Got my foil extended Leovold alter back today! Commissioned to Shivan Alter, I asked her a redo of a classical painting of Napoleon. As a frenchie it will probably be the signature card of my Vintage powered cube!
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BM_design posted a message on Card Æsthetics Evaluation ThreadPosted in: The Cube Forum -
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wtwlf123 posted a message on [540][Powered] wtwlf123's Cube
Cube Maxim
I aim to create the most fun, exciting, powerful and balanced custom limited environment
that I can for my playgroup within the confines of a Vintage legal and Singleton legal frame.
Basic Info
Cube Size: 450 Cards
Breakdown: 55 Each Color, 105 Guild/Multicolor, 70 Colorless
Standard or Theme Cube: Standard
Average Draft: 3-6 players
Cube CMC: 2.762
Design Restrictions
Powered?: Yes
Vintage Legal?: Yes
Singleton Legal?: Yes
The only cards I ban from the cube are cards that aren't Vintage legal (Ante cards, Dexterity cards, Un- Cards, Conspiracies & Holiday Promos, etc), cards that can't function within all game types (like draft manipulators that are blanks in Sealed Deck, or cards that would require a commander to function, etc) and cards thar reference "outside of the game" as a zone (Wishes, Companions, etc).
Color Balance?: Yes
Guild Balance?: Yes
Mana Support?: No
Mana Support?: No
Other Info
Here's a link to the cube on CubeCobra if you want to mock draft it:
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/wtwlf123
I wrote a cube article about the fundamental cube design questions, and how I decided to build my cube to cater to my playgroup. The article was designed to help those folks that are still in the incipient phase of cube building, and may need some pointers on how to balance the cube for smoother drafts and gameplay. But hopefully even the veteran cube managers can find at least some useful information on how to streamline the cube and better enable aggressive archetypes. Here's a link:
"Cube Design Philosophy"
I also wrote an article that deals with managing your manabase when cubing, and the impact those mana demands have on drafting, deck-building and constructing the cube. Here's a link to that one:
"Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
Feel free to post comments on the article page or here in this thread with any questions or comments!
Additionally, I've written some Set Reviews in the form of top 20 countdowns based on set previews. Note, these are written as set previews, not necessarily set reviews, but here's the links to them anyways:
My Review #01 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from AVR!
My Review #02 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M13!
My Review #03 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from RTR!
My Review #04 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from GTC!
My Review #05 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from DGM!
My Review #06 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M14!
My Review #07 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from THS!
My Review #08 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from BNG!
My Review #09 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from JOU!
My Review #10 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M15!
My Review #11 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from KTK!
My Review #12 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from FRF!
My Review #13 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from DTK!
My Review #14 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ORI!
My Review #15 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from BFZ!
My Review #16 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OGW!
My Review #17 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from SOI!
My Review #18 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from EMN!
My Review #19 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from KLD!
My Review #20 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from AER!
My Review #21 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from AKH!
My Review #22 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from HOU!
My Review #23 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from XLN!
My Review #24 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from RIX!
My Review #25 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from DOM!
My Review #26 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M19!
My Review #27 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from GRN!
My Review #28 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from RNA!
My Review #29 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from WAR!
My Review #30 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M20!
My Review #31 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ELD!
My Review #32 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from THB!
My Review #33 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from IKO!
My Review #34 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M21!
My Review #35 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ZNR!
My Review #36 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from KHM!
My Review #37 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from STX!
My Review #38 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from AFR!
My Review #39 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MID!
My Review #40 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from VOW!
My Review #41 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from NEO!
My Review #42 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from SNC!
My Review #43 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from DMU!
My Review #44 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from BRO!
My Review #45 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ONE!
My Review #46 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MOM!
My Review #47 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from WOE!
My Review #48 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from LCI!
My Review #49 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
Enjoy!
I was invited to be a guest on the MTGin3D Podcast with Liam and Pedro. Here's a link to that episode ...give it a listen!
