact, Walking Skyscraper, etc.) the main issue with including the card is you need an above average size artifact section to support it (I run 25 colourless artifacts and have a small blue artifact subtheme), however if there are enough of these modal artifact creatures that are playable then they could end up acting as the enablers AND the targets, which would be pretty interesting.
I guess the main reason for the comparison is I want these cards for 2 reasons: enabling bounce and being a 2 mana 2 power flyer. Zephyr does both well, but Skyfisher often can't reasonably be played aggressively as it usually loses you too much tempo; so in my eyes Zephyr is more useful to my cube as Skyfisher is more of a midrange option (which is fine, but not what I want). At this point I've already filled Skyfisher's slot with Fearless Fledgling anyways...
I'd rather read it as a fixed Quickling with an upside and is also Human, which allows for synergies.
(360, Peasant, Unpowered)
Gruesome Realization is the perfect card for my cube with its millions of tokens. drown in sorrow is just not good and the fact this doesn't hit your own stuff is insanely good.
Zephyr Sentinel seems great, the 1 toughness is an issue since I have a lot of spirit tokens but I also have a lot of soldiers in white, the most value being Traben inspector. The more flyiers the better.
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
Have you tried Night Clubber?
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
I also kind of like the idea of Gurgling Anointer.
And yet, there are still some exciting cards.
Anyway, here's what I'm considering:
Almost Certain
Zephyr Sentinel - A flash flyer that can rescue a creature or reset an ETB. I only have 11 soldiers, so that may be mostly flavor text, but there are some interesting interactions - I particularly like it with Loyal Sentry.
Third Path Iconoclast - There's no shortage of Izzet signpost cards; if anything, there are so many that it becomes harder to choose because of the competition.
Maybe But Unlikely
Gaea's Gift - A +1/+1 counter and temporary keyword soup lets you protect a creature and possibly even yourself (from flying), or you can use it to punch through some extra damage.
Combat Thresher - I don't love it, but it can work favorably with blink. I'd certainly feel better blinking it with a repeatable effect (like Soulherder) rather than spending 2 cards (Thresher and a blink) to draw 2 cards.
Bushwhack - Like VariSami said, modal cards can be very decent.
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
Useful Resources:
MTGSalvation tags
EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter
Skyfisher Spider The lifegain is not that relevant, but Bone splinters (which hits all nonlands) on a spider are not too bad.
Mask of the Jadecrafter Worse mana value than Beast Attack, but much more flexible. I don´t hate it.
Haywire Mite Really great! Dont overlook this one, one of the best artifact-removing creatures ever printed.
Combat Courier Think Twice on a creature.
Emergency Weld Is a 1/1 Gravedigger for 2. I might just run this one.
Staple:
Recruitment Officer: Discussed early and still among the stronger effects for white 2/1s for 1.
Zephyr Sentinel: Same as above - almost a strict upgrade over alternatives in terms of sheer efficiency.
Likely Inclusion:
Meticulous Excavation: I think that this kind of effect has value. You cannot use it against removal on an opponent's turn but you can also bounce stuff that they try to kill in combat and there is value in the ability to self-bounce, especially in white. Very borderline on this, though, since it is inefficient.
Recommission: There are some damn fine artifacts that you might want to get back and it is not overcosted reanimation for small key creatures, either.
Combat Thresher: Still worth it for the Prototype.
Gruesome Realization: Good modal options.
Gurgling Anointer: Synergy with boosts to power and a growing evasive creature.
Ashnod's Harvester: Good enough on the front, especially for colourless, and a cheap enough Unearth to be worth it.
Giant Cindermaw: Efficient.
Horned Stoneseeker: 2/2 with pseudo evasion and gives mana for abilities, equipment, and equip abilities.
Scrapwork Mutt: A bit similar to the Harvester.
Bushwhack: Also a good modal card.
Third Path Iconoclast: Boring but an extra Young Pyromancer is good for that archetype.
Demolition Field: Old design but still good for redundancy.
Interesting:
Yotian Frontliner: Rather unlikely but not impossible.
Fallaji Archaeologist: Could be interesting even if it has the usual issues with the chance of whiffing. But even then, it would be milling unlike many of those cards.
