I forgot about that Renaissance printing, probably should have had added Triskelion sooner since as Leelue mentioned it might be outclassed at this point.
The flavor on Lizard Blades is that they are robot lizards that turn into swords, what's not to like?!
Echewing the rarity restriction on lands is one of the most beneficial things I've ever done to my cube. I strongly recommend it. If anything, it lets you talk to me on more familiar grounds haha
Btw, I'm definitely seconding the recommendation here. Lands are such a core element to the game of Magic, and the gap in quality from uncommon to rare is driven mostly by factors external to the game itself (lands sell packs). Including rare lands has added to the strategic depth of drafting, and the resulting higher quality mana-bases have done nothing but improve gameplay.
I recently made the big leap to "Peasant+" and made a blog post discussing the rares that felt I could justify at Peasant power level. Thought it might be worth adding to the conversation on MTGS, and this seemed like the most relevant thread. Put another way: these are cards that I wish were rareshifted down, I just got tired of waiting for WotC to make the move.
(Note for context: I had been testing with Rout/Languish/Storm's Wrath for a while to see how they played. Results were positive, thus the move deeper into additional rares.)
Cleansing Nova <- Rout
Five mana seems like the sweet spot for wraths at this power level. Rout has been fine, but I want to limit the swingiest effects in the cube to sorcery speed so Cleansing Nova seemed like a good swap.
Planar Outburst
A single boardwipe in white felt insufficient, especially at 450. Hoping that adding a second should allow drafting white-based control decks to be more reliable and less of a fluke. I just cut Tatyova, Steward of Tides due to her interacting too favorably with other creature-lands, so Planar Outburst should be a true boardwipe here.
Teleportation Circle
Filling in the void left by Soulherder. It is harder to interact with than Soulherder, but it also isn’t a growing threat itself. This is the kind of rare that I’m willing to stretch to include: has the potential to be powerful, but requires some set-up and doesn’t go in every white deck.
Pollen-Shield Hare <- Prava of the Steel Legion
I’ve never liked the asymmetrical nature (both in number and in timing) of the buff from Prava. Pollen-Shield Hare is basically a sidegrade, but is a much cleaner design and could easily be uncommon without the Adventure half.
The Reality Chip
Admittedly, this is a bit of a pet card (look at that type-line!), but it also has a really fun, unique effect and gives your opponent plenty of ways to interact. It gets bonus points for being an artifact and specifically for being an interesting equipment outside Boros.
Thought Monitor <- Mulldrifter
This was one of the cards that most made me want to loosen my rarity restrictions, as nothing about this design seems rare to me. Thought Monitor is a perfect pull into a blue-based artifact deck, although our old friend Mulldrifter will be sincerely missed.
Languish
No changes here, just noting that Languish has performed how I was hoping it would perform and has earned its slot long-term.
Crux of Fate
As with white, one sweeper did not feel like enough support at 450 (red is probably fine with one big sweeper, as slower red decks are much less common). Crux of Fate is awkward in a cube with just a single dragon, but it’s really the only 5 mana value sweeper available in black.
Scrapheap Scrounger
Powerful card, but not blocking is significant and means you need to be aggressive to truly take advantage. Scrapheap Scrounger interacts across multiple different themes that I’m trying to support and should fit in great.
Persist
Basically just a cleaner (and probably worse) version of a card we already have access to: Animate Dead. Cheap reanimation spells mostly scale with the power level of their environment, since for example Peasant cubes are only reanimating Peasant threats.
Storm's Wrath
The red Languish, Storm’s Wrath has also earned a long-term slot. With true sweepers at five mana, four mana for a toughness-based sweeper feels right in line at this power level.
Bomat Courier
A card that hits very high on the “fun” scale and seems totally fine on power level. I love that the exiled cards are facedown, presenting a kind of ‘mystery box’ choice.
Lizard Blades <- Hexgold Halberd
I’m always been fond of this card purely on flavor (I would run the showcase art if it wasn’t missing the reminder text on Reconfigure), and considering we’ve seen 1/1 double-strikers in red with upside before (Viashino Slaughtermaster) I expect Lizard Blades to be strong but not busted.
Sarkhan's Unsealing
Basically a secret Gruul card, but if the 4-power archetype is actually going to work it’s going to need the help from cards like Sarkhan's Unsealing.
Splinterfright
Splinterfright has always felt like an obvious candidate for downshift to rare. Add one mana to give your Boneyard Wurm trample and a mill trigger. Great design, fantastic support for the graveyard deck (payoff and enabler), and should be right within the power band of a Peasant cube.
Hardened Scales <- Kami of Whispered Hopes
Clearly there is precedent for this effect at uncommon this is just the simplest implementation and one of the best payoffs for the counters deck. A powerful but somewhat narrow build-around that does nothing on it's own, similar to Teleportation Circle and Sarhkan's Unsealing.
Bloodforged Battle-Axe <- Trusty Machete
A very fun twist on a Bonesplitter-style card. I want to see if there's a deck that can not only make multiple copies, but can also do something interesting with the extra copies. However this will often be worse than Trusty Machete so I'm not very concerned about it on power level.
Triskelion
In the power-crept world of 2023, it is kind of shocking to me we haven’t seen this downshifted to uncommon yet. Triskelion works with artifacts, counters, and flicker themes, and provides another interesting top-end option for ramp and reanimation decks.
Scrap Trawler
Some of the best and most interesting artifact payoffs exist solely at rare or above, which is partly why you don’t see artifact themes pushed very often in Peasant cubes. Dipping into rares allows me to run exciting artifact support cards like Scrap Trawler, which also has significant overlap with existing graveyard and sacrifice themes.
Mutavault <- Mishra's Factory
I’ve never been a fan of how Mishra’s Factory can unintuitively block as a 3/3, so Mutavault comes in as a swap. With almost no tribal support, the changeling text will rarely come up but it will be interesting when it does (amass?).
Githzerai Monk is the only white high drop I've ever seriously considered being as scary as cloudgoat ranger, which is high praise. The effect on Malamet War Scribe takes a bad instant (inspired charge) and then overcharges you for a sorcery speed version of it. A 4/3 isn't even statted well at that mana cost. I'd much rather a card like Tenacity, rallying roar, rally to battle, make a stand, or even defend the campus. None of which I have ever considered running (although Tenacity does have a lot going for it on second glance)
Pretty crazy that 16 years later and CloudGOAT Ranger is still in a league of its own.
Githzerai Monk is likely the stronger of the two cards, but I don’t like the ‘oops I win’ aspect of it and it doesn’t pay you off for going wide in the same way Malamet War Scribe does. I could understand wanting an instant speed version, but I actually prefer the play patterns of having these go-wide pump spells at sorcery speed so it’s not as much of a blowout to those unfamiliar with the cube list.
I have played a lot of Mirrorshell crab, which is probably the proper comp for Marauding Brinefang. The crab is 80% counterspell, 20% "well at least I can play this" to bolster your threat density. Great card.
Brinefang on the other hand is primarily a 7 mana french vanilla, and that's not happening. Cycling that costs 2 are regularly eating whole turns of mana, not something you can passively weave in to your normal development. Striped riverwinder and Boon of the wish giver are competitive because they are win conditions that almost completely skirt the opportunity cost of putting a win-con in the deck. Ward is just 3 is not a significant deterrent at that mana cost unless some cheatery has been going on, so the brinefang is really close to something like... bad Twisted abomination.
I definitely have Marauding Brinefang behind both Mirrorshell Crab and Waker of Waves when it comes to 'self-binning fatties'. But as someone trying to push UB Reanimator, it has felt like my density of targets was not quite there so I’m willing to stretch a bit for one more. I will say that my expectations are not high.
If I designed a card like Kraul Harpooner for my custom cube people would rightfully lose respect for me as a human being.
Oh man, you can’t just drop that teaser and then not share your design!
I do think explorer's cache could be reasonable, but it has a lot working against it. Gaea's gift, vastwood fortification, and snakeskin armor are all legitimately compelling in action (maybe not when read) without needing you to be supporting +1/+1 counters. Those cards are going to be better in just your gruul and golgari decks that want to win combat. The cache really is more like a weird gaea's anthem, maybe?
I think a weird, synergistic Gaea’s Anthem is a decent comparison. I’m hoping the base rate is high enough to see play outside of dedicated GW counters deck, but I’ll have to see if that bears out in playtesting.
I think calling a gold, 2 mana carrion feeder in Bartolomé del Presidio a "staple" is a serious stretch. At one sac it's worse than monocolored cards people don't play, and at 2 sacs it's only up to 3 toughness (after, again, eating two things that could have had value).
I suppose it depends on your definition of staple, but calling it a “gold 2-mana carrion feeder” also seems a bit reductive. Aristocrats is easily one of the most popular cube archetypes, not just in Peasant but across the cube community as a whole. Bartolomé slots in perfectly to that strategy with just three clean lines of text and no strange set-based mechanics. That’s approaching ‘staple’ territory for me, but again your definition may vary.
Coming back from a bit of a posting hiatus to serve you some luke-warm takes! Lost Caverns of Ixalan shares a number of mechanical pillars with my own cube design (graveyard, go-wide, and I’ve recently started pushing artifacts), so I’ve got a sizable list of cards that I plan on testing:
Vanguard of the Rose <- Shrouded Shepherd
Almost certainly worse than Seasoned Hallowblade, but I had already cut Hallowblade for switch-hitting too well as a blocker (the Porcelain Legionnaire problem) and this seems much more fair. Sac outlets in white are extremely rare, which should make the Vanguard a unique role-player. Artifact support is a bonus (gonna be typing this a lot).
Malamet War Scribe <- Githzerai Monk
Surprised not to see much discussion on this, as it’s easily the best Overrun-on-a-stick we’ve gotten access to in white. This seems like a great top end for any creature-heavy white deck, and being a creature itself means recurring the EtB is definitely a possibility.
Dusk Rose Reliquary <- Kor Halberd
Exactly the type of removal spell I like cubing with, one that can be very powerful and/or efficient but also asks something of the player in deck construction (e.g. Unholy Heat, Murderous Cut). Artifact support (x3) is a bonus.
Waterwind Scout <- Aven Eternal
Bigger Spyglass Siren, competes with Aven Eternal and friends. I could see arguments for either, but the Scout gets the nod right now because I suspect the average blue deck is more interested in the map than the 1/1. Artifact support is a bonus.
Marauding Brinefang <- Organ Hoarder
Obvious comparisons to Striped Riverwinder. I’m not a fan of the un-interactivity of hexproof (why I’m not running the Riverwinder currently) so I’d gladly swap that out for Ward and some extra stats, even if the cycling on the Brinefang is arguably worse.
Soulcoil Viper <- Lord Skitter's Butcher
I was very much in the market for a Doomed Necromancer downshift and this more than fits the bill. Sorcery speed and the finality counter are decent tradeoffs for getting an extra point of toughness. Plus we’ve got plenty of humanoids, give me more snakes and…
Chupacabra Echo <- The Eldest Reborn
I cut the OG Chupacabra long ago for being too strong of a 2-for-1. The Echo can also be a powerful 2-for-1 but it requires a significant amount of set-up to make work. A nice payoff for the graveyard/self-mill deck.
Geological Appraiser <- Chimney Rabble
Talk about Geological Appraiser without mentioning Bloodbraid Elf challenge. Actually I’ll take this space to talk about how much of a difference being able to put the card into your hand is on Discover. In the handful of times I saw Discover at the prerelease, about half the time it would have been a whiff if the mechanic had been Cascade instead. Small sample size, but definitely noteworthy.
Diamond Pick-Axe <- Beamtown Beatstick
Could go either way between these two honestly. Losing the evasion is big, but boosting toughness helps and getting the treasure on attack instead of on hit makes it so much easier to plan out a turn when you know the treasure is guaranteed.
Cenote Scout <- Experiment One
Another great card, you always get a good rate for your one mana. Sadly the Experiment is over, love the card but saying goodbye to Regenerate (I’ve found it to be one of the more confusing mechanics for newer players).