MTGin3D Episode #5 - Exploration
I was invited on as a guest for the "What's In The Box!?" Podcast with Zakeel and Drew. Here's a link to that episode:
What's in the Box EP8 - Community Spotlight: wtwlf123
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steve_man posted a message on [LCI][CUBE] Sentinel of the Nameless CitySentinel has been testing very well so far. It's by far the most reliable green 3-cmc creature due to its sturdy body, ETB / attack trigger, and ability to play offense and defense at the same time. This blows Courser of Kruphix out of the water without its combo shenanigans. What makes Sentinel great rather than being merely good is it almost always has some sort of synergy to play off of: provides critical mass for artifacts matters cards, fuels graveyard for Tarmogoyf / Uro, +1/+1 counters for Court of Garenbrig, and drawing lands / filtering the top of your library is just good in general. Map tokens only costing 1 mana to crack also allows for more play patterns on curve. This doesn't tie up your mana as much as Tireless Tracker would, allowing you to curve into more 3 drops while cracking Maps, or just trying to draw into lands when you need to cast your critical 4-cmc spells.Posted in: Cube Card and Archetype Discussion -
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steve_man posted a message on [LCI][CUBE] Ghalta, Stampede TyrantPosted in: Cube Card and Archetype Discussion
I'm surprised there wasn't a thread on this. I recently had a scenario where I was playing a Cheaty Face deck and saw Primeval Titan / Ghalta wheel in the same pack. It was an interesting thought exercise which made me realize that Ghalta is essentially a cheesy Primeval Titan that sacrifices the castability / guaranteed value for the potential to be WAY more explosive while being double the size. Ghalta is definitely one of the more high variance super fatties, but I know a lot of people are attracted to that. Even if you don't have anything to cheat into play, your opponent still has a 12/12 with trample that they need to deal with. I'm currently testing it for now, but I don't think it'll last forever since I'm probably playing more super fatties than I need right now.
Here was a best case scenario where I cast Through the Breach on my opponent's end step to cheat in Gruff Triplets / Alpha Deathclaw to swing for 27 damage, LOL.
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wtwlf123 posted a message on Set (P)review - My top 20 Lost Caverns of Ixalan (LCI) cards for the cube!Hello again fellow cube enthusiasts!Posted in: Articles, Podcasts, and Guides
This is my 48th installment of the "top 20" set (P)review articles! Just like the previous reviews, it will be in a spoiled top X countdown format, with each section having an image, a brief summary/description, and my verdict on what cubes I think it could potentially see some play in. I got a lot of positive feedback on the format from the last few articles, so I’m going to keep the “what I like” and “what I don’t like” sections.
Keep in mind (just like the others) that this is a set preview. Similar to draft predictions in professional sports, this list is an educated guess at best. Some cards I value highly in here may turn out to not last long in the cube. Other cards that are lower down on the list (or even missed entirely!) could (well, very likely may) turn out to be great cards. Even the great Tom Brady was drafted in the 6th round! Again, this is not intended to be gospel, set in stone, or written as a review for posterity. This is simply written to be an enjoyable guess at cards I like for cubes, and hopefully it'll allow some cube managers to evaluate cards they may have otherwise overlooked and/or put some cards in perspective that may've been overhyped. Nothing more.
Lost Caverns of Ixalan is a great cube set! It revisits existing themes and keywords, as well as introducing a couple more that both have value in the cube. Map tokens are new consumable artifact tokens like Food, Clues and Treasures, but Map tokens allow you to sacrifice them for explore triggers! Additionally, they introduced a keyword called “Discover” that is essentially a fixed Cascade trigger, that allows you to play or draw the revealed nonland card (so countermagic and X spells are no longer blank hits).
Without further ado, here’s the countdown!
Confounding Riddle
An updated Supreme Will!
What I Like: Supreme Will is a solid filler spell, and Riddle has been upgraded in two ways! First, it changes the counterspell to have a 4-mana counter clause, and it changes the Impulse effect into a beefed-up Strategic Planning that fills the graveyard with the unselected cards.
What I Don't Like: Three mana is a lot for a replacement-level effect by today’s cube standards, and it can be hard to find room for spells that cost 3+ mana and are just “solid”.
Verdict: If your cube is of a size or constructed in such a way that you have room for a 3-mana generic goodstuff spell, this is a very solid one, and is worthy of consideration. Cubes that are 720+ in size or those that utilize a lot of delve effects that want spells that can feed the ‘yard should give Riddle some careful consideration.