Thopter Mechanic: Possibly. Does several things without starting at 1 power.
Combat Courier: 1 more mana on the front side for a Think Twice on a stick. While the body is unimpressive, it definitely helps.
Hulking Metamorph: The static P/T is often an issue but could prove interesting.
Emergency Weld: Indeed a cheap small Gravekeeper (that also gets back artifacts) even if it does require you to have something in your GY to play it.
Thraxodemon: I do not remember if there are more efficient versions of this on usable bodies.
Scrapwork Rager: Could be interesting.
Bitter Reunion: Interesting design space for this effect. Notably, you do not discard if it gets countered.
Obstinate Baloth: Probably not good enough for this format but it is an interesting downgrade, still. Especially for a standard set.
Haywire Mite: Efficient but I would prefer a somewhat better body for a niche card. Especially when it cannot even target artifact creatures.
Mask of the Jadecrafter: Yeah, non-creatures with Unearth are interesting and this is not terrible in concept.
Hero of the Dunes: Probably not but I like reanimation on a stick and anthems.
Levitating Statue: The evasion matters, as does being colourless rather than white.
EDIT: I completely forgot Recruitment Officer, of course I'll add that one as well.
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
In
Recruitment Officer - Dauntless Bodyguard
Zephyr Sentinel - omenspeaker I had wizards in here for Adelize but she was replaced by Balmor
Gruesome Realization - Both Drown in Sorrow and Read the bones and I get another black card
Horned Stoneseeker - War-name Aspirant evasive 2/2 that ramps.
Obstinate Baloth - Acidic Slime other than hitting lands its really outclassed these days.
Levitating Statue - Mortarpod is kind of obsolete now, also I like flying artifacts and +1/+1 artifacts.
Maybe
Recommission
Thopter Mechanic
Gnawing Vermin
Scrapwork Mutt
Bushwhack
Tocasia's Dig Site
edit: I forgot Arbalest Engineers
1 card in each colour, this set is very specific in its design which makes it not a good fit for generic cubes. But still some useful cards. I prefer my artifact creatures have evasion, so even the value creatures just seem too small as 1/1s
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
Recruitment Officer: I think this will replace Mardu Woe-Reaper
Zephyr Sentinel: Good card is good.
Third Path Iconoclast: A bit boring for a guild card but does create a lot of redundancy.
Ashnod's Harvester: This seems like a solid aggro beater and my black supports aggro.
Haywire Mite: Seems very solid and better than Thrashing Brontodon
Bushwhack: I'll like some more good green cards that are not creatures.
Gurgling Anointer: I think this is solid in a blue/black control deck and want to try it.
Thinking about it:
Scrapwork Mutt, Combat Courier, Recommission & Horned Stoneseeker: Seems interesting if I ever want an artifact package in my cube.
Combat Thresher: Cool card for blinking. I have just no idea what to cut.
Arbalest Engineers: I only play 2 cards per guild but I would seriously consider this if I had 3 cards per guild.
No One Left Behind: Is this better then Stitch together or Dread Return?
Goblin Blast-Runner: I do play rare lands including fetch in my cube but I still think this guy might not trigger enough. On the other hand in a more aggro version of aristocrats it probably only needs to trigger twice to be worth it.
My C/Ube on Cube Cobra
Testing:
Recruitment Officer > Dryad Militant[/card]: Each new set seems to introduce a new uncommon Savannah Lion with slight upside. This time it came down to Dryad Militant vs Mardu Woe-Reaper for the cut. Dryad Militant gets dropped because of the hybrid color.
Zephyr Sentinel > Sicarian Infiltrator[/card]: Zephyr Sentinel is a great tempo card. It also fits in W/U flyers.
Third Path Iconoclast > Enigma Drake: Second Young Pyromancer is great. Better potential fit with aggro over Saheeli, Sublime Artificer.
Combat Thresher > Blade-Blizzard Kitsune: Combat Thresher offers more upside (especially for blink) than Kitsune, although base 1/1 is not ideal.
