Born of the Gods Multiplayer Set Review (165/165)

Rating Scale:
5: Would strongly consider playing this card in any deck that could reasonably support it. Powerful enough to build around if needed since it figures to dominate a table. These are format definers that can warp metas entirely if your playgroup is still getting their feet wet in the Magic world. Think Exsanguinate, Land Tax, Consecrated Sphinx, Doubling Season, Insurrection.

4: Powerful card that I will usually play but that doesn't offer anything truly unique. It's certainly good but it's interchangeable with enough cards that you'll never be scrambling to play it in everything. It's probably good enough to build around and at the very least you'll be keeping it in mind as you're fleshing the rest of the list out. That being said it's much more likely that you'll play these cards as key supporting pillars to give your deck some inherent strength. Think Syphon Mind, Earthquake, Wrath of God, Rite of Replication, Defense of the Heart.

3: This is a generically good card that won't make a deck much better or worse. It's not going to blow you away but it's not going to disappoint you very often either. A deck full of these won't crush a table but it will usually be good enough (tm) to keep you competitive. Think Vampire Nighthawk, Clone, Chandra's Spitfire, Calming Verse, Austere Command.

2: This card has some niche application but I wouldn't put much effort in acquiring it since it's unlikely to be a key player in many of your current/future decks. It's not great but it's somewhat multiplayer orientated so you should probably keep it on your radar.

1: This card wouldn't be played in an ideal world.

+/-: Used to distinguish between a "better" N and a "worse" N. That is, a 3+ dictates a high-quality 3 whereas a 3- would be on the lower end of the spectrum.

Cubeworthy: simple "yes" or "no" of whether or not I'd Cube with the card myself. That is, would I both put this card in one of Cubes and actively draft it a reasonably high % of the time with plans to maindeck it.

White
Archetype of Courage: I'm buying whatever this guy is selling. I've played 4x Blade Splicer in enough White decks to know that this type of card is exactly where you want to be early on in order to stave aggression off. 1WW means that he pairs well with Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and Heliod, God of the Sun. Since decks that feature either just need to survive in order to win this guy is perfect because attacking in to a wall of First Strikers just plain isn't possible. I'm not expecting the anti-First Strike clause to be especially relevant on average but I'll certainly take it. It's basically free value given how reasonably priced this guy is. I don't think that he's outright better than Blade Splicer in a vacuum or anything but in the context of a defensive White deck that has some Devotion elements he can do a lot of work. I know that I explain this every review but I'm always on the lookout for powerful sub 4 CMC spells that I can use to flesh out my curves. Every color has amazing 4+ drops and so the real challenge is finding good early game plays. This guy has value on turn 8 when cast on a reasonable board and he's great on turn 3 if you're looking to abuse Heliod/Nykthos in the near future. I'm happy to see him and I'll probably give him a go in a couple of lists.

EDIT: Bear in mind that this card was spoiled before Brimaz ^^.

Rating: 3
Cubeworthy.

Brimaz, King of Oreskos: Ahem. Now I feel kind of bad for Archetype of Courage >_<. You can basically ignore everything that I just finished saying about him because this card is obviously off-the-wall powerful. Someone has a slow start? Slam them, nab a free blocker and still have your threat untapped. Someone plays an Obstinate Baloth or something? He can't even attack you profitably. Your deck has Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx? This guy is basically a Worn Powerstone. I know that I'm picking the low-hanging fruit here but let's call a spade a spade and agree that this is one of (if not the) most pushed cards in the set. The go-to "solid" 3 drop in White has basically always been Blade Splicer in my mind and this guy puts her to shame. He's a clear example of power-creep because there's no trade-offs or decisions or risks. Your card is simply worth much more than 3 mana but that's all that you have to pay for him. I would happily slam multiples of these in my decks (legendary or not) because he just seems like such a powerful creature to play early on. As it stands he's my clear winner for "best overall card in the set." I have to imagine that he'll cost a fortune because I expect that people will want to test him in Standard but I mean if he doesn't become the next Boros Reckoner then casual White decks are going to have access to an amazing new 3 drop.

Rating: 4
Cubeworthy

Fated Retribution: This card is unplayable trash in every format (including EDH). I don't care if it's an Instant that Scrys and kills Walkers because at the of the day it's just going to be a terrible 7 mana Wrath of God that offers marginal value at the cost of being a complete mulligan for the vast majority of the game. It's easily one of the worst Wraths that's ever been printed and you'd have to be desperate as all Hell to field it. Rout, Planar Cleansing and Mass Calcify and more all spring to mind as budget alternatives that I would virtually always play over it. I'm obviously not even touching things like Day of Judgment, Wrath of God or Austere Command which are clearly leagues better. I don't think that every Cube/White EDH deck has room for 10 Wraths and this one isn't even close to pushing any of the standard ones out of their slot. Do not play with this card unless budget and/or card availability is a big concern for you.

Rating: 1
Not Cubeworthy

Hero of Iroas: I make it a point to check and double-check every rare 1-2 CMC creature gets printed since it's just so hard to fill out your early curves in a multiplayer setting. Unfortunately I don't expect this guy to change anything on that front. I would always play Kor Spiritdancer over him because when I'm playing with Auras I'm just worried about card disadvantage and not tempo loss from mana. He also gets half of the combat bonus which is a significant downgrade. If you couldn't afford the Spiritdancer I would simply not play either and instead opt to play cheap Hexproof durdles such as Silhana Ledgewalker. I know that I'm pidgeon-holing the card into the Selesnya/Bant Hexproof Aura decks but I mean what other archetype can really afford to play Auras in a multiplayer setting? Maybe Bruna, Light of Alabaster in say EDH? That's a stretch. I would never purchase nor play with this card and I certainly wouldn't let it come near any of my Cubes.