Stalactite Stalker
A growing black threat!
What I Like: A 1-drop that can grow throughout the game, has evasion, and can be sacrificed for removal deserves close inspection. Descending triggers whenever a permanent card goes into your graveyard from anywhere, so discarded cards can activate it in the same way that fetchlands, baubles, spheres/stars, and petals can. In cubes loaded to the gills with those kinds of effects, it can be possible to start growing the Stalker right away. Once the body has outlived its usefulness, you can sacrifice it to kill a small priority target, which adds nice utility to the aggressive body.
What I Don't Like: If you can’t reliably activate the Stalker early, it can spend the first few turns as a 1/1, which is not what aggro decks want to be doing.
Verdict: If your cube is constructed in a way that maximizes the number of early enablers for descend, and you support aggressive black decks, Stalker is worthy of attention. Particularly in cubes that run duplicates and triplicates of fetchlands, this creature can be quite the menace when you can reliably start descending as early as T1.
Cenote Scout
A nice value 1-drop!
What I Like: No matter which way the explore breaks, you’re getting a decent card for your 1-mana investment. If you hit gas, you get an Isamaru and some card selection. If you hit a land, you get a 1-mana Elvish Visionary. In decks and situations where either outcome is desirable, it’s one of the more powerful 1-mana plays available.
What I Don't Like: The lack of control over the effect on T1 hurts the consistency. Not only do you need to find a deck that’s happy with both Isamarus and Visionaries, but you need to be okay with hitting either one when it’s played. Typically, decks trying to apply early pressure that want the Isamaru effect aren’t going to be happy playing an Elvish Visionary, and value decks looking for a 1-mana source of card draw don’t really want the 2/2 for 1 mana. Finding the situation where the deck is happy with either outcome is the real trick. Suffers a bit in the same way that Vexing Devil does; a card where both effects are above-the-curve in terms of rate and both effects fit the deck’s primary gameplan, but not getting the choice of which effect you get ultimately makes the card suffer in formats as volatile as the cube.
Verdict: In cubes where green decks will often be happy with the 2-power 1-drop OR the cheap value creature, I think Scout can shine. Worth a test in decks where that will be the case, though ultimately I think the consistency will hurt its long-term viability in the cube.
Sanguine Evangelist
A new Blade Splicer variant!
What I Like: Similar to Splicer, you get 4 total power for 3 mana (though the Evangelist’s is split between the ETB trigger and the death trigger). The bat tokens have flying, which is nice, and the battle cry trigger is nice when swinging on open boards in your go-wide aggro and/or token shells.
What I Don't Like: Unlike Splicer, flicker effects are far more lackluster on the Evangelist. Getting a 1/1 bat instead of a 3/3 golem when hit by a flicker effect is quite a bit weaker. I really wish the main body had flying. It would’ve made the battle cry a much more consistently valuable ability, which would’ve added so much more to its value as an overall package. Trading away in combat against everything in the cube kills the consistency of the trigger, which makes the card suffer overall.
Verdict: This is a solid 3-drop, but it’s in a super congested slot with a lot of powerful options. I couldn’t find room to squeeze this into my cube in addition to Splicer, but I feel that if my cube was bigger, it would be a much easier card to find room for. Worth a close look at cubes 630+ in size, those that are deep on the monarch/initiative subgame (where the flying on the bat token gains more value), or those that are big on the token/anthem plan.
Kitesail Larcenist
A great blue Fiend Hunter variant!
What I Like: This is likely the best Fiend Hunter variant we’ve seen for the cube. It’s a 2-power flier with 3 toughness, has Ward for a bit more reliability, and it can hit both creatures and artifacts! It also has the ability to target your own cards if you’re willing to cash in a cheap artifact or creature for a treasure token.
What I Don't Like: Blue’s 3cc creatures are pretty competitive, so finding room can be hard. The opponent may also occasionally be able to use the treasure token to fix mana or ramp into a bigger threat once they’ve abandoned the idea of getting their first target back. And while it can target artifacts, the fact that it turns the target into a treasure limits how effective the Larcenist can be against artifact mana.