Poison Dart Frog <- Kraul Harpooner
Played against it repeatedly at my prerelease and it was very good for my opponent and very obnoxious against me. But also I couldn’t stay mad because look at it. I liked how Kraul Harpooner played overall, but I won’t miss the unnecessarily complicated wall of text.
Explorer's Cache <- Gaea's Gift
Another card that I haven’t really seen discussed but I think if you’re trying to support +1/+1 counters in Gx that you should be giving this one another look. The Cache is both an enabler and a payoff for the +1/+1 counters archetype, and the mini-Ozolith effect gives the counters deck an axis to sustain value over the course of a longer game. Definitely one of the cards in the set that I’m most excited to try in my own cube.
Malamet Battle Glyph <- Tail Swipe Tail Swipe is probably higher power level on average, but I also like when you can get incidental archetype support (+1/+1 counters) on these bread and butter effects.
Akawalli, the Seething Tower <- Lotleth Troll
A really cool design and a great payoff for the graveyard/self-mill deck. I like the two tiers of buffs that give the ‘realistic’ mode in a supported deck, but also the ‘live the dream’ mode if you can go deep enough (pun intended).
Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar <- Sigardian Paladin
Love to see we get access to the first ability at uncommon, and GW is definitely the color pair that most wants to keep the opponent out of their combat steps. The second ability, awkward wording aside, has some precedent with Baird (been running him since DMU, he's great and really doesn’t take long to grok). I like the mechanic because it supports both equipment and +1/+1 counters as themes without referencing either directly.
Caparocti Sunborn <- Akiri, Fearless Voyager
A strong payoff for artifacts (equipment are great tap fodder for these kinds of effects) and go-wide, and provides Boros with a rare source of repeatable card advantage. Also among my favorite kind of repeatable card effects too, because it requires you to get your engine into combat.
Careening Mine Cart <- tbd
Vehicles are a fun card type and I’m glad to see more interesting ones like this being printed at lower rarities. Repeatable treasure creation is very powerful, but like with Caparocti requires getting into combat so it gives your opponent more chances to interact.
Swashbuckler's Whip <- tbd
This is almost certainly not going to make the cut long-term, but is fun enough to have piqued my interest for a test. Curious if it will be viable to get to a point in the game where you can use the Discover ‘ultimate’.
Phyrexia All Will Be One is a really sweet set, even though there are a number of mechanics that clearly aren’t going to overlap with your average cube. I personally won’t be adding anything with Toxic or Corrupted, but the design is a significant improvement on the original implementation of Infect and it's the first time in a while that I've got the itch to put together a set cube. I think the big winner here is clearly the RW equipment archetype, which if we weren’t already at a critical mass of quality payoffs and enablers, then we certainly are now. Some other takeaways from ONE would be the strength of the proliferate cards and the printing of several very powerful removal spells.
Here are the cards that I plan to add to my cube. The number next to the card name is the # rating that I gave the card on the Lucky Paper survey (https://luckypaper.co/survey/one/ - If you're looking for quality cube content, I'd recommend checking out their podcast). For those not familiar, the rating is from 1 to 3 and is a metric of how likely you expect the card to stay in your cube long term. Notable in that regard is that it’s not intended to be a measure of power level, but of compatibility with your cube goals.
Hexgold Hoverwings 2.6
The base body is a bit under-stated, but a 3 power flier is always a threat and the equipment it leaves behind is no joke. I like that the static ability provides an actual payoff, albeit minor, for the equipment deck.
Planar Disruption 2.8
This and Ossification are great additions to the suite of powerful removal we have access to. Ultimately settled on adding Planar Disruption due to it being a slightly cleaner design.
Experimental Augury 2.0 Impulse and to a lesser extent Anticipate have always been fringe playable. Currently I don’t have much counter support outside of GW, but in the interest of making the counter deck a little less insular, I have been looking to bleed support into another color. Blue seems like the best option, and Experimental Augury will help move in that direction.
Trawler Drake 1.8
Sits at a nice place on the curve, and I could use one more solid “spells” payoff in blue. Hoping that triggering off noncreatures means this is more likely to see play outside of just UR.
Drown in Ichor 2.0
Interesting that this is the first time we get -4/-4 at 1B, and they tack proliferate on it basically for free. Sorcery speed is obviously a ding, but I actually don’t mind having a chunk of my removal be sorcery since running too many instant removal spells start to invalidate combat tricks.
Hexgold Halberd 2.6 Barbed Batterfist 2.4
These two slot in as solid 2-drops that continue to increase the equipment density for the RW archetype. I wasn’t totally sold on Barbed Batterfist until I realized that it can also moonlight as a bad sacrifice outlet, so I could see it played in RB as well.
Chimney Rabble 2.4
As mentioned by others, I think this compares favorably to Beetleback Chief. I particularly like how well it works in a racing situation, pushing damage while also leaving behind a blocker.
Rebel Salvo 2.6
Easy add for anyone with an equipment theme.
Blazing Crescendo 1.6
I like combat tricks, I like impulse draws, put both on a single card and you’ve got me interested. I don’t expect this to stick around for too long, but it looks like a fun card to play so I’m happy to test it while it lasts.
Cankerbloom 2.8 Contagious Vorrac 2.6
Lumping these two together as you can basically say the same about both: fantastic base rate that you’d be happy to play in almost any deck, and the added option to proliferate makes them particularly enticing as payoffs for counters decks in green.
Armored Scrapgorger 2.0
A nice little package of mana fixing, graveyard hate, and a relevant late-game body. I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on if repeatable graveyard hate like this is too oppressive to the graveyard decks that are just finally starting to feel competitive in my environment.
Atraxa's Skitterfang 2.6
One of my favorite cards from the set, the cute little Skitterfang helps enable attacks and can easily break through board stalls. It’s a cool design that is both powerful and also gives players a lot of agency.
For me, Shield will likely replace Feat. Feat had gotten the nod over the other options because I wanted to extra support for GW counters. And while Feat can sometimes help push damage through, I have a few newer players and Protection is harder for new players to "get" than Indestructible. The Lifelink is a nice bonus too.
Pretty much my thoughts exactly, I recently cut Feat of Resistance because it was the last instance of protection in my cube, but overall I liked it's play patterns so I'll be happy to find room now for Take up the Shield.
Najal, the Storm Runner is a big body with a some powerful, unique effects. I like the play pattern of attacking to double-up a sorcery that you can play in combat due to the first ability, I'll probably test this over Rootha, Mercurial Artist.
Way behind on keeping up with all the releases lately. At least I was able to get my update/write-up in before Dominaria United info starts dropping… *checks notes* …tomorrow.
Hopefully this is helpful to anyone else that’s behind on their updates, or maybe just gives a fresh perspective on an overlooked card.
In <- Out
White Blessed Hippogriff <- Feat of Resistance
I’ve been in the market for a good 1-mana indestructible trick (not a fan of the non-Human clause on Fight as One) and the Hippogriff seems to be playing well in Alchemy Horizons (access to the Alchemy Horizon’s: Baldur’s Gate data from Arena is one of the benefits of writing this so late). I like Feat overall, but it’s my last Protection card and it will be nice to not have to worry about explaining “DEBT” to newer players.
Lulu, Loyal Hollyphant <- Odric's Outrider
A fairly straightforward swap as they fill a similar role in the sacrifice deck, but Lulu seems more interesting, slightly more powerful, and also supports blink and flyers.
Githzerai Monk <- Oketra's Attendant
Attendant has been a pretty solid card overall, but it doesn’t have the best home in White. It would probably play better in, oh I dunno, maybe blue? The Monk is a very unique effect and a great way to close out games from a board stall, something I’m always happy to have more of in the cube.
Greatsword of Tyr <- Citizen's Crowbar Greatsword looks like a fantastic aggressive card with cross-support for equipment and +1/+1 counters. I really like the design of the Crowbar overall, but I’m trying to cut down on the number of 1-of tokens.
Banishment <- Cast Out
Another sidegrade, but I think I prefer the anti-token upside of Banishment over cycling which I’ve found gets used very infrequently.
Blue Alora, Merry Thief <- Wingshield Agent Alora is an interesting card that I think is worth testing; it plays well in UWg blink and UB saboteur decks which are both secondary archetypes I try to support. Notably, combos very well with Ninjutsu.
Sailors' Bane <- Screaming Swarm
A juiced up Cryptic Serpent, Ward 4 begins to function close to hexproof and the mana discount looking at exile means it doesn’t feel bad running this next to Delve in a graveyard/reanimator deck. Screaming Swarm’s abilities end up playing too slow which makes it mostly a 6-mana Air Elemental.
Stunning Strike <- Witness Protection
The ever-rotating “blue enchantment removal” slot, but Stunning Strike does seem like a step above the rest. The “remove from combat” clause really makes this interesting, as it can be cast after the declare attackers step, and in some circumstances can be used as a combat trick (e.g. double-blocking). However my eye does twitch a bit at the “isn't legendary” text.
Young Blue Dragon <- Mind Control
As I hinted in talking about Oketra's Attendant, Young Blue Dragon is mostly a color-shifted version and I expect the combination of effects to play even better in blue, such as the adventure half providing a free “spell” trigger. Mind Control is a veteran as one of the oldest cards in the cube; it’s powerful but doesn’t support any specific themes and has been described as a “feel bad” enough times to finally move on.
Black Bonecaller Cleric <- Dread Return
I’m not necessarily sold on the Cleric on power-level, but as someone who’s removed most of the top-tier reanimation spells for power or complexity reasons I’ve been in the market for some new reanimate effects and I feel this is worth a test.
Guildsworn Prowler <- Vengeful Strangler Guildsworn Prowler has been playing well in Alchemy Horizons and I’m not surprised, this card looks great in aggro and sacrifice decks, and it even blocks well in a pinch which is something you can’t get from the Strangler. I’ve found DFCs are fun to play with in small doses, but long term I’ll be happy to trim a few of the more replaceable ones.
Vrock <- Vampire Sovereign
Probably a slight step down in strict power level (Vrock really could use that fourth point of toughness), but much more of an archetype signpost / payoff. Threatening up to six damage a turn, I’m hoping the bird will help the grindier sacrifice decks close out the game quickly. Also: funny name.
Arms of Hadar <- Incremental Blight
A really powerful one-side wrath effect, not much to say other than I’m surprised this didn’t garner more attention. Perhaps people are wary, as mentioned above, that it might be too oppressive to aggro, but I’m willing to test it.
Red Gut, True Soul Zealot <- Bogardan Dragonheart
I’m actually concerned that Gut may end up being too powerful in my environment, but that’s not going to stop me wanting to see those 4/1 menace skeletons in action. While Dragonheart is notably weaker, I do like its play patterns overall and could see swapping this back if Gut is as busted as I think it will be.
Amethyst Dragon <- Red Dragon
As someone who has been trying to support bigger/slower red decks (as evidenced by the fact that I was already running Red Dragon), I absolutely love that red has some more powerful top-end in the form of Amethyst Dragon. I'm in the camp that on power this will end up being a high pick and I’d go as far as to say it could be an archetype-defining card at the Peasant level.
Inspired Tinkering <- Twinshot Sniper
Another banger in red, happy to get more fun spells that aren’t just burn. I don’t think much needs to be said past the comparison to Escape to the Wilds, unless you’ve never played with Escape to the Wilds in which case I’ll just say that it’s a card that plays much better than it looks. Twinshot Sniper is strong but generic, and has felt dangerously oppressive to aggressive strategies. It may return if I decide to support more of an artifact theme.
Green Undercellar Myconid <- Tireless Provisioner Undercellar Myconid caught my eye from the spoiler, and its strong performance in Alchemy Horizons convinced me to give the little fungus a test. Provisioner has been fine, but it’s another unique token producer (food) and performs a similar role as the Myconid.
Erinis, Gloom Stalker <- Eccentric Farmer Erinis is one of the cards I’m most excited for (dare I say the peasant Ramunap Excavator?). A great rate for the body already, and it shouldn’t be difficult to get value with this particularly paired with B or U.