Gurgling Anointer > First-Sphere Gargantua: As others have pointed out, Gurgling Anointer is pretty interesting and pairs well with blue. It will be interesting to see how often the reanimation clause is relevant.
Also, I do not think anyone mentioned it, but Dreams of Steel and Oil seems borderline to me. Divest never made my cube before, but the potential for a two for one seems pretty tempting and exile can be relevant against reanimator.
My 2-Player Signed Legacy Cube
My Lord of the Rings Cube
20) Urza's Rebuff, Bushwhack, and No One Left Behind- I appreciate the fact that both Rebuff and Bushwhack have a mode that plays to the board along with their other mode. With No One Left Behind, I enjoy that you can throw this into a graveyard deck and play grindy to extend the game by returning cheap creatures or hit a big creature that tries to win the game.
19) Rust Goliath- An ideal card to try and cheat out since it hits so hard in its base 10/10 mode. With that said, being an artifact creature with no built-in protection is rough. And the Prototype body is meh at best. That said, I will always be interested in 10-power creatures for Peasant.
18) Audacity- As you can probably tell, I love the card Rancor. Just like with 10/10 creatures, I will always love a Rancor variant. While this one does not replace itself with a card as good as Rancor, it at least replaces itself.
17) Symmetry Matrix- An expensive card draw engine that does not impact the board at all. BUT triggers with about half the creatures in my Cube and multiple times with token makers. I doubt there will ever be the time to make this work, but imagine if there was.
16) Gurgling Anointer- I understand the hype. A growing cheap threat that replaces itself when it dies. I checked my black section, and there are 7 cards that can draw another card, meaning this is a pseudo-Dimir card for me. Interesting, but I do not see the support there currently.
15) Ashnod's Harvester- After doing so much work to strength graveyard decks, I have wondered if they need a natural counter-measure. This is certainly a decent one that also combines well with sacrifice effects via its unearth ability.
14) Horned Stoneseeker- Per my numbers, each color has about 10 different cards to spend Powerstone mana on, along with 40+ artifacts. It is plenty reasonable that a deck has 2-4 mana sinks in it. While it lacks all the upside of Mayhem Patrol, this 1R 2-power menacer might have a place.
Needs Extra Space
13) Haywire Mite- I play a lot of powerful artifacts and enchantments and love good maindeck options that check their power. That said, I think Mite is such a nothing creature unless it is exiling a noncreature artifact/enchantment. ArBoR4817 brought up Thrashing Brontodon in comparison to Mite. My favorite thing about Brontodon is that as a 3/4 for 1GG, it blocks, kills, and survives against over 70% of 1-, 2-, and 3-mana creatures in combat. Mite feels like a 1G sorcery that hits artifacts/enchantments or a speedbump against aggro and not much else.
12) Hulking Metamorph- The limitation of copying just your own creatures always severely limits a Clone's power. But 3/3 is an upgrade to lots of good ETB creatures and the dream scenario of blinking this into a 7/7 is always possible.
11) Skyfisher Spider- A weird card to evaluate because it depends so much on the board. Possibly more powerful and probably less reliable than a Binding the Old Gods.
10) Junkyard Genius- I am really fond of menace when going wide since it messes with combat math so much. As much as I like the sacrifice and go-wide synergies of Junkyard Genius, it is really hard to overlook the two excellent options Rakdos got from just one set prior.
9) Hero of the Dunes- I dislike value for value's sake, so it helps the Hero also fits smoothly into a go-wide Orzhov deck using tokens and/or death triggers.
8) Blanchwood Prowler- A very interesting side-grade to Satyr Wayfinder. From my review, going down from 4 cards to 3 cards is a ~9% dip in the chances of seeing at least 1 land. That gets replaced by the ability to make Prowler a 2/2 instead of grabbing a land. Very interesting comparison without a clear-cut winner.
7) Obstinate Baloth- I definitely understand that Baloth feels a lot less powerful than it would have just 3 years ago. What still draws me to Baloth is that very few bulky green value creatures cost under 5 mana. Jumping from 4-mana to 5-mana is not insignificant and that alone could have more upside than an Arborback Stomper or a Blossom Prancer.