Verdict: If you’re looking for a way for blue to disrupt the opponent’s creature development, Larcenist is worth a go. It’s very likely the best Fiend Hunter effect that the cube has seen, so if you’re in the market for this kind of effect and have the free slot in blue, it’s worth a test. I would be able to find room for this at 630+ for sure, and there’s a good chance it could be a solid creature at 540 as it is.
Sentinel of the Nameless City
A new big green value 3-drop!
What I Like: A 3/4 vigilant 3-drop is a decent-sized body, and generating a Map token on both ETB and every attack makes this a consistent source of card advantage, card selection, and +1/+1 counters. This is akin to Courser of Kruphix in that it’s a 3-drop with 4 toughness that can generate card advantage by drawing lands off the top of your library. This also has more power, can grow itself (and/or the team) over the course of the game, and creates artifact tokens for all the various synergies those can have.
What I Don't Like: Unlike Courser, this card can’t generate card advantage for free; you have to pay to crack the Maps. It also doesn’t gain you life. This card looks better on offense but worse on defense than a card like Courser.
Verdict: If you have the room for a value-generating 3-drop in green with an oversized body, I would suggest giving it a go. While I think it’s substantially worse than a card like Tireless Tracker, I think its about equal to a card like Courser. I’d be slamming this at 630+ for sure, and I’m still trying to find a good cut to give this a trial run in my 540.
Deep-Cavern Bat
A new Kitesail Freebooter variant!
What I Like: I think this is my favorite Mesmeric Fiend effect for the cube. In comparison to Freebooter, the Bat trades one extra toughness for both lifelink and the ability to hit any nonland card! Being able to pick the most important card from the opponent’s hand (even if it’s a creature) is such an important upside, I think it more than makes up for the missing toughness, and the lifelink is just gravy!
What I Don't Like: Similar to all the other creatures in this vein, it’s more about the disruption than the pressure. Being a 1-power threat will always feel pretty anemic as threat, so the power of the effect is tied into how critical the disruptive element is. One of these days we’ll see a mono-black version of this effect with more aggressive stats, and that will make it a better generically-playable aggro card instead of just a disruptive element.
Verdict: In cubes of any size that have a combo element to them, the disruption of these kinds of effects becomes valuable enough to overlook the lack of power they bring to the table. In cubes loaded to the gills with combos, I could see Bat being a great performer at any size. As a stand-alone goodstuff card, I think it’s an easy 630+ inclusion, and warrants testing at smaller sizes the more than initiative/monarch becomes a thing and the more combos are available for it to disrupt.
Restless Reef
The rest of the allied manlands!
What I Like: The way that these new restless lands were evaluated was a combination of evaluating them as stand-alone cards AND in the context of how they compare to the existing manland option. Reef is a solid land. A 4/4 deathtouch for 4 is no joke. Self-milling 4 cards in the midgame can fuel your ‘yard a lot, and after multiple late-game activations you can really start to threaten the opponent’s smaller library even when the shark can get repeatedly chump-blocked.
What I Don't Like: No matter how good Reef is, it’s simply not going to compete with Creeping Tar Pit. So it’s going to be relegated to cubes that are big enough to play both cycles of manlands, or cubes that want to use it as a placeholder while they wait for other cycles to be completed (cough, allied Horizon Lands, cough).
Verdict: Worse than Creeping Tar Pit. Likely relegated to large cubes big enough to run two full cycles of manlands, or cubes using the extra Restless land as a placeolder until the rest of the Horizon lands are printed.
Kellan, Daring Traveler
A cheap Selesnya card advantage engine!
What I Like: Selesnya is lacking for great options, so when a 2-mana 2/3 that can draw extra threats every time it attacks gets printed, it caught my attention. The adventure isn’t mandatory, but the extra Map tokens are nice, and as long as you can fit Journey On into your curve without sacrificing pressure, you might as well grab the free value. The real power is in the main body of the card. A splashable 2/3 for 2 that can draw cards and/or provide card selection with every attack is quite good. And the interaction with Kellan’s ability and the Map activations plays really nicely together depending on what you’re digging for.
What I Don't Like: I wish it could draw creatures of any mana value instead of just ones with mv<4. It would also be great if you could crack Map tokens at instant-speed to explore as a combat trick. That’s not really Kellan’s fault, but it makes a particularly noticeable difference with his design in particular.