Druidic Ritual <- Rise of the Ants Ritual looks like the best version of that type of effect we’ve seen printed so far, possibly even good enough to see play outside dedicated self-mill decks.
Minthara, Merciless Soul <- Markov Purifier
I’ve had some trouble giving WB a distinct identity from BR, as the 'sacrifice' deck tends to blur between the two. Minthara (with Hidden Stockpile) supports the 'Revolt' style deck which can lean more into W flicker and B treasure than the BR deck. Unfortunately I worry that Minthara is a little low on the power-level side, and if it underperforms I’ll be tempted to mock-up a paper version that mirrors the alchemy card Minthara of the Absolute (no ward, two more toughness, trigger happens immediately but once per turn).
Kagha, Shadow Archdruid <- Acolyte of Affliction
I really like the design of Kagha, providing a payoff for self-mill is very unique and helps give BG decks something to build towards beyond just generic “graveyard” value.
Rug of Smothering <- Guildless Commons
Not quite sold on this cute little Rug, but it’s a unique enough effect at this rarity that I think it merits a test.
Haven't gotten to cube recently so I've been a bit behind on my SNC update. As usual I ended up testing a fairly high number of cards from the set, even if I don't expect most to make the cut long-term.
Queza, Augur of Agonies Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer
I currently don't run any 3-color cards, but these two are the first ones that stood out to me as worth testing in Cube. I'm going to count these effectively as colorless cards as far as cube slots go, and I'm not concerned about trying to make sure I have a full cycle of 5 (or 10).
And as someone who breaks rarity for fixing lands (but not fetches), I'm happy to be able to complete the Triome cycle by adding the newlands.
Been a few sets since I’ve had a chance to put together an update write-up. Wanted to get my early thoughts down before I got my hands on the cards at the prerelease this weekend. Overall, a rather impressive haul from a set that I wasn't expecting much from initially.
White Spirited Companion <- Search Party Captain
Good doggo 11/10 Blade-Blizzard Kitsune <- Aerial Responder
Probably would be interested in a 2/2 double-strike for 2W already, and the Kitsune is that with some minor but fun upside (an on-color target to pair with my favorite Ninjustu enabler: Faerie Guidemother). Double-strike is a great keyword and specifically works well with +1/+1 counter and equipment archetypes in white. Nothing against the powerful Aerial Responder, but with too many creatures at 1WW the Responder is the least interesting of the bunch. Touch the Spirit Realm <- Faith's Fetters
As someone who avoids functional reprints, it’s great to see a Banishing Light variant with some interesting tradeoffs (looking at you Borrowed Time).
Blue Moon-Circuit Hacker <- Ninja of the Deep Hours
Not a strict upgrade, but pretty close considering the Ninjustu hit has the same effect at half the cost and the Hacker has a hard-cast mode that isn’t a complete disaster. The Modern Age <- Merfolk Looter
Sad to see the classic Merfolk Looter go, but getting an immediate loot trigger and ending with a relevant flying body I expect will often outweigh the Merfolk’s ability to loot repeatably. Acquisition Octopus (testing) <- Alirios, Enraptured Stealer of Secrets certainly wouldn’t be playable on it’s own, but staple on a free Rogue's Gloves and now things get interesting. Alirios is a fine card, if overly defensive, but it doesn’t support any archetypes outside of flicker which is something I have begun to transition away from. Behold the Unspeakable <- Blue Dragon
If I squint, this card starts to look a little bit too much like Mulldrifter to ignore. I actually like the first chapter’s ability as something relatively unique; one play pattern some might overlook (since it looks inherently defensive) is how powerful the -2/-0 effect becomes if you are already ahead, often enabling an alpha strike with very little fear of a crackback. Mirrorshell Crab <- Mysterious Tome
Always in the market for beefy, self-binning creatures in blue, as they slot into both UG Ramp and UB Reanimator. I was close to re-adding Striped Riverwinder but I’ll check out the Crab in that spot first. It probably won’t come up often, but I particularly like getting access to an ability-counter effect.
Black Okiba Reckoner Raid (testing) <- Diregraf Ghoul
No strong feelings about this one. Diregraf Ghoul has been a long time holdover from attempts at pushing black aggro, so it’s time to try something a little spicier in its slot. Nezumi Prowler <- Grim Wanderer
I really like how many different play patterns there are with the Prowler, and I expect there to be a lot of power in that versatility. Gravelighter <- Umbral Juke
Gotta love it when the swaps are this easy. I had just replaced Plaguecrafter with Fell Stinger, so it’s nice to see a (better) version of that effect coming back in.
Red Rabbit Battery <- Boots of Speed Simian Sling <- Goblin Morningstar Bronzeplate Boar (testing) <- Bolt Hound
I like all three of the red Reconfigure creatures enough to test, though I will say I think Rabbit Battery is the best and most likely to stay in my cube long-term. These cards continue to expand support for the RW equipment archetype, which feels like it has reached a critical mass of quality enablers. Quick aside here to complain about the fact that we got zero Reconfigure cards in white. Booo. Twinshot Sniper <- Ardent Elementalist
The better the card the less I usually have to say, so this one will be short. Ironhoof Boar (testing) <- Gargadon
Some very powerful modality here; the body is definitely overcosted but the combat trick is actually a really good rate (see Brute Strength). Seems at home in red midrange decks and particularly good in Gruul. Unlike Bloodrush that we’ve seen in the past, the Channel ability isn’t limited to attacking creatures so it can even help trade up on defense in a pinch. Tempered in Solitude <- Light Up the Stage
So glad that this isn’t restricted to Samurai and Warriors like the rest of the ‘exalted’ mechanics in this set. Solitude seems like a fantastic source of card advantage in red. Attacking alone is a real restriction, one which should create interesting decisions and sequencing but will also prevent the card from having too much of a snowball effect. Once you hit your third card off of this you’ve got to be pretty happy, and that doesn’t seem difficult in your average game.
Green Kappa Tech-Wrecker <- Outland Liberator
This personal taste, but I appreciate the card design where you have the option to cash something in to get your Naturalize effect, as opposed to the high variance of either getting a “free” 2-for-1 or wasting the trigger (more Cathar Commando/Thrashing Brontodon, less Reclamation Sage/Trygon Predator). Leonardo’s ability is much closer to the former, and generally seems like it will have some interesting play patterns due to Ninjustu. I wish the Liberator was only the front half of the card, but the repeatable Naturalize on the transformed side can feel unnecessarily oppressive in certain matchups. Blossom Prancer <- Owlbear Vigilance Reach is generally going to be a worse keyword than trample, but that seems like a reasonable tradeoff for a significantly better ETB trigger.
Edit: It has been brought to my attention that the Prancer has Reach and not Vigilance, though I think those two are fairly comparable so it doesn't change my evaluation much. Greater Tanuki <- Edge of Autumn
Weighing in on the great Tanuki vs Tusker debate, and I’m coming down on the side of the Racoon Dog. I understand the Tusker’s primary appeal is its cycling mode, but the rate of 7 mana for a vanilla 6/5 is so far below the curve these days that the creature side is barely worth the card. I had previously swapped Krosan Tusker out for Greater Sandwurm and have not looked back. Roaring Earth <- Search for Tomorrow
This card reminds me of Ominous Seas (a very fun card that I still cube with) as a powerful and nearly game-warping effect if cast on curve, but also with a very relevant topdeck mode once you’ve already expended your resources. Have I mentioned yet how much I like Channel as a mechanic? Search ended up being a little too redundant with Rift Sower, and I prefer the creature.
Gold Colossal Skyturtle <- Gretchen Titchwillow
Almost certainly knew this would be my favorite card from the set when it was spoiled, though that’s probably the Simic mage in me talking. I’ve primarily leaned my UG section towards ramp as an archetype, but there has never been an actual ramp payoff in the vein of a Simic Sky Swallower… until now! And the channel modes make this arguably better than the Sky Swallower which is kind of nuts. Get in here big fella! Invigorating Hot Spring <- Rhythm of the Wild
As said by others, this is pretty close to being a straight upgrade. I particularly like that the modified support works with both equipment themes in red and +1/+1 counter themes in green.
Colorless High-Speed Hoverbike <- Ebony Fly
Glad to see we got at least one new playable vehicle (Imperial Recovery Unit was on my radar but didn’t make the cut) and this seems like a solid improvement on the previous borderline Sky Skiff. Ebony Fly gets booted as the last standing die-roll card. Circuit Mender <- Filigree Familiar
Hey, this time we can actually use the term “strict upgrade”. Towashi Guide-Bot (testing) <- Tezzeret's Gambit
Understatted for the mana cost, but it works out fairly well that “modified” creatures synergize best with the Naya colors, which are the color pairs hurting most for forms of card advantage. Another quick aside to complain about the fact that we got zero "modified-matters" cards in white, the color best suited to support it (at least in C/Ube). Walking Skyscraper <- Prophetic Prism
Always on the lookout for big colorless finishers and this definitely fits the bill. I quite like this form of temporary hexproof, as you can comfortably tap out casting this to stabilize the ground but it doesn’t completely lock your opponent out from interaction once you start trying to beat down.
I was considering switching from Boros Tokens to Boros Equipment theme. Has anyone supported their cube with Boros equipment before and how did it turn out compared to token/aggro? Also what signpost gold cards did you include?
I've been slowly transitioning my Red/White/Boros section from Go-Wide support to more Equipment support, but so far it's mostly just shown up as incidental synergies rather than a full-fledged archetype. Now with Bruenor Battlehammer and possibly Plate Armor as powerful equipment payoffs to test out, it feels like we may finally have hit critical mass on making the theme viable. I have Bruenor and Reyav, Master Smith as the top two signpost gold cards, with Koll, the Forgemaster at a moderately distant third.
Quick shoutout to Goldvein Pick, which has impressed in its few showings so far. The Pick has overperformed my expectations both as far as # of treasures generated, and how useful those treasures have been in practice.
Timeless Witness: Currently I have three Regrowth effects in mny cube which are Regrowth, Eternal Witness and Bala Ged Recovery. I think four of these effects is too much. In your experience, is the Timeless Witness better than any of those cards?
I had this same sentiment and came to the conclusion that the classic Regrowth was the one to get the cut. While Timeless Witness is certainly less efficient than Eternal Witness, it makes up for that by offering an incredible late game mode on top of an already decent front half of the card. I think both Witnesses are probably stronger than the sorceries, and I really value the flexibility on Bala Ged Recovery.
Also need suggestions on the best gold cards for Dimir signpost for graveyard/recursion/reanimator.
Wanted to circle back to this question to add a +1 to Obsessive Stitcher and also to suggest Port of Karfell as an option, another card I'm testing that has performed well. The opportunity cost of it being a tapped island is really small when it provides you with a powerful, if overcosted, late-game spell for "free". The reanimated creature enters tapped, but unlike most of its cycle from Kaldheim, the land can be activated at instant speed which means you can hold up mana for opponent's EOT, or potentially trigger instant-speed ETBs like on another Dimir favorite: Dinrova Horror. It's not exactly a graveyard/recursion signpost, but it functions as a very solid reanimate target and also performs well in any Dimir-based control deck.