Rating: 1
Not Cubeworthy

Plea for Guidance: Hey, it tutors for Sphere of Safety and Enchanted Evening in EDH. God knows the Bant pillow-fort decks will play the heck out of this. Doesn't seem especially playable anywhere else.

Rating: 2
Not Cubeworthy

Silent Sentinel: Anytime I see a 6+ drop I can't help but to mentally compare it to hits such as Sun Titan, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Luminate Primordial, Angel of Serenity, Avacyn, Angel of Hope and Celestial Force. Given that this thing is a 7 drop that has to attack before it provides value to its controller you can color me unimpressed. He's not even especially large and while recurring Enchantments is fine the decks that want that type of effect will basically always want Replenish/Open the Vaults or something instead. Nothing about this card feels pushed or powerful and I certainly couldn't see myself ever fielding him in anything. He seems way too slow, marginal and weak to see play in EDH and I cannot fathom a reason why anyone would be rushing to draft and play him in Cube. There are far more powerful things that you can do with 7ish mana. As much as I love recursion if I'm paying 7 mana I'm expecting something close to an Angel of Glory's Rise.

Rating: 1
Not Cubeworthy

Spirit of the Labyrinth: I like the effect and the body is fine but I've never seen hatebears fare especially well in a multiplayer setting. The problem, more often than not, is that people play enough mass removed or bomby creatures to render them obsolete. I like it, it's fine, but in no way, shape or form am I expecting to see her haunting kitchen tables in the near future.

Rating: 2
Cubeworthy

Blue
Arbiter of the Ideal: Of all the terrible prerelease promos spoiled this one has the most potential by far. I'm a very big fan of playing decks filled with permanents and it only takes a Mind Over Matter or a Freed from the Reel to make this guy insane. Obviously those kinds of combos are slow and durdly but this card can legitimately do powerful things which is more than I can say about his brethren. I recognize that he doesn't combo amazingly well with Enchantments, something clearly designed to restrict his power, but he still has potential. Obviously he's worse than Consecrated Sphinx, Frost Titan or Diluvian Primordial if you're just looking for a generic finisher but I could easily see myself losing to this card at some point. I would never play with him myself because he's just not very good in a vacuum and I want all of my 6+ CMC spells to be unconditional bombs. Still, hey, there's enough potential here that I'm sure someone will do something insane with him in EDH or in some crazy combo deck.

Rating: 2
Not Cubeworthy

Archetype of Imagination: I want to like this card but there's something about a 6 mana 3/2 flier that screams "I'm too expensive for what I do." I love the fact that he destroys stalemates since he essentially makes your entire team unblockable while simultaneously stripping evasion away from opposing beaters. That being said how many Blue decks actually win via early pressure from creature beats? How many find themselves unable to break board stalls? Not many. I would have legitimately liked this card at 5 mana and while I have no idea if it would be overpowered in Limited at that cost I would have actually tested it. As it stands I couldn't ever see myself cutting a Consecrated Sphinx, Aetherling, Frost Titan, Wurmcoil Engine, Diluvian Primordial, etc. from my decks to make room for it. It's deceptively close to being a solid, playable, powerful card but I think it's slightly overcosted to ever be a serious contender.

Rating: 2
Not Cubeworthy

Fated Infatuation: Cackling Counterpart is a bad card. What does that make this? I have no idea why this thing's mana cost is so obnoxious. I would never take Scry over Flashback (even though it's expensive) and since I would never play more than 1 or 2 of these I don't think that this card has a home. I wouldn't put it in any of my Cubes mostly because the mana cost is so ridiculous. Like this card is significantly weaker than Clone in a multiplayer setting to begin with let alone the threat of having it get stuck in your hand. I've seen Cackling Counterpart played in EDH to copy (the now banned) Primeval Titan and Sylvan Primordial so I guess it might have some value in that sphere. My guess is that no Blue deck would ever play all of the "Clone" effects and this is probably one of the worst (it's right up there with Artisan of Forms) so I'm not expecting it to see much play but at the same time I wouldn't be shocked to see it pop up every now and then.

Rating: 1+? Who cares...
Not Cubeworthy

Perplexing Chimera: This card is "funny" and "cool" so I expect to see it pop up every now and then in janky Blue decks. I'm too jaded to see the value in these silly little creature that can make for cool stories but I also know that I'm on the extreme end of the competitive spectrum. I don't really know how to rate these kinds of cards in that sense. People don't play them because they're powerful; people play them because they're unique and interesting. Don't play this card if you're looking for something powerful that can significantly improve your overall win% but by all means you should play with the damned thing if you're looking for a laugh.

Rating: N/A
Not Cubeworthy

Tromokratis: I don't like this card. I think that it's expensive, risky, underwhelming (even when it works) and that any number of similarly costed finishers are all vastly superior alternatives. I wouldn't play him myself and I don't expect to ever see one cast. My best friend plays Braids, Conjurer Adept in EDH but I mean this card isn't remotely good enough to push any of the other creatures out of his deck and I don't think for a second that this is a good card in that format. Again, the alternatives are all significantly better. What bothers me is how dumb his Hexproof ability is. "This card is resilient unless you want to do something with it." Umm... ok... You're paying 7 mana for an 