Verdict: Medium- to large-sized cubes looking to experiment with something different in a relatively anemic Selesnya section should give Kellan a close look.
Restless Ridgeline
The new Gruul manland!
What I Like: In comparison to Raging Ravine, Ridgeline activates outside of Bolt range, and when attacking alongside at least one other creature, it represents 5-power with its first trip into the red zone, and untaps your other attacker when racing.
What I Don't Like: The triggered ability is a blank when attacking alone, which is something that manlands do often. They’re prefect for threatening an open post-Wrath board, and Ravine does a spectacular job of this, and Ridgeline simply falls short on that front. Also, after multiple activations and attacks, Ravine pulls ahead of Ridgeline in the damage race, even when attacking with other threats!
Verdict: Worse than Raging Ravine. Likely relegated to large cubes big enough to run two full cycles of manlands, or cubes using the extra Restless land as a placeolder until the rest of the Horizon lands are printed.
Trumpeting Carnosaur
A new “cascading” red fatty!
What I Like: A 7/6 trample for 6 is a solid baseline for a monster that gets to “cascade” into another nonland spell w/ mana value 5 or less. The ability is an ETB trigger, making it a halfway decent reanimation creature since you get both the free value card and the 7-power trampler. It has a big enough butt to play well in Wildfire decks, if that’s still a thing in your group. Most importantly, it has a self-binning “channel” ability where you can blast a creature or ‘walker for 3 damage for 3 mana, as an uncounterable instant-speed effect. As far as big monsters go that have mechanics that can get themselves into the ‘yard, the Carnosaur is one of the better effects.
What I Don't Like: I wish it had one other thing baked into the overall package. Haste, for example, would’ve been outstanding, even at the cost of an extra mana. My ideal version would’ve been a 7-mana version with haste and Discover 6. That way I can discover directly into my Wildfire, because I want to be greedy and try to live the dream like that. While I’m wishing for stuff, a discard ability at 2 mana instead of 3 would’ve been hot.
Verdict: Overall, it’s a solid package that’s good at several things but not great at any one thing. I’m testing this at 540, but I could certainly see it not making the cut forever.
Restless Prairie
The new Selesnya manland!
What I Like: In the later stages of the game, activating a manland that can contribute to a big alpha strike with an army of tokens or small creatures is valuable. Stirring Wildwood activates for 1 less mana, has one more toughness, and has reach …but it lacks any offensive firepower. I like the ability to shoehorn in additional anthem effects into the cube without having to dedicate a slot exclusively to that strategy, and Prairie lets me do that quite well. Plus, the art on the pack version of the Prairie is incredible! Llama Land!
What I Don't Like: This is a poor manland without additional creatures to pump, and a 4-mana activation for a land that always dies to Bolt is a steep ask.
Verdict: I really don’t like Stirring Wildwood very much, so I’m happy to take the opportunity to test out a manland that’s better for end game aggressive strikes and helps support go-wide token shells. I’m going to be testing this in my 540, and I’m relatively optimistic that it will perform solidly.
Inti, Seneschal of the Sun
A new aggro/value 2-drop!
What I Like: There’s a lot to unpack with this creature. It’s a discard outlet that can put +1/+1 counters on your attacking bodies, it provides reach in the form of trample, and it converts your discarded cards into additional gas from the top of your library. It reminds me of an odd combination of Luminarch Aspirant and Containment Construct …with a repeatable rummager built in. If you can live off the top of your library, making land drops and casting gas from your exiled cards, Inti can spiral out of control and run away with the game. In decks that can utilize the discarded cards from the ‘yard, like aggro Loam decks and Bloodghast decks and stuff, you can mitigate the drawback, generate CA from the exile/play clause, and beat down hard with a growing, trampling threat. You can also activate the ability with a different creature, allowing you to get the +1/+1 counter, the trample, and access to the exiled card even if Inti doesn’t actually attack itself …including the turn it resolves. It’s important to note that the exile/play clause works with all your discard effects, so other looters can exile additional cards from the top which will occasionally lead to even more card advantage.