Thrill of Possibility -> Dragon's Rage Channeler
The best part of Burning Prophet was always the scry, and this is 1 mana cheaper with a better-than-scry trigger. Even without much delirium support, the Channeler can eventually help activate itself, and flying means this can represent an actual threat. Ire Shaman -> Flametongue Yearling
Adorable, and obviously very powerful. Somewhat balanced out by the high color requirement; one of the things that always bugged me about Flametongue Kavu was how easily splashable it was. Axgard Cavalry -> Goblin Traprunner
The closest approximation to a Goblin Rabblemaster we’ve got at Peasant, though at 2 toughness it’s going to be difficult to get it to survive combat for more than one trigger. Since dice are probably going to be easier to come by than coins, I expect my group with likely shortcut the three coin flips with a single d8 roll: (1 = 0 goblins, 2-4 = 1 goblin, 5-7 = 2 goblins, 8 = 3 goblins) Sanctuary Smasher -> Gargadon
I’m surprised I haven’t seen this get more attention. Comparable to Errant Ephemeron in cost but on a way stronger creature, this represents an incredible amount of potential damage for just two mana. There are pretty much no board states where a 7/5 haste trampler doesn’t represent a huge problem for your opponent, which more than makes up for any tempo lost from the suspend. Gargadon feels like a top-tier red “2-drop”. Brimstone Volley -> Lightning Spear
I really like this card. Equipment are at their worst when you don’t have a creature to equip onto, so having a backup mode of Open Fire gives this a lot of flexibility. Equip 1 is always what you want to see, and trample is not a keyword that had appeared often on equipment. Between this, Barbed Spike and the upcoming Bruenor Battlehammer, there feels like finally enough quality support for the RW equipment archetype, and I’m at the point where I’ll be looking to actively support it moving forward. Crush the Weak -> Fast // Furious
The comparison to Slice and Dice seems apt, which I consider a positive thing. Mass sweepers are powerful but situational, so both Furious and Dice having their respective cycling+ modes goes a long way to increasing their playability. Since our format has to deal with the lack sweepers in white, I try to make sure that I present enough access to mass removal in black and red to keep swarm strategies in check.
Search for Tomorrow -> Rift Sower
Not a strict upgrade, but I've found that having a creature body on your ramp is generally more of a benefit than a liability, especially at 3 toughness. I expect having the creature will be preferable than having just the land on average (and almost always makes for a better topdeck). Imperious Perfect -> Scurry Oak
The Oak goes tall and goes wide at the same time, which usually ends up being a winning combination. Provides support for +1/+1 counters and tokens, but is really just an overall solid roleplayer. Dryad Greenseeker -> Tireless Provisioner
The peasant Lotus Cobra, at a worse spot on the curve but with a much better trigger. Not only do you get to bank the mana via treasure, but when you don’t need the acceleration three life per land is quite significant. The Provisioner seems like a slam dunk on power level. Regrowth -> Timeless Witness
Another fantastic card, my only problem with it is that now with this, Eternal Witness, Regrowth, and Bala Ged Recovery, we have four top-tier cards that all provide the same effect. One needed to go, and sadly that meant saying goodbye to the classic Regrowth. Briarhorn -> Bannerhide Krushok
Green got so many goodies and somehow this innocuous common might be my favorite. A 4/4 trampler for 4 is such a great base rate, that everything that comes on top just seems like gravy. This is a combat trick, +1/+1 counter support (x2), graveyard support, it even has cute self-synergy with Reinforce playing directly into Scavenge. Trollbred Guardian -> Herd Baloth
Normally I tend to avoid mono-color archetype payoffs that are this narrow, as this will likely function as a green/white card in most cases. However, with the +1/+1 counter archetype green specifically has not had the density of quality payoffs that white has had (Elite Scaleguard, Abzan Falconer) and I’m trying to spread around that effect. This is easily the most powerful +1/+1 payoff in green, and it only needs a single trigger to justify its cost. Song of Freyalise -> Abundant Harvest
A fantastic cantrip in green, I can’t think of a time when you would ever be unhappy to see this in your hand. Khalni Ambush -> Smell Fear
My cube has a slot for a third fight spell after Ram Through and Nature's Way , and Smell Fear seems worth a test as another +1/+1 counter payoff in green. Sometimes it’s an overcosted Prey Upon, sometimes it’s a discounted Hunt the Weak, but with a little set-up this can represent a massive swing for just 2 mana.
Good-Fortune Unicorn -> Arcus Acolyte
Another card I’m excited for, all four of its abilities are relevant and combine to make for a powerful card that has a ton of potential play patterns. The Acolyte is great on-curve as an above-rate creature that can scale with the game, and is also great off-curve because you can get value from the Outlast anthem immediately on any other creatures without favorable attacks. Lifelink specifically plays well with Outlast because it helps you gain back the life you lose from missing out on blocks. Ghor-Clan Rampager -> Goblin Anarchomancer
This is an incredibly strong effect, and gives another nod to Gruul ramp strategies while still being powerful in a beatdown deck. The goblin seems like a natural complement in decks that would want to run Svella, Ice Shaper, which has been a fun roleplayer so far. Crackling Drake -> Prophetic Titan
Delirium is certainly an odd requirement in your average cube but this is going to be solid even if you have to choose just one, and if you can manage to get both it’s going to be back-breaking for your opponent. Quality, high-mana creatures are hard to come by, so I think the Titan merits a closer look. Killian, Ink Duelist -> Graceful Restoration
My Orzhov section still has something of an identity crisis, and since I’m not ready to go all-in on white as a fourth reanimation color MH2 hasn’t exactly helped in that regard. That said, Restoration (its second mode in particular) is a very powerful effect that could potentially function without dedicated support. Ultimately my goal is a BW “attrition” archetype, leaning on tokens, recursion, and life drain to grind the opponent down. Graceful Restoration has potential in that archetype, while also opening up a unique build-around in something like a grindy Esper brew, where blue adds a number of quality <=2 power targets on top of the additional graveyard support.
Ornithopter of Paradise
It’s still kind of crazy to me that we’re getting a flying Utopia Tree… in colorless… at common. Unless you’re intentionally trying to stymy colorless fixing, this seems like the biggest slam dunk in all of MH2. Monoskelion
Comparable to Perilous Myr and Mortarpod in some ways, the floor of a colorless bear that can throw around a ping is a solid base case and it’s not hard to envision finding upside beyond that.
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Whew, what a set. I don't expect all of these to make the cut long-term, but I also think that, like MH1, I'll be discovering cards worth testing from MH2 for quite a while after its release. Currently Junk Winder is on the top of my list as a potential heavy hitter that I missed on the first pass.
MH2 shaped up to be an incredible set for Peasant cubes. The power level has clearly been pushed to the limit, with the commons in particular standing out, but on top of raw power we're seeing tons of quality archetype support cards. I'm leaning heavily into the graveyard, sacrifice, and +1/+1 counter themes presented with MH2 and ended up with so many changes and tests that I needed to break my review into two parts.
Part 1 (W/U/B):
Stormfront Pegasus -> Barbed Spike
Clean upgrade, and another step closer to making the Peasant equipment archetype a reality. Shepherd of the Cosmos -> Thraben Watcher
Certainly there on raw power, and I kinda like that the non-token clause can give a slightly different texture to a white go-wide build than a generic anthem effect would. Journey to Nowhere -> Piercing Rays
An interesting option for those running depowered removal (Journey being my latest victim), this is a flexible card that can play well on both offense and defense. Blessed Alliance -> Unbounded Potential
A decent combat trick on its own that also plays as both an enabler and a payoff for +1/+1 counters. Oketra's Monument -> Abiding Grace
We almost never see this type of repeatable recursion effect at our rarities, so even though the trigger is narrow the upsides seem huge. Definitely feels worth testing.
Faerie Seer -> Hard Evidence
The blue Thraben Inspector. Not much else to add, I expect this to be great. Condescend -> Lose Focus
Again, not much to add that hasn’t been said about this, excellent card. Boon of the Wish-Giver -> Mental Journey
Very similar cards but I think I'll prefer the play patterns of Journey over Boon. Instant speed is important on your late game draw spells, and overall I feel that Cycling 1 can end up being too much of a freeroll in deck construction. Bubble Snare -> Shattered Ego
The activated ability probably costs U too much, but I think that this is flexible enough at different stages of the game to be worth testing in the “blue enchantment removal” slot. Threnody Singer -> Scuttletide
A unique option for defensive blue decks, though this is definitely a card that I will need to see in action in order to truly evaluate.
Phyrexian Reclamation -> Nested Shambler
Our first black one drop that dies into another body, with some fringe upside that will be quite fun when it comes up. This seems like a solid roleplayer in sacrifice or token decks. Dreadmalkin -> Legion Vanguard
Always glad to see more viable sacrifice outlets being printed. Sometimes you’ll get counters when you need lands and vice versa, but the variance adds some spice and in many cases you’re going to be happy with either result. Gluttonous Slug -> Sinister Starfish
It’s been said already, but this is so much more enticing in black than Sigiled Starfish was in blue. A great roleplayer for slower decks, plus another way to fuel the graveyard. Zulaport Cutthroat -> Vermin Gorger
Somewhat comparable to a slower, mono-colored Fireblade Artist. The tap cost is a real restriction, but a 4-life swing every activation is big game and is going to be really hard to race. Stitcher's Supplier -> Vile Entomber
A fun new roleplayer for graveyard decks, I’ll have to keep an eye on the density of quality cards to search up but I expect it shouldn’t be difficult to get close to 1 card worth of value on average which makes this a solid rate. Pharika's Spawn -> Young Necromancer
The best (only?) reanimate on a creature body that we’ve gotten access to, which opens up a ton more interactions beyond your typical Zombify. The two-card exile clause is a real cost, one which rewards you from going even deeper on your graveyard while also preventing the Necromancer from getting truly degenerate with basic recursion. Gilt-Leaf Winnower -> Loathsome Curator
Easy swap here, adding +1/+1 of stats and replacing the very awkward (and high variance) targeting restriction of the Winnower with a much cleaner trigger that can also synergize with the sacrifice archetype. Goremand -> Underworld Hermit
This is a huge upgrade on Evangel of Heliod, 1) because black normally gets token producers at a worse rate than white, and b) the 3/3 body makes for a much more palatable floor. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect ~4 squirrels on average, which at 7/7 in stats over 5 bodies is already a great rate and the ceiling goes up from there. Plague Mare -> Archfiend of Sorrows
Probably the card from the set that I'm most excited by. The Archfiend feels like potentially the missing piece that Golgari graveyard decks have been needing to compete with some of the other top-tier Peasant archetypes, while also being excellent in reanimator and black control builds. Feed the Swarm -> Bone Shards
A big upgrade on Bone Splinters, this is a solid removal spell that also provides archetype support. I expect the discard to be the primary mode but the sacrifice option will be great when needed. Flunk -> Tragic Fall
A strictly better Last Gasp, which was always borderline playable. I don't expect the hellbent will happen often, but the play pattern of maneuvering your hand empty to take out a big threat will be very satisfying when it does come up.
Along with Bone Shards, Tragic Fall ends up ranking behind the top tier black removal (Go For the Throat, Cast Down, Heartless Act), but they are great tier 2 options for larger cubes or depowered removal.
Learn/Lesson seems like it's going to be a really fun mechanic for set draft, as a way to get value from picks beyond the ~23 that make your main deck. Hard to say how it will translate to cube, but looking forward to evaluating with the full set.
Thunderous Orator is a secret "flyers" card, with some rare but fun upside beyond that and a reasonable floor even if you can't find triggers. Might be too narrow outside that deck however.
Curate seems like the best version of the 2-mana instant cantrips if you're looking to support blue graveyard decks. Frost Trickster is just incredibly strong and looks to be one of our first staples from the set.
Emergent Sequence I think is a really neat design and, as stated, compares pretty closely to Servant of the Conduit. Bonus +1/+1 counter synergies should give this a slight edge for cubes which support that. Symmetry Master I'm surprised isn't getting more attention, but this is effectively a 4-mana 4/4 reach, trample which is a statline we've never seen before and is just incredible on offense and on defense. Not to mention the incidental triggers you can pick up on your other creatures (Beanstalk Giant anyone?), I have this tagged as the other Peasant staple so far.
Letter of Acceptance trades the repeatability of Bonder's Ornament for a much cheaper one-time activation, not sure which ends up being better on average.
Thanks for the shoutout. I have seen a few people mention using a Equipment/Aura archetype in the Cubes and I was curious any specific cards you like for that deck. I have a bigger 512-card Cube with only 8 total pieces of equipment, although I have played a few more over the years. Also any specific non-Equipment support cards you recommend.
