This is a very small drawback for a land that adds mana of a color and has a useful ability. Can give the final push for aggro and token decks once you run low on cards to cast.
I had trouble finding a red entry for my utility land cycle for a long time. This is finally a worthy inclusion.
This seems like a fine card for black aggro. Black doesn't have many cubeable 3 power 2-drops yet. At least not without a drawback.
Flash makes it rather flexible. Offensively, you can cast it eot after a sweeper or after an opposing attack to surprisingly up the clock. Defensively, you can ambush (viper) an attacker. Kills almost any non-evasive attacker thanks to deathtouch and even gains you 3 life in that case. Which is nice for black.
Rarely, you might even use its etb effect to give another knight a buff. And in some cubes, it might matter than it is a cheap human.
Great news for everyone supporting colorless mana in costs. We can finally run the full cycle of all 10, rather than a 5/5 Talisman/Signet split. That increases the amount of producers of colorless mana and brings all the advantages that Talimans have over Signets to all color pairs.
Looks like I fail at reading. I missed the words "you control". That makes the card A LOT worse and explains why it wasn't discussed yet. Oops.
I think it would have been one of the top clones if you could copy your opponent's stuff, too. Not being able to do so overshadows the upsides of the additional +1/+1 or loyalty counter and being able to double up on your planeswalker or legendary creature.
Now that I actually know that the card does, I will skip testing it after all. Stunt Double (which I currently run) is just better than that.
I am surprised that nobody posted this card yet. Clones can be a desirable type of card in cube thanks to their flexibility. Of course, the cost to effect ratio has to be right. Nobody is seriously playing classic Clone. There have been a few Clone variants though were the price is right or at least ok: Phyrexian Metamorph, Dack's Duplicate, maybe even Stunt Double and Clever Impersonator. While Spark Double doesn't reach the power of the top pick(s) from that list, it is still better than the bottom one.
The single U makes this card rather splashable and gives it an advantage over contenders like the Impersonator.
Like Metamorph and Impersonator, Spark Double can clone more than just creatures. Planeswalkers are common and many of the cubed ones can have a big impact on the game. So the added flexitility is greatly appreciated.
When cloning a creature, it will (not counting additional effects) be larger than the original. This means that if you clone an opposing creature, it will win direct combat with it, rather than just trading with it. Big plus.
When cloning a planeswalker, the additional loyalty counter not only makes it faster to reach the ultimate, it can also give more options for non-ultimate minus abilities. And generally improves the survivability of your planeswalker clone.
Unlike other Clones, you can clone your own legendary creatures and planeswalkers without drawback. Thus creating a second copy of a permanent that you were meant to have only one of. Especially for planeswalkers, this is a huge boon.
This adds up to Spark Double being quite an interesting, flexibly and powerful option for cube. Will the glut of even more powerful blue 4-drops keep it out of cubes? I would certainly at least test it.
It is funny that half the inclusions are uncommons and that there is not a single mythic among the inclusions. This will be a cheap cube update. Even though Dire Fleet Daredevil is rather pricy rare, at least at the moment.
A cool creature for aggressive blue decks. Which happen more often than I initially expected when I built my cube. This guy can really help force some damage through. I want to try it.
I would have tried this if the first ability only affected your opponents' planeswalkers. The other three abilities all are one-sided beneficial for you, so why is the first one symmetrical? (Probably for balance reasons / standard concerns... but I am still angry about this.)
I love 187 creatures. I am always baffled how low LSV and others pick them in their cube drafts. Glad we got another great one.
I am not cutting any of my black 4-drops for it though. (Braids, Kalitas, Skinrender and Nekrataal - all pretty much uncuttable.) It's probably time for Sidisi to go.
I had trouble finding a red entry for my utility land cycle for a long time. This is finally a worthy inclusion.
This seems like a fine card for black aggro. Black doesn't have many cubeable 3 power 2-drops yet. At least not without a drawback.
Flash makes it rather flexible. Offensively, you can cast it eot after a sweeper or after an opposing attack to surprisingly up the clock. Defensively, you can ambush (viper) an attacker. Kills almost any non-evasive attacker thanks to deathtouch and even gains you 3 life in that case. Which is nice for black.
Rarely, you might even use its etb effect to give another knight a buff. And in some cubes, it might matter than it is a cheap human.
I think I have a spot for this at 600 cards.
(Pictures and source here: https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/the-rumor-mill/810547-talisman-cycle-brainstorm-brewery-preview?comment=1)
Great news for everyone supporting colorless mana in costs. We can finally run the full cycle of all 10, rather than a 5/5 Talisman/Signet split. That increases the amount of producers of colorless mana and brings all the advantages that Talimans have over Signets to all color pairs.
I think it would have been one of the top clones if you could copy your opponent's stuff, too. Not being able to do so overshadows the upsides of the additional +1/+1 or loyalty counter and being able to double up on your planeswalker or legendary creature.
Now that I actually know that the card does, I will skip testing it after all. Stunt Double (which I currently run) is just better than that.
I am surprised that nobody posted this card yet. Clones can be a desirable type of card in cube thanks to their flexibility. Of course, the cost to effect ratio has to be right. Nobody is seriously playing classic Clone. There have been a few Clone variants though were the price is right or at least ok: Phyrexian Metamorph, Dack's Duplicate, maybe even Stunt Double and Clever Impersonator. While Spark Double doesn't reach the power of the top pick(s) from that list, it is still better than the bottom one.
2 mana instant speed edict has a good chance to kill a relevant creature.
Not that this would change much. Would cube as a 2/3. Not as a 3/2. Card comes a few years too late.
Skymarcher Aspirant (cut Savannah Lions)
Warkite Marauder (cut Eldrazi Skyspawner, probably)
Ravenous Chupacabra (cut Sidisi, Undead Vizier)
Dire Fleet Daredevil (cut Abbot of Keral Keep)
Maybe I find room for Grasping Scoundrel, too. That one isn't sure though.
I am not cutting any of my black 4-drops for it though. (Braids, Kalitas, Skinrender and Nekrataal - all pretty much uncuttable.) It's probably time for Sidisi to go.
This pirate is slightly better than 2/1 can't block for B. Overall, a decent aggro guy.