What I Don't Like: Luckily the first discard option is a “may”, because there will be times where you don’t want to discard cards to Inti’s ability. When you’re in a situation where pitching cards is bad (like sometimes on the first turn where you won’t be able to play the exiled card) Inti’s a pretty mundane creature. You really need to go all in on the discarding/exiling gameplan to be able to take advantage of all the value Inti brings, else you run the risk of it being a very mediocre threat.
Verdict: The ceiling on this card is absurdly high for a 2-drop. But it also has a very tame floor. I’m excited to test this out in my 540 and see how it does, because there’s a lot of promise.
Restless Anchorage
The new Azorius manland!
What I Like: This is such a great manland. Cheap activation, evasion, and value in the form of the Map token generation. Celestial Colonnade is an amazing manland, and despite that, there will be decks where the Anchorage is better. Tempo shells looking to take advantage of the cheaper activation cost, and decks with a lot of expected combat that can take advantage of the explore triggers will be stoked to have access to this new land.
What I Don't Like: The only strike against this land is the competition. Colonnade is better in WU midrange and control decks, where it activates outside of Bolt range and hits for a meaningful 4 damage. It’s hard to compete against Colonnade, and that’s the task that Anchorage has in front of it when comparing itself to of the best manlands of all time.
Verdict: For some cubes, this will be better than Celestial Colonnade, and for those cubes, it’s a clear slam dunk. In other cubes, it may be worse than Colonnade. There it will likely be relegated to large cubes big enough to run two full cycles of manlands, or cubes using the extra Restless land as a placeolder until the rest of the Horizon lands are printed.
Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon
A new Boros Rabblemaster variant!
What I Like: This is a very aggressive take on Krenko. Since the tokens enter tapped and attacking, it represents more clocked damage than several of the slower Rabblemaster variants, including Krenko and Hanweir Garrison. Even when on the board entirely alone, it represents 19 damage by the end of combat on T6, which places it in the middle of the pack in terms of aggression. However, the attacking clause isn’t tied to Anim… it works with any attacking creature. So if you have another attacking body that gets value from this on T3 when its played, that representative damage jumps to 32 by the end of combat on T6, making it a faster clock than even Rabblemaster itself. And that’s an easy clause to satisfy that should happen relatively often. Unlike a card like Najeela that needs another attacking Warrior available to attack with every turn to outpace Rabblemaster, Anim can do it with any creature! It also has the upside of always having 3+ toughness if it’s entering the red zone, and the Gnomes it makes are artifacts in case that matters for Karnstructs and the like.
What I Don't Like: Competition in the Boros section is stronger than ever, and there’s already great cards on the outside looking in. But despite the competition in the 3cc creature slots in Boros decks and the strength of the other RW cards it’s competing with, the ceiling on Anim is so high and should be hit so consistently that it’s worth finding room, IMO.
Verdict: Another super competitive Boros option. I could see this card making the top 3-5 Boros cards, meaning it could be worthwhile in cubes of all sorts of various sizes and configurations. But as long as you’re not replacing Forth Eorlingas! with Anim, it should be a sidegrade at worst even against the most competitive of cards. This is a powerful Rabblemaster variant friends. Don’t sleep on it.
Restless Vents
The new Rakdos manland!
What I Like: I love this land. It activates for cheap, has evasion, has a 3rd point of toughness for tangling with Lions, Pikers, & Bears, and it has a triggered rummaging ability that provides card selection and feeds the ‘yard for all those BR decks that care about that. Everything that I want in a manland package, and the competition against its predecessor is probably the largest gap in quality between two of the lands.
What I Don't Like: Lands entering tapped isn’t ideal for Rakdos. It’s still definitely worth it, but it’s one of the combinations that feels that drawback of the design the most.
Verdict: This is a great land, and I’d be happy running it in pretty much every Rakdos deck. If your cube has room for a manland in the Rakdos section, this one should be it.
Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel
A new blue tempo looter!