I haven't gone too deep on the archetype yet, so it's mainly Boros beatdown decks that have enough ways to get extra mileage out of equipment that it becomes worth running a higher density. A couple of the better support cards have been mentioned: Danitha Capashen, Paragon, Reyav, Master Smith, Scrapper Champion.
I'll plug Fireblade Charger again, whose floor as a Footlight Fiend is fine (still trades with X/2's), but with any decent-sized equipment on the battlefield it becomes insane. I really like of 1-drops that stay relevant later in the game, and the this one can be a legitimate threat. Also works with other types of incidental pump (battlecry, +1/+1 counters, etc).
The flavor on Lizard Blades is that they are robot lizards that turn into swords, what's not to like?!
Btw, I'm definitely seconding the recommendation here. Lands are such a core element to the game of Magic, and the gap in quality from uncommon to rare is driven mostly by factors external to the game itself (lands sell packs). Including rare lands has added to the strategic depth of drafting, and the resulting higher quality mana-bases have done nothing but improve gameplay.
(Note for context: I had been testing with Rout/Languish/Storm's Wrath for a while to see how they played. Results were positive, thus the move deeper into additional rares.)
Cleansing Nova <- Rout
Five mana seems like the sweet spot for wraths at this power level. Rout has been fine, but I want to limit the swingiest effects in the cube to sorcery speed so Cleansing Nova seemed like a good swap.
Planar Outburst
A single boardwipe in white felt insufficient, especially at 450. Hoping that adding a second should allow drafting white-based control decks to be more reliable and less of a fluke. I just cut Tatyova, Steward of Tides due to her interacting too favorably with other creature-lands, so Planar Outburst should be a true boardwipe here.
Teleportation Circle
Filling in the void left by Soulherder. It is harder to interact with than Soulherder, but it also isn’t a growing threat itself. This is the kind of rare that I’m willing to stretch to include: has the potential to be powerful, but requires some set-up and doesn’t go in every white deck.
Pollen-Shield Hare <- Prava of the Steel Legion
I’ve never liked the asymmetrical nature (both in number and in timing) of the buff from Prava. Pollen-Shield Hare is basically a sidegrade, but is a much cleaner design and could easily be uncommon without the Adventure half.
The Reality Chip
Admittedly, this is a bit of a pet card (look at that type-line!), but it also has a really fun, unique effect and gives your opponent plenty of ways to interact. It gets bonus points for being an artifact and specifically for being an interesting equipment outside Boros.
Thought Monitor <- Mulldrifter
This was one of the cards that most made me want to loosen my rarity restrictions, as nothing about this design seems rare to me. Thought Monitor is a perfect pull into a blue-based artifact deck, although our old friend Mulldrifter will be sincerely missed.
Mistmeadow Vanisher <- Alora, Merry Thief
This was printed in a commander set or perhaps it could have been an uncommon. I don’t think it’s much stronger than Alora, Merry Thief, and it is comparable to the new Meneldor, Swift Savior.
Languish
No changes here, just noting that Languish has performed how I was hoping it would perform and has earned its slot long-term.
Crux of Fate
As with white, one sweeper did not feel like enough support at 450 (red is probably fine with one big sweeper, as slower red decks are much less common). Crux of Fate is awkward in a cube with just a single dragon, but it’s really the only 5 mana value sweeper available in black.
Scrapheap Scrounger
Powerful card, but not blocking is significant and means you need to be aggressive to truly take advantage. Scrapheap Scrounger interacts across multiple different themes that I’m trying to support and should fit in great.
Persist
Basically just a cleaner (and probably worse) version of a card we already have access to: Animate Dead. Cheap reanimation spells mostly scale with the power level of their environment, since for example Peasant cubes are only reanimating Peasant threats.
Storm's Wrath
The red Languish, Storm’s Wrath has also earned a long-term slot. With true sweepers at five mana, four mana for a toughness-based sweeper feels right in line at this power level.
Bomat Courier
A card that hits very high on the “fun” scale and seems totally fine on power level. I love that the exiled cards are facedown, presenting a kind of ‘mystery box’ choice.
Lizard Blades <- Hexgold Halberd
I’m always been fond of this card purely on flavor (I would run the showcase art if it wasn’t missing the reminder text on Reconfigure), and considering we’ve seen 1/1 double-strikers in red with upside before (Viashino Slaughtermaster) I expect Lizard Blades to be strong but not busted.
Sarkhan's Unsealing
Basically a secret Gruul card, but if the 4-power archetype is actually going to work it’s going to need the help from cards like Sarkhan's Unsealing.
Splinterfright
Splinterfright has always felt like an obvious candidate for downshift to rare. Add one mana to give your Boneyard Wurm trample and a mill trigger. Great design, fantastic support for the graveyard deck (payoff and enabler), and should be right within the power band of a Peasant cube.
Hardened Scales <- Kami of Whispered Hopes
Clearly there is precedent for this effect at uncommon this is just the simplest implementation and one of the best payoffs for the counters deck. A powerful but somewhat narrow build-around that does nothing on it's own, similar to Teleportation Circle and Sarhkan's Unsealing.
Bloodforged Battle-Axe <- Trusty Machete
A very fun twist on a Bonesplitter-style card. I want to see if there's a deck that can not only make multiple copies, but can also do something interesting with the extra copies. However this will often be worse than Trusty Machete so I'm not very concerned about it on power level.
Triskelion
In the power-crept world of 2023, it is kind of shocking to me we haven’t seen this downshifted to uncommon yet. Triskelion works with artifacts, counters, and flicker themes, and provides another interesting top-end option for ramp and reanimation decks.
Scrap Trawler
Some of the best and most interesting artifact payoffs exist solely at rare or above, which is partly why you don’t see artifact themes pushed very often in Peasant cubes. Dipping into rares allows me to run exciting artifact support cards like Scrap Trawler, which also has significant overlap with existing graveyard and sacrifice themes.
Mutavault <- Mishra's Factory
I’ve never been a fan of how Mishra’s Factory can unintuitively block as a 3/3, so Mutavault comes in as a swap. With almost no tribal support, the changeling text will rarely come up but it will be interesting when it does (amass?).
Pretty crazy that 16 years later and CloudGOAT Ranger is still in a league of its own.
Githzerai Monk is likely the stronger of the two cards, but I don’t like the ‘oops I win’ aspect of it and it doesn’t pay you off for going wide in the same way Malamet War Scribe does. I could understand wanting an instant speed version, but I actually prefer the play patterns of having these go-wide pump spells at sorcery speed so it’s not as much of a blowout to those unfamiliar with the cube list.
I definitely have Marauding Brinefang behind both Mirrorshell Crab and Waker of Waves when it comes to 'self-binning fatties'. But as someone trying to push UB Reanimator, it has felt like my density of targets was not quite there so I’m willing to stretch a bit for one more. I will say that my expectations are not high.
Oh man, you can’t just drop that teaser and then not share your design!
I think a weird, synergistic Gaea’s Anthem is a decent comparison. I’m hoping the base rate is high enough to see play outside of dedicated GW counters deck, but I’ll have to see if that bears out in playtesting.
I suppose it depends on your definition of staple, but calling it a “gold 2-mana carrion feeder” also seems a bit reductive. Aristocrats is easily one of the most popular cube archetypes, not just in Peasant but across the cube community as a whole. Bartolomé slots in perfectly to that strategy with just three clean lines of text and no strange set-based mechanics. That’s approaching ‘staple’ territory for me, but again your definition may vary.
Vanguard of the Rose <- Shrouded Shepherd
Almost certainly worse than Seasoned Hallowblade, but I had already cut Hallowblade for switch-hitting too well as a blocker (the Porcelain Legionnaire problem) and this seems much more fair. Sac outlets in white are extremely rare, which should make the Vanguard a unique role-player. Artifact support is a bonus (gonna be typing this a lot).
Guardian of the Great Door <- Blessed Hippogriff
Effectively Convoke plus Improvise for a 4WW 4/4 flyer, which seems like a great rate, but also interacts favorably with low mana value recursion (Unearth, Recommission). Works both ways though (Portable Hole, Bloodchief's Thirst), and I’d probably be less interested in this if I wasn’t pushing artifacts/equipment.
Malamet War Scribe <- Githzerai Monk
Surprised not to see much discussion on this, as it’s easily the best Overrun-on-a-stick we’ve gotten access to in white. This seems like a great top end for any creature-heavy white deck, and being a creature itself means recurring the EtB is definitely a possibility.
Dusk Rose Reliquary <- Kor Halberd
Exactly the type of removal spell I like cubing with, one that can be very powerful and/or efficient but also asks something of the player in deck construction (e.g. Unholy Heat, Murderous Cut). Artifact support (x3) is a bonus.
Spyglass Siren <- Spectral Sailor
Not much to add to the conversation, expecting this to be great.
Oaken Siren <- Etherium Sculptor
Added Etherium Sculptor as part of my artifact package, and while the Sculptor may have a higher ceiling, the Siren is a broadly more playable and powerful card.
Waterwind Scout <- Aven Eternal
Bigger Spyglass Siren, competes with Aven Eternal and friends. I could see arguments for either, but the Scout gets the nod right now because I suspect the average blue deck is more interested in the map than the 1/1. Artifact support is a bonus.
Marauding Brinefang <- Organ Hoarder
Obvious comparisons to Striped Riverwinder. I’m not a fan of the un-interactivity of hexproof (why I’m not running the Riverwinder currently) so I’d gladly swap that out for Ward and some extra stats, even if the cycling on the Brinefang is arguably worse.
Confounding Riddle <- Supreme Will
Easy swap, love to see the graveyard support.
Zoetic Glyph <- Thirst for Knowledge
I’ve been eyeballing a version of this effect (Mightstone's Animation, Ensoul Artifact) and this seems like the best one yet; a great artifact payoff to seed into blue.
Soulcoil Viper <- Lord Skitter's Butcher
I was very much in the market for a Doomed Necromancer downshift and this more than fits the bill. Sorcery speed and the finality counter are decent tradeoffs for getting an extra point of toughness. Plus we’ve got plenty of humanoids, give me more snakes and…
Deep-Cavern Bat <- Kitesail Freebooter
…bats! Freebooter has been great, but his time has finally come.
Chupacabra Echo <- The Eldest Reborn
I cut the OG Chupacabra long ago for being too strong of a 2-for-1. The Echo can also be a powerful 2-for-1 but it requires a significant amount of set-up to make work. A nice payoff for the graveyard/self-mill deck.
Bitter Triumph <- Blot Out
Great removal spell, not much else to add.
Geological Appraiser <- Chimney Rabble
Talk about Geological Appraiser without mentioning Bloodbraid Elf challenge. Actually I’ll take this space to talk about how much of a difference being able to put the card into your hand is on Discover. In the handful of times I saw Discover at the prerelease, about half the time it would have been a whiff if the mechanic had been Cascade instead. Small sample size, but definitely noteworthy.
Diamond Pick-Axe <- Beamtown Beatstick
Could go either way between these two honestly. Losing the evasion is big, but boosting toughness helps and getting the treasure on attack instead of on hit makes it so much easier to plan out a turn when you know the treasure is guaranteed.
Cenote Scout <- Experiment One
Another great card, you always get a good rate for your one mana. Sadly the Experiment is over, love the card but saying goodbye to Regenerate (I’ve found it to be one of the more confusing mechanics for newer players).
Poison Dart Frog <- Kraul Harpooner
Played against it repeatedly at my prerelease and it was very good for my opponent and very obnoxious against me. But also I couldn’t stay mad because look at it. I liked how Kraul Harpooner played overall, but I won’t miss the unnecessarily complicated wall of text.
Explorer's Cache <- Gaea's Gift
Another card that I haven’t really seen discussed but I think if you’re trying to support +1/+1 counters in Gx that you should be giving this one another look. The Cache is both an enabler and a payoff for the +1/+1 counters archetype, and the mini-Ozolith effect gives the counters deck an axis to sustain value over the course of a longer game. Definitely one of the cards in the set that I’m most excited to try in my own cube.