Prepared for Ignition
6) Combat Thresher- A creature that synergizes with everything white wants to do. Plays great with the variety of anthems and +1/+1 counter granters. A really nice blink target for 3-mana that gets extra value while becoming a bigger creature. A little weaker for my cube given my de-emphasis on blink effects.
5) Thopter Mechanic- This ability has been really good on Faerie Vandal and should still be good on a ground creature. It also makes another relevant body when it dies.
4) Giant Cindermaw- A big, beefy trampler for only 3-mana that also turns off one good method for beating aggro. Another in the continuing series of strong red aggro 3-drops.
Three 2/1s... Blastoff
3) Recruitment Officer- Another stellar 2/1 for W. Probably not the best one of these, but certainly in the top 5, which makes it hard to deny a spot in Cube.
2) Third Path Iconoclast- Extremely powerful and fits seamlessly into what Izzet is already doing.
1) Zephyr Sentinel- THIS is what real upside on a 1U 2/1 flier looks like. Flash is good, re-using a creature's ETB is good, saving another creature is good. And this is all without the minor upside when combined with white's Soliders (or Sicarian Infiltrator.)
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/peasantsnowcube
-- Updated with Fallout Commander
The PioneWer Peasant CUbe
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/pionewer
-- Updated with Murders at Karlov Manor
Made the cut:
Prison Sentence - I think people are sleeping on this one, especially if you play with at-all de-powered removal. While it's no a slam dunk on power level, it feels a lot like Arrest + draw a card.
Recommission - I'd like to try this out. It certainly looks worse than unearth but not by a ton. If you're hitting a Inspiring Overseer or other flier, the counter looks quite good. Also minor counter synergies.
Recruitment Officer - I went into depth on this one earlier. I'm not in love with it but I think it's still good enough.
Thopter Mechanic - Strange card, where I expect the first line of text to be mostly flavor text. That said, I think the rate here is good enough.
Zephyr Sentinel - Most of the time this is just an efficiently-statted dude that lets you sit with mana up, but I appreciate that sometimes it will do cool flicker things. The soldier line is almost always going to be flavor text.
Ashnod's Harvester - Decent stats and easy to cast. It's nice to have as a tech card in specific matchups. Hopefully the start of an artifact theme in black?
Giant Cindermaw - The body is good enough, though I'm really hoping for some good creatures in red that aren't quite so boring.
Not quite:
Combat Thresher - I _want_ to like this card, but a 3 mana 1/1 is just not going to cut it given the speed of the format, even with cute blink shenanigans.
Gurgling Annointer - The numbers aren't bad on this card, but it's asking you to be in a highly specific situation to be actively desirable. There's just not going to be a lot of situations where these abilities work together effectively. In a word: clunky.
Overwhelming Remorse - Love this for pauper, but just doesn't hold a flame to Murderous Cut.
Scrapwork Mut - This is close, but I think just isn't powerful enough to justify itself.
Bushwhack - I like modal cards where each mode covers the weakness of the other mode, so that the card is always somewhat useful. Unfortunately I feel like there's plenty of situations where I both don't want a land and don't want a fight spell.
Arbalest Engineers - The powerlevel is there if the card was mono-color, but I don't think this is interesting or powerful enough to justify a guild slot.
Third Path Iconoclast - See Arbalest Engineers.
Hero of the Dunes - I like what this is trying to do, but I think it's just too expensive and situational at 5 mana. If I want to do cool things with recurring small creatures, I'm going to stick to unearth and the like.
Skyfisher Spider - A surefire hit if Binding the Old Gods didn't exist. I like the body and the ability to recur this guy, but it still feels inferior given the lackluster sac support in GB.
Bad, IMO:
Hulking Metamorph - I don't think Clone or Mirror Image are good enough these days, and this is going in the wrong direction.
Combat Courier - Think Twice is already a pretty weak card, and not having instant-speed on the backend is not doing this guy any favors.
Haywire Mite - There are much better ways to naturalize, and this doesn't even naturalize. This is really clunky, and if you plan on using the body at all, you're giving them the chance to shock it before they expose their artifact or enchantment that matters.
Mask of the Jadecrafter - You have to have so much spare mana before this card even approaches good. No thanks.