What I Like: This is my favorite tempo looter in the cube! In comparison to its predecessors like Looter il-Kor and Suspicious Stowaway, Malcolm always has 2 power, making it a much more impactful threat in tempo shells. And while the evasion isn’t quite as absolute, the flash makes the effect so much more reliable because I don’t have to cast my creature and pass the turn before using it. Being able to surprise flash this in at EOT, and untap and swing will make this a very consistent looting effect, and have it play better into the plan of the reactive tempo deck even better than its counterparts. Not to mention that this can build up counters and ultimately cast your discarded loot cards for free. Won’t happen often, but it’s certainly not impossible.
What I Don't Like: Attack trigger vs connect trigger would’ve gone even further to advance the consistency, but that’s a big ask.
Verdict: This is a great tempo creature, and the best of the aggressive looter variants. I’m going to happily play this card at 540, but I could see folks making room for this at 450 for sure.
Get Lost
A new white removal spell!
What I Like: I like instant-speed 2cc removal that can answer multiple types of permanents. The closest comparison is probably Fateful Absence, but by comparison, Get Lost hits a 3rd type of permanent, and gives up two Maps instead of one Clue. Overall, I’d rather give the opponent the Maps since they’re not always worth a card and sometimes they’ll be lacking for explore targets, so it’s a clear upgrade in my eyes. It’s important to note that you can always target your own card with this in case it’s ever worth getting the Maps for yourself.
What I Don't Like: Situations involving complex combat-heavy boards will be tilted in the opponent’s favor if they hit critical +1/+1 counters off their Maps. Luckily the Maps have to be cracked at sorcery-speed, but it’s still something to keep a watchful eye on.
Verdict: This is a solid removal spell with a great name for a staple removal effect of its kind. Happy to slam at 540, would test at 450, and I could see smaller cubes experimenting with this as an inclusion too. Very decent removal spell.
Molten Collapse
A new Rakdos Dreadbore variant!
What I Like: Strictly better Dreadbore wasn’t on my checklist, but I guess I’m happy to have it. Collapse is a modal spell with one of the two modes being a straight-up Dreadbore. The other option you can pick from destroys any noncreature, nonland permanent with mv≤1. For powered cubes, this option kills every Mox, Crypt, Vault, Sol Ring, etc. in the cube. Not to mention a handful of other powerful targets to get rid of like Skullclamp. In my cube list, this extra ability destroys ~30 targets, and in addition to the premium mana artifacts it removes, it can also remove the utility artifact tokens like Maps, Clues, and Food if needed. The nicest part of the spell is how easy the descend mechanic can trigger. Pop a fetchland and suddenly you can kill their Oko and their Mox Sapphire for 2 mana. I’m in for that.
What I Don't Like: I loved the alter on my Dreadbore, and now that card has been replaced.
Verdict: This is well above average Rakdos removal spell. Dreadbore is a solid Magic card, and adding on the ability to destroy fast mana and utility artifacts on top of the effect is great. Then give it a clause so you can have both? Sign me up. I think this is easily a top 3 Rakdos card for powered cubes, and is likely still a top 3-5 card for unpowered ones, so I could see this being a 360-450 cube card without question.
Bitter Triumph
A new black removal spell!
What I Like: This is a premium black removal spell. This is everything I ever wanted Infernal Grasp to be in the cube. It hits both creatures and planeswalkers for 2 mana at instant speed, and you have the option of either paying the life or discarding a card to pay for the drawback. This also allows Triumph to function as a 2cc instant-speed discard outlet when your opponent has a target so you can discard your robots in your Welder decks or your fatties in your reanimation deck.
What I Don't Like: In decks that can’t afford to discard cards to it, the 3 life can be a steep cost when you're on your back foot.
Verdict: This is a premium removal spell for cubes. I can’t imagine not cubing this at any size, even all the way down to a powered 360 card cube list.
Thanks for taking the time to read through the article! Feel free to post your comments here for discussion and share your feedback.
Cheers, and happy cubing!
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steve_man posted a message on [LCI][CUBE] Promising VeinPosted in: Cube Card and Archetype Discussion
Land – Cave
T: Add {C}
1, T, sacrifice ~: Search your library for a basic land, put it onto the battlefield tapped then shuffle.