Malamet Battle Glyph <- Tail Swipe
Tail Swipe is probably higher power level on average, but I also like when you can get incidental archetype support (+1/+1 counters) on these bread and butter effects.
Akawalli, the Seething Tower <- Lotleth Troll
A really cool design and a great payoff for the graveyard/self-mill deck. I like the two tiers of buffs that give the ‘realistic’ mode in a supported deck, but also the ‘live the dream’ mode if you can go deep enough (pun intended).
Bartolomé del Presidio <- Hidden Stockpile
Great card, expect this to be a long-term staple. Artifact support is a nice bonus.
Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar <- Sigardian Paladin
Love to see we get access to the first ability at uncommon, and GW is definitely the color pair that most wants to keep the opponent out of their combat steps. The second ability, awkward wording aside, has some precedent with Baird (been running him since DMU, he's great and really doesn’t take long to grok). I like the mechanic because it supports both equipment and +1/+1 counters as themes without referencing either directly.
Caparocti Sunborn <- Akiri, Fearless Voyager
A strong payoff for artifacts (equipment are great tap fodder for these kinds of effects) and go-wide, and provides Boros with a rare source of repeatable card advantage. Also among my favorite kind of repeatable card effects too, because it requires you to get your engine into combat.
Careening Mine Cart <- tbd
Vehicles are a fun card type and I’m glad to see more interesting ones like this being printed at lower rarities. Repeatable treasure creation is very powerful, but like with Caparocti requires getting into combat so it gives your opponent more chances to interact.
Swashbuckler's Whip <- tbd
This is almost certainly not going to make the cut long-term, but is fun enough to have piqued my interest for a test. Curious if it will be viable to get to a point in the game where you can use the Discover ‘ultimate’.
Here are the cards that I plan to add to my cube. The number next to the card name is the # rating that I gave the card on the Lucky Paper survey (https://luckypaper.co/survey/one/ - If you're looking for quality cube content, I'd recommend checking out their podcast). For those not familiar, the rating is from 1 to 3 and is a metric of how likely you expect the card to stay in your cube long term. Notable in that regard is that it’s not intended to be a measure of power level, but of compatibility with your cube goals.
Hexgold Hoverwings 2.6
The base body is a bit under-stated, but a 3 power flier is always a threat and the equipment it leaves behind is no joke. I like that the static ability provides an actual payoff, albeit minor, for the equipment deck.
Planar Disruption 2.8
This and Ossification are great additions to the suite of powerful removal we have access to. Ultimately settled on adding Planar Disruption due to it being a slightly cleaner design.
Experimental Augury 2.0
Impulse and to a lesser extent Anticipate have always been fringe playable. Currently I don’t have much counter support outside of GW, but in the interest of making the counter deck a little less insular, I have been looking to bleed support into another color. Blue seems like the best option, and Experimental Augury will help move in that direction.
Trawler Drake 1.8
Sits at a nice place on the curve, and I could use one more solid “spells” payoff in blue. Hoping that triggering off noncreatures means this is more likely to see play outside of just UR.
Drown in Ichor 2.0
Interesting that this is the first time we get -4/-4 at 1B, and they tack proliferate on it basically for free. Sorcery speed is obviously a ding, but I actually don’t mind having a chunk of my removal be sorcery since running too many instant removal spells start to invalidate combat tricks.
Hexgold Halberd 2.6
Barbed Batterfist 2.4
These two slot in as solid 2-drops that continue to increase the equipment density for the RW archetype. I wasn’t totally sold on Barbed Batterfist until I realized that it can also moonlight as a bad sacrifice outlet, so I could see it played in RB as well.
Chimney Rabble 2.4
As mentioned by others, I think this compares favorably to Beetleback Chief. I particularly like how well it works in a racing situation, pushing damage while also leaving behind a blocker.
Rebel Salvo 2.6
Easy add for anyone with an equipment theme.
Blazing Crescendo 1.6
I like combat tricks, I like impulse draws, put both on a single card and you’ve got me interested. I don’t expect this to stick around for too long, but it looks like a fun card to play so I’m happy to test it while it lasts.
Cankerbloom 2.8
Contagious Vorrac 2.6
Lumping these two together as you can basically say the same about both: fantastic base rate that you’d be happy to play in almost any deck, and the added option to proliferate makes them particularly enticing as payoffs for counters decks in green.
Armored Scrapgorger 2.0
A nice little package of mana fixing, graveyard hate, and a relevant late-game body. I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on if repeatable graveyard hate like this is too oppressive to the graveyard decks that are just finally starting to feel competitive in my environment.
Bladehold War-Whip 2.8
C+V from Rebel Salvo: Easy add for anyone with an equipment theme.
Atraxa's Skitterfang 2.6
One of my favorite cards from the set, the cute little Skitterfang helps enable attacks and can easily break through board stalls. It’s a cool design that is both powerful and also gives players a lot of agency.
Pretty much my thoughts exactly, I recently cut Feat of Resistance because it was the last instance of protection in my cube, but overall I liked it's play patterns so I'll be happy to find room now for Take up the Shield.
Raise the Alarm always felt a shade too low on power-level, but Resolute Reinforcements looks like it could get there on synergy.
Najal, the Storm Runner is a big body with a some powerful, unique effects. I like the play pattern of attacking to double-up a sorcery that you can play in combat due to the first ability, I'll probably test this over Rootha, Mercurial Artist.
Hopefully this is helpful to anyone else that’s behind on their updates, or maybe just gives a fresh perspective on an overlooked card.
In <- Out
White
Blessed Hippogriff <- Feat of Resistance
I’ve been in the market for a good 1-mana indestructible trick (not a fan of the non-Human clause on Fight as One) and the Hippogriff seems to be playing well in Alchemy Horizons (access to the Alchemy Horizon’s: Baldur’s Gate data from Arena is one of the benefits of writing this so late). I like Feat overall, but it’s my last Protection card and it will be nice to not have to worry about explaining “DEBT” to newer players.
Lulu, Loyal Hollyphant <- Odric's Outrider
A fairly straightforward swap as they fill a similar role in the sacrifice deck, but Lulu seems more interesting, slightly more powerful, and also supports blink and flyers.
Githzerai Monk <- Oketra's Attendant
Attendant has been a pretty solid card overall, but it doesn’t have the best home in White. It would probably play better in, oh I dunno, maybe blue? The Monk is a very unique effect and a great way to close out games from a board stall, something I’m always happy to have more of in the cube.
Greatsword of Tyr <- Citizen's Crowbar
Greatsword looks like a fantastic aggressive card with cross-support for equipment and +1/+1 counters. I really like the design of the Crowbar overall, but I’m trying to cut down on the number of 1-of tokens.
You're Confronted by Robbers <- Release the Dogs
Who Let the Dogs Out? is another good card but with a unique (and absurdly expensive) token. I’m hoping the added modality of tapping down plus being instant speed makes up for the loss of a body.
Banishment <- Cast Out
Another sidegrade, but I think I prefer the anti-token upside of Banishment over cycling which I’ve found gets used very infrequently.
Blue
Alora, Merry Thief <- Wingshield Agent
Alora is an interesting card that I think is worth testing; it plays well in UWg blink and UB saboteur decks which are both secondary archetypes I try to support. Notably, combos very well with Ninjutsu.
Irenicus's Vile Duplication <- Trickster's Talisman
The Talisman was cute but Duplication just seems better overall for my cube. Sorcery means it plays well with the spells deck, and it can go pseudo-infinite with Shipwreck Dowser, Eternal Witness, et al.
Sailors' Bane <- Screaming Swarm
A juiced up Cryptic Serpent, Ward 4 begins to function close to hexproof and the mana discount looking at exile means it doesn’t feel bad running this next to Delve in a graveyard/reanimator deck. Screaming Swarm’s abilities end up playing too slow which makes it mostly a 6-mana Air Elemental.
Stunning Strike <- Witness Protection
The ever-rotating “blue enchantment removal” slot, but Stunning Strike does seem like a step above the rest. The “remove from combat” clause really makes this interesting, as it can be cast after the declare attackers step, and in some circumstances can be used as a combat trick (e.g. double-blocking). However my eye does twitch a bit at the “isn't legendary” text.
Young Blue Dragon <- Mind Control
As I hinted in talking about Oketra's Attendant, Young Blue Dragon is mostly a color-shifted version and I expect the combination of effects to play even better in blue, such as the adventure half providing a free “spell” trigger. Mind Control is a veteran as one of the oldest cards in the cube; it’s powerful but doesn’t support any specific themes and has been described as a “feel bad” enough times to finally move on.
Black
Bonecaller Cleric <- Dread Return
I’m not necessarily sold on the Cleric on power-level, but as someone who’s removed most of the top-tier reanimation spells for power or complexity reasons I’ve been in the market for some new reanimate effects and I feel this is worth a test.
Guildsworn Prowler <- Vengeful Strangler
Guildsworn Prowler has been playing well in Alchemy Horizons and I’m not surprised, this card looks great in aggro and sacrifice decks, and it even blocks well in a pinch which is something you can’t get from the Strangler. I’ve found DFCs are fun to play with in small doses, but long term I’ll be happy to trim a few of the more replaceable ones.
Vrock <- Vampire Sovereign
Probably a slight step down in strict power level (Vrock really could use that fourth point of toughness), but much more of an archetype signpost / payoff. Threatening up to six damage a turn, I’m hoping the bird will help the grindier sacrifice decks close out the game quickly. Also: funny name.
Arms of Hadar <- Incremental Blight
A really powerful one-side wrath effect, not much to say other than I’m surprised this didn’t garner more attention. Perhaps people are wary, as mentioned above, that it might be too oppressive to aggro, but I’m willing to test it.
Ghost Lantern <- Reaper's Talisman
Didn’t manage to get in much testing with Reaper's Talisman, but Ghost Lantern seems more relevant to the archetypes in my cube (graveyard, sacrifice).
Red
Gut, True Soul Zealot <- Bogardan Dragonheart
I’m actually concerned that Gut may end up being too powerful in my environment, but that’s not going to stop me wanting to see those 4/1 menace skeletons in action. While Dragonheart is notably weaker, I do like its play patterns overall and could see swapping this back if Gut is as busted as I think it will be.
Amethyst Dragon <- Red Dragon
As someone who has been trying to support bigger/slower red decks (as evidenced by the fact that I was already running Red Dragon), I absolutely love that red has some more powerful top-end in the form of Amethyst Dragon. I'm in the camp that on power this will end up being a high pick and I’d go as far as to say it could be an archetype-defining card at the Peasant level.
Inspired Tinkering <- Twinshot Sniper
Another banger in red, happy to get more fun spells that aren’t just burn. I don’t think much needs to be said past the comparison to Escape to the Wilds, unless you’ve never played with Escape to the Wilds in which case I’ll just say that it’s a card that plays much better than it looks. Twinshot Sniper is strong but generic, and has felt dangerously oppressive to aggressive strategies. It may return if I decide to support more of an artifact theme.
Green
Undercellar Myconid <- Tireless Provisioner
Undercellar Myconid caught my eye from the spoiler, and its strong performance in Alchemy Horizons convinced me to give the little fungus a test. Provisioner has been fine, but it’s another unique token producer (food) and performs a similar role as the Myconid.
Erinis, Gloom Stalker <- Eccentric Farmer
Erinis is one of the cards I’m most excited for (dare I say the peasant Ramunap Excavator?). A great rate for the body already, and it shouldn’t be difficult to get value with this particularly paired with B or U.
Druidic Ritual <- Rise of the Ants
Ritual looks like the best version of that type of effect we’ve seen printed so far, possibly even good enough to see play outside dedicated self-mill decks.
Multicolor
Oji, the Exquisite Blade <- Migratory Route
Oji seems like a very fun tool for the UW blink decks, always a fan of the enabler + payoff gold cards.
Mahadi, Emporium Master <- Fireblade Artist
It was difficult finding the cut in Rakdos but Fireblade Artist ultimately felt the most replaceable. Mahadi I expect to have interesting play patterns in both RB sacrifice and RBx control.
Minthara, Merciless Soul <- Markov Purifier
I’ve had some trouble giving WB a distinct identity from BR, as the 'sacrifice' deck tends to blur between the two. Minthara (with Hidden Stockpile) supports the 'Revolt' style deck which can lean more into W flicker and B treasure than the BR deck. Unfortunately I worry that Minthara is a little low on the power-level side, and if it underperforms I’ll be tempted to mock-up a paper version that mirrors the alchemy card Minthara of the Absolute (no ward, two more toughness, trigger happens immediately but once per turn).
Kagha, Shadow Archdruid <- Acolyte of Affliction
I really like the design of Kagha, providing a payoff for self-mill is very unique and helps give BG decks something to build towards beyond just generic “graveyard” value.
Colorless
Noble's Purse <- Coldsteel Heart
Sphere of the Suns was always close to playable and this is significantly better. Let the synergies flow!
Rug of Smothering <- Guildless Commons
Not quite sold on this cute little Rug, but it’s a unique enough effect at this rarity that I think it merits a test.
Adding:
Citizen's Crowbar
Raffine's Informant
Inspiring Overseer
Mage's Attendant
The pair of really pushed white three-drops left Rumor Gatherer just on the sideline. Raffine's Informant looks like a slightly better Merfolk Branchwalker, with white less able to take advantage of the graveyard but also more interested in a 2-mana 3/2.
Hypnotic Grifter
Wingshield Agent (test)
Witness Protection
The Agent probably won't have a home for long, but it looks like a fun card that makes for interesting combat steps.
Night Clubber
Dusk Mangler
Goldhound (test)
Mayhem Patrol
Riveteers Requisitioner
Witty Roastmaster
Pugnacious Pugilist
Sticky Fingers (test)
Mostly excited for the two 2-drops, which I've been eager to see improved in my red section.
Jewel Thief
Cleanup Crew
Body Dropper
Quick-Draw Dagger
Queza, Augur of Agonies
Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer
I currently don't run any 3-color cards, but these two are the first ones that stood out to me as worth testing in Cube. I'm going to count these effectively as colorless cards as far as cube slots go, and I'm not concerned about trying to make sure I have a full cycle of 5 (or 10).
And as someone who breaks rarity for fixing lands (but not fetches), I'm happy to be able to complete the Triome cycle by adding the new lands.
White
Spirited Companion <- Search Party Captain
Good doggo 11/10
Blade-Blizzard Kitsune <- Aerial Responder
Probably would be interested in a 2/2 double-strike for 2W already, and the Kitsune is that with some minor but fun upside (an on-color target to pair with my favorite Ninjustu enabler: Faerie Guidemother). Double-strike is a great keyword and specifically works well with +1/+1 counter and equipment archetypes in white. Nothing against the powerful Aerial Responder, but with too many creatures at 1WW the Responder is the least interesting of the bunch.
Touch the Spirit Realm <- Faith's Fetters
As someone who avoids functional reprints, it’s great to see a Banishing Light variant with some interesting tradeoffs (looking at you Borrowed Time).
Blue
Moon-Circuit Hacker <- Ninja of the Deep Hours
Not a strict upgrade, but pretty close considering the Ninjustu hit has the same effect at half the cost and the Hacker has a hard-cast mode that isn’t a complete disaster.
The Modern Age <- Merfolk Looter
Sad to see the classic Merfolk Looter go, but getting an immediate loot trigger and ending with a relevant flying body I expect will often outweigh the Merfolk’s ability to loot repeatably.
Acquisition Octopus (testing) <- Alirios, Enraptured
Stealer of Secrets certainly wouldn’t be playable on it’s own, but staple on a free Rogue's Gloves and now things get interesting. Alirios is a fine card, if overly defensive, but it doesn’t support any archetypes outside of flicker which is something I have begun to transition away from.
Behold the Unspeakable <- Blue Dragon
If I squint, this card starts to look a little bit too much like Mulldrifter to ignore. I actually like the first chapter’s ability as something relatively unique; one play pattern some might overlook (since it looks inherently defensive) is how powerful the -2/-0 effect becomes if you are already ahead, often enabling an alpha strike with very little fear of a crackback.
Mirrorshell Crab <- Mysterious Tome
Always in the market for beefy, self-binning creatures in blue, as they slot into both UG Ramp and UB Reanimator. I was close to re-adding Striped Riverwinder but I’ll check out the Crab in that spot first. It probably won’t come up often, but I particularly like getting access to an ability-counter effect.
Black
Okiba Reckoner Raid (testing) <- Diregraf Ghoul
No strong feelings about this one. Diregraf Ghoul has been a long time holdover from attempts at pushing black aggro, so it’s time to try something a little spicier in its slot.
Nezumi Prowler <- Grim Wanderer
I really like how many different play patterns there are with the Prowler, and I expect there to be a lot of power in that versatility.
Gravelighter <- Umbral Juke
Gotta love it when the swaps are this easy. I had just replaced Plaguecrafter with Fell Stinger, so it’s nice to see a (better) version of that effect coming back in.
Red
Rabbit Battery <- Boots of Speed
Simian Sling <- Goblin Morningstar
Bronzeplate Boar (testing) <- Bolt Hound
I like all three of the red Reconfigure creatures enough to test, though I will say I think Rabbit Battery is the best and most likely to stay in my cube long-term. These cards continue to expand support for the RW equipment archetype, which feels like it has reached a critical mass of quality enablers. Quick aside here to complain about the fact that we got zero Reconfigure cards in white. Booo.
Twinshot Sniper <- Ardent Elementalist
The better the card the less I usually have to say, so this one will be short.
Ironhoof Boar (testing) <- Gargadon
Some very powerful modality here; the body is definitely overcosted but the combat trick is actually a really good rate (see Brute Strength). Seems at home in red midrange decks and particularly good in Gruul. Unlike Bloodrush that we’ve seen in the past, the Channel ability isn’t limited to attacking creatures so it can even help trade up on defense in a pinch.
Tempered in Solitude <- Light Up the Stage
So glad that this isn’t restricted to Samurai and Warriors like the rest of the ‘exalted’ mechanics in this set. Solitude seems like a fantastic source of card advantage in red. Attacking alone is a real restriction, one which should create interesting decisions and sequencing but will also prevent the card from having too much of a snowball effect. Once you hit your third card off of this you’ve got to be pretty happy, and that doesn’t seem difficult in your average game.
Green
Kappa Tech-Wrecker <- Outland Liberator
This personal taste, but I appreciate the card design where you have the option to cash something in to get your Naturalize effect, as opposed to the high variance of either getting a “free” 2-for-1 or wasting the trigger (more Cathar Commando/Thrashing Brontodon, less Reclamation Sage/Trygon Predator). Leonardo’s ability is much closer to the former, and generally seems like it will have some interesting play patterns due to Ninjustu. I wish the Liberator was only the front half of the card, but the repeatable Naturalize on the transformed side can feel unnecessarily oppressive in certain matchups.
Blossom Prancer <- Owlbear
VigilanceReach is generally going to be a worse keyword than trample, but that seems like a reasonable tradeoff for a significantly better ETB trigger.Edit: It has been brought to my attention that the Prancer has Reach and not Vigilance, though I think those two are fairly comparable so it doesn't change my evaluation much.
Greater Tanuki <- Edge of Autumn
Weighing in on the great Tanuki vs Tusker debate, and I’m coming down on the side of the Racoon Dog. I understand the Tusker’s primary appeal is its cycling mode, but the rate of 7 mana for a vanilla 6/5 is so far below the curve these days that the creature side is barely worth the card. I had previously swapped Krosan Tusker out for Greater Sandwurm and have not looked back.
Roaring Earth <- Search for Tomorrow
This card reminds me of Ominous Seas (a very fun card that I still cube with) as a powerful and nearly game-warping effect if cast on curve, but also with a very relevant topdeck mode once you’ve already expended your resources. Have I mentioned yet how much I like Channel as a mechanic? Search ended up being a little too redundant with Rift Sower, and I prefer the creature.
Gold
Colossal Skyturtle <- Gretchen Titchwillow
Almost certainly knew this would be my favorite card from the set when it was spoiled, though that’s probably the Simic mage in me talking. I’ve primarily leaned my UG section towards ramp as an archetype, but there has never been an actual ramp payoff in the vein of a Simic Sky Swallower… until now! And the channel modes make this arguably better than the Sky Swallower which is kind of nuts. Get in here big fella!
Invigorating Hot Spring <- Rhythm of the Wild
As said by others, this is pretty close to being a straight upgrade. I particularly like that the modified support works with both equipment themes in red and +1/+1 counter themes in green.
Colorless
High-Speed Hoverbike <- Ebony Fly
Glad to see we got at least one new playable vehicle (Imperial Recovery Unit was on my radar but didn’t make the cut) and this seems like a solid improvement on the previous borderline Sky Skiff. Ebony Fly gets booted as the last standing die-roll card.
Circuit Mender <- Filigree Familiar
Hey, this time we can actually use the term “strict upgrade”.
Towashi Guide-Bot (testing) <- Tezzeret's Gambit
Understatted for the mana cost, but it works out fairly well that “modified” creatures synergize best with the Naya colors, which are the color pairs hurting most for forms of card advantage. Another quick aside to complain about the fact that we got zero "modified-matters" cards in white, the color best suited to support it (at least in C/Ube).
Walking Skyscraper <- Prophetic Prism
Always on the lookout for big colorless finishers and this definitely fits the bill. I quite like this form of temporary hexproof, as you can comfortably tap out casting this to stabilize the ground but it doesn’t completely lock your opponent out from interaction once you start trying to beat down.
Quick shoutout to Goldvein Pick, which has impressed in its few showings so far. The Pick has overperformed my expectations both as far as # of treasures generated, and how useful those treasures have been in practice.
I had this same sentiment and came to the conclusion that the classic Regrowth was the one to get the cut. While Timeless Witness is certainly less efficient than Eternal Witness, it makes up for that by offering an incredible late game mode on top of an already decent front half of the card. I think both Witnesses are probably stronger than the sorceries, and I really value the flexibility on Bala Ged Recovery.
Wanted to circle back to this question to add a +1 to Obsessive Stitcher and also to suggest Port of Karfell as an option, another card I'm testing that has performed well. The opportunity cost of it being a tapped island is really small when it provides you with a powerful, if overcosted, late-game spell for "free". The reanimated creature enters tapped, but unlike most of its cycle from Kaldheim, the land can be activated at instant speed which means you can hold up mana for opponent's EOT, or potentially trigger instant-speed ETBs like on another Dimir favorite: Dinrova Horror. It's not exactly a graveyard/recursion signpost, but it functions as a very solid reanimate target and also performs well in any Dimir-based control deck.
Thrill of Possibility -> Dragon's Rage Channeler
The best part of Burning Prophet was always the scry, and this is 1 mana cheaper with a better-than-scry trigger. Even without much delirium support, the Channeler can eventually help activate itself, and flying means this can represent an actual threat.
Ire Shaman -> Flametongue Yearling
Adorable, and obviously very powerful. Somewhat balanced out by the high color requirement; one of the things that always bugged me about Flametongue Kavu was how easily splashable it was.
Axgard Cavalry -> Goblin Traprunner
The closest approximation to a Goblin Rabblemaster we’ve got at Peasant, though at 2 toughness it’s going to be difficult to get it to survive combat for more than one trigger. Since dice are probably going to be easier to come by than coins, I expect my group with likely shortcut the three coin flips with a single d8 roll: (1 = 0 goblins, 2-4 = 1 goblin, 5-7 = 2 goblins, 8 = 3 goblins)
Sanctuary Smasher -> Gargadon
I’m surprised I haven’t seen this get more attention. Comparable to Errant Ephemeron in cost but on a way stronger creature, this represents an incredible amount of potential damage for just two mana. There are pretty much no board states where a 7/5 haste trampler doesn’t represent a huge problem for your opponent, which more than makes up for any tempo lost from the suspend. Gargadon feels like a top-tier red “2-drop”.
Brimstone Volley -> Lightning Spear
I really like this card. Equipment are at their worst when you don’t have a creature to equip onto, so having a backup mode of Open Fire gives this a lot of flexibility. Equip 1 is always what you want to see, and trample is not a keyword that had appeared often on equipment. Between this, Barbed Spike and the upcoming Bruenor Battlehammer, there feels like finally enough quality support for the RW equipment archetype, and I’m at the point where I’ll be looking to actively support it moving forward.
Crush the Weak -> Fast // Furious
The comparison to Slice and Dice seems apt, which I consider a positive thing. Mass sweepers are powerful but situational, so both Furious and Dice having their respective cycling+ modes goes a long way to increasing their playability. Since our format has to deal with the lack sweepers in white, I try to make sure that I present enough access to mass removal in black and red to keep swarm strategies in check.
Search for Tomorrow -> Rift Sower
Not a strict upgrade, but I've found that having a creature body on your ramp is generally more of a benefit than a liability, especially at 3 toughness. I expect having the creature will be preferable than having just the land on average (and almost always makes for a better topdeck).
Imperious Perfect -> Scurry Oak
The Oak goes tall and goes wide at the same time, which usually ends up being a winning combination. Provides support for +1/+1 counters and tokens, but is really just an overall solid roleplayer.
Dryad Greenseeker -> Tireless Provisioner
The peasant Lotus Cobra, at a worse spot on the curve but with a much better trigger. Not only do you get to bank the mana via treasure, but when you don’t need the acceleration three life per land is quite significant. The Provisioner seems like a slam dunk on power level.
Regrowth -> Timeless Witness
Another fantastic card, my only problem with it is that now with this, Eternal Witness, Regrowth, and Bala Ged Recovery, we have four top-tier cards that all provide the same effect. One needed to go, and sadly that meant saying goodbye to the classic Regrowth.
Briarhorn -> Bannerhide Krushok
Green got so many goodies and somehow this innocuous common might be my favorite. A 4/4 trampler for 4 is such a great base rate, that everything that comes on top just seems like gravy. This is a combat trick, +1/+1 counter support (x2), graveyard support, it even has cute self-synergy with Reinforce playing directly into Scavenge.
Trollbred Guardian -> Herd Baloth
Normally I tend to avoid mono-color archetype payoffs that are this narrow, as this will likely function as a green/white card in most cases. However, with the +1/+1 counter archetype green specifically has not had the density of quality payoffs that white has had (Elite Scaleguard, Abzan Falconer) and I’m trying to spread around that effect. This is easily the most powerful +1/+1 payoff in green, and it only needs a single trigger to justify its cost.
Song of Freyalise -> Abundant Harvest
A fantastic cantrip in green, I can’t think of a time when you would ever be unhappy to see this in your hand.
Khalni Ambush -> Smell Fear
My cube has a slot for a third fight spell after Ram Through and Nature's Way , and Smell Fear seems worth a test as another +1/+1 counter payoff in green. Sometimes it’s an overcosted Prey Upon, sometimes it’s a discounted Hunt the Weak, but with a little set-up this can represent a massive swing for just 2 mana.
Good-Fortune Unicorn -> Arcus Acolyte
Another card I’m excited for, all four of its abilities are relevant and combine to make for a powerful card that has a ton of potential play patterns. The Acolyte is great on-curve as an above-rate creature that can scale with the game, and is also great off-curve because you can get value from the Outlast anthem immediately on any other creatures without favorable attacks. Lifelink specifically plays well with Outlast because it helps you gain back the life you lose from missing out on blocks.
Ghor-Clan Rampager -> Goblin Anarchomancer
This is an incredibly strong effect, and gives another nod to Gruul ramp strategies while still being powerful in a beatdown deck. The goblin seems like a natural complement in decks that would want to run Svella, Ice Shaper, which has been a fun roleplayer so far.
Crackling Drake -> Prophetic Titan
Delirium is certainly an odd requirement in your average cube but this is going to be solid even if you have to choose just one, and if you can manage to get both it’s going to be back-breaking for your opponent. Quality, high-mana creatures are hard to come by, so I think the Titan merits a closer look.
Killian, Ink Duelist -> Graceful Restoration
My Orzhov section still has something of an identity crisis, and since I’m not ready to go all-in on white as a fourth reanimation color MH2 hasn’t exactly helped in that regard. That said, Restoration (its second mode in particular) is a very powerful effect that could potentially function without dedicated support. Ultimately my goal is a BW “attrition” archetype, leaning on tokens, recursion, and life drain to grind the opponent down. Graceful Restoration has potential in that archetype, while also opening up a unique build-around in something like a grindy Esper brew, where blue adds a number of quality <=2 power targets on top of the additional graveyard support.
Ornithopter of Paradise
It’s still kind of crazy to me that we’re getting a flying Utopia Tree… in colorless… at common. Unless you’re intentionally trying to stymy colorless fixing, this seems like the biggest slam dunk in all of MH2.
Monoskelion
Comparable to Perilous Myr and Mortarpod in some ways, the floor of a colorless bear that can throw around a ping is a solid base case and it’s not hard to envision finding upside beyond that.
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Whew, what a set. I don't expect all of these to make the cut long-term, but I also think that, like MH1, I'll be discovering cards worth testing from MH2 for quite a while after its release. Currently Junk Winder is on the top of my list as a potential heavy hitter that I missed on the first pass.
Part 1 (W/U/B):
Stormfront Pegasus -> Barbed Spike
Clean upgrade, and another step closer to making the Peasant equipment archetype a reality.
Shepherd of the Cosmos -> Thraben Watcher
Certainly there on raw power, and I kinda like that the non-token clause can give a slightly different texture to a white go-wide build than a generic anthem effect would.
Journey to Nowhere -> Piercing Rays
An interesting option for those running depowered removal (Journey being my latest victim), this is a flexible card that can play well on both offense and defense.
Blessed Alliance -> Unbounded Potential
A decent combat trick on its own that also plays as both an enabler and a payoff for +1/+1 counters.
Oketra's Monument -> Abiding Grace
We almost never see this type of repeatable recursion effect at our rarities, so even though the trigger is narrow the upsides seem huge. Definitely feels worth testing.
Faerie Seer -> Hard Evidence
The blue Thraben Inspector. Not much else to add, I expect this to be great.
Condescend -> Lose Focus
Again, not much to add that hasn’t been said about this, excellent card.
Boon of the Wish-Giver -> Mental Journey
Very similar cards but I think I'll prefer the play patterns of Journey over Boon. Instant speed is important on your late game draw spells, and overall I feel that Cycling 1 can end up being too much of a freeroll in deck construction.
Bubble Snare -> Shattered Ego
The activated ability probably costs U too much, but I think that this is flexible enough at different stages of the game to be worth testing in the “blue enchantment removal” slot.
Threnody Singer -> Scuttletide
A unique option for defensive blue decks, though this is definitely a card that I will need to see in action in order to truly evaluate.
Phyrexian Reclamation -> Nested Shambler
Our first black one drop that dies into another body, with some fringe upside that will be quite fun when it comes up. This seems like a solid roleplayer in sacrifice or token decks.
Dreadmalkin -> Legion Vanguard
Always glad to see more viable sacrifice outlets being printed. Sometimes you’ll get counters when you need lands and vice versa, but the variance adds some spice and in many cases you’re going to be happy with either result.
Gluttonous Slug -> Sinister Starfish
It’s been said already, but this is so much more enticing in black than Sigiled Starfish was in blue. A great roleplayer for slower decks, plus another way to fuel the graveyard.
Zulaport Cutthroat -> Vermin Gorger
Somewhat comparable to a slower, mono-colored Fireblade Artist. The tap cost is a real restriction, but a 4-life swing every activation is big game and is going to be really hard to race.
Stitcher's Supplier -> Vile Entomber
A fun new roleplayer for graveyard decks, I’ll have to keep an eye on the density of quality cards to search up but I expect it shouldn’t be difficult to get close to 1 card worth of value on average which makes this a solid rate.
Pharika's Spawn -> Young Necromancer
The best (only?) reanimate on a creature body that we’ve gotten access to, which opens up a ton more interactions beyond your typical Zombify. The two-card exile clause is a real cost, one which rewards you from going even deeper on your graveyard while also preventing the Necromancer from getting truly degenerate with basic recursion.
Gilt-Leaf Winnower -> Loathsome Curator
Easy swap here, adding +1/+1 of stats and replacing the very awkward (and high variance) targeting restriction of the Winnower with a much cleaner trigger that can also synergize with the sacrifice archetype.
Goremand -> Underworld Hermit
This is a huge upgrade on Evangel of Heliod, 1) because black normally gets token producers at a worse rate than white, and b) the 3/3 body makes for a much more palatable floor. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect ~4 squirrels on average, which at 7/7 in stats over 5 bodies is already a great rate and the ceiling goes up from there.
Plague Mare -> Archfiend of Sorrows
Probably the card from the set that I'm most excited by. The Archfiend feels like potentially the missing piece that Golgari graveyard decks have been needing to compete with some of the other top-tier Peasant archetypes, while also being excellent in reanimator and black control builds.
Feed the Swarm -> Bone Shards
A big upgrade on Bone Splinters, this is a solid removal spell that also provides archetype support. I expect the discard to be the primary mode but the sacrifice option will be great when needed.
Flunk -> Tragic Fall
A strictly better Last Gasp, which was always borderline playable. I don't expect the hellbent will happen often, but the play pattern of maneuvering your hand empty to take out a big threat will be very satisfying when it does come up.
Along with Bone Shards, Tragic Fall ends up ranking behind the top tier black removal (Go For the Throat, Cast Down, Heartless Act), but they are great tier 2 options for larger cubes or depowered removal.
Thunderous Orator is a secret "flyers" card, with some rare but fun upside beyond that and a reasonable floor even if you can't find triggers. Might be too narrow outside that deck however.
Curate seems like the best version of the 2-mana instant cantrips if you're looking to support blue graveyard decks.
Frost Trickster is just incredibly strong and looks to be one of our first staples from the set.
Emergent Sequence I think is a really neat design and, as stated, compares pretty closely to Servant of the Conduit. Bonus +1/+1 counter synergies should give this a slight edge for cubes which support that.
Symmetry Master I'm surprised isn't getting more attention, but this is effectively a 4-mana 4/4 reach, trample which is a statline we've never seen before and is just incredible on offense and on defense. Not to mention the incidental triggers you can pick up on your other creatures (Beanstalk Giant anyone?), I have this tagged as the other Peasant staple so far.
Letter of Acceptance trades the repeatability of Bonder's Ornament for a much cheaper one-time activation, not sure which ends up being better on average.
Lots of spicy gold cards with some new effects that are going to be difficult to evaluate. A few standouts so far look to be:
Maelstrom Muse
Quandrix Cultivator
Reconstruct History
Zimone, Quandrix Prodigy
Decisive Rejection(?)
Really excited to see what
OrzhovSilverquill andGolgariWitherbloom have in store.I haven't gone too deep on the archetype yet, so it's mainly Boros beatdown decks that have enough ways to get extra mileage out of equipment that it becomes worth running a higher density. A couple of the better support cards have been mentioned: Danitha Capashen, Paragon, Reyav, Master Smith, Scrapper Champion.
I'll plug Fireblade Charger again, whose floor as a Footlight Fiend is fine (still trades with X/2's), but with any decent-sized equipment on the battlefield it becomes insane. I really like of 1-drops that stay relevant later in the game, and the this one can be a legitimate threat. Also works with other types of incidental pump (battlecry, +1/+1 counters, etc).
A few other cards that play well in the "equipment" deck:
Faerie Guidemother
Grim Initiate
Sunhome Stalwart
Ancestral Blade
Gryff's Boon
Nahiri, Storm of Stone - borderline on power-level but interesting
Even Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith could potentially provide some narrow equipment synergies (I really want to see a creature gain double-strike from a rock via Reyav).