Essentially a functional reprint of Shire Terrace, except it also has the Cave subtype. As I said in the Shire Terrace thread, I think this is generally better than Terramorphic Expanse / Evolving Wilds and not too far off from Ash Barrens / Fabled Passage. If you're looking for another Shire Terrace type card or was turned off by the Universes Beyond version of it, this is for you! -
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Sliver Lord posted a message on [WOE][WOC][CUBE] Wilds of Eldraine Includes & Testing ResultsPosted in: Cube Card and Archetype DiscussionQuote from Sea_R_Hill »Very weak set for all of us that avoid parasitic mechanics (like the different roles and their associated tokens), but one good card is saving the set for me: I will finally have a 6th playable card in my Boros section!
So my includes are:
Heartflame Duelist
Mosswood Deathknight
Roles aren’t parasitic at all though -
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Visserdrix posted a message on [CUBE][WOE] The Goose MotherGot to see this Bad Mutha in action tonight and it was great.Posted in: Cube Card and Archetype Discussion
Not only was it played in more early game scenarios it also was great against an opposing hostage taker being able to come back as a 2/2 flyer with food left over to draw cards off of. krasis would have been doodoo.
Very happy with this over krasis! -
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LucidVision posted a message on [SCD] [CUBE][WOE] Embereth VeteranPosted in: Cube Card and Archetype DiscussionQuote from Alan Yuan »Quote from steve_man »Higher quality in aggressive threats in general has afforded me to shave the amount of aggro 1 drops across the board to make room for other things. If I find myself wanting to increase that number, this will be first in line for inclusion.
I've found that to be the case for red aggro as well - With Ramnup/ Hazoret Red dominating standard 3-4 years ago, people have demonstrated that red decks can and should aim to go a bit better rather than Goblin Guide/ Bolt.
I don’t agree… it has to do where the concentration of power of threats lie and how they interact with what the opponents are doing. In standard at the time the cheap stuff was so much weaker than the expensive stuff it was ok to go big. That’s the exception more than the rule.
cheap threats have an inherent advantage over expensive threats in agressive decks by nature of mana curve efficiencies , getting on the board before the opponent and low land counts.
white/black agressive decks can play a slower game because they can disrupt what the opponent is doing and slow down their game plan.
red doesn’t have that luxury due to their limited removal suite and lack of hand disruption. Therefore they have to clock as fast as possible.
If you look at eternal formats where there are a greater quantity of threats to select from, it’s only the low to the ground all in versions of red thats successful.
The advantage of “going big” in red decks in cube is it requires less narrow cube slots to support.
If you want to help red Agro achieve its strongest form I think you want a high density of cheap spells. (Supporting it as much as possible is optional obviously) -
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steve_man posted a message on [LTR][CUBE] Fear, Fire, Foes!Posted in: Cube Card and Archetype DiscussionQuote from Fredo »But regardless of targeting, it's still damage. Why wouldn't TNN's protection work? I'm confused...
Because of the first sentence in the card's text box: "Damage can't be prevented this turn." This negates protection preventing damage, True-Name Nemesis / Mother of Runes being the two biggest victims the non-targeted damage of this. - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
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Interesting but might end up just outside.
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I’m curious about your threshold for adding a second set of manlands. I’m generally hesitant to run many taplands, since I’m worried about them being stumbling blocks, but I do have 9 slots per guild. Would you run these new lands alongside the old ones in lieu of checklands? I think those are the lowest hanging fruit of the enemy-guild lands I run.
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T2: 0 damage total, as you just cast it
T3: 2 damage total, 1st counter
T4: 5 damage total, 2nd counter
T5: 9 damage total, 3rd counter
T6: 14 damage total, 4th counter and tutor
This is pretty cool, and it may be worth trying out for me, since I do have a Humans subtheme in WB, which might like an evasive 2-drop.
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This is too many restrictions on the trigger to be playable imo, between the once/turn trigger, the "one or more" wording, and excluding itself. I still like the design, though.
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White:
Celestine, the Living Saint
Black:
Triarch Praetorian
Necron Deathmark
Primaris Eliminator
Green:
Biophagus
Old One Eye
Multicolor:
Chaos Defiler
Mawloc
Also considering but not ready to commit to:
Space Marine Devastator (as a slightly more expensive Pest Infestation)
Defenders of Humanity
Night Scythe
Thunderhawk Gunship
Inquisitorial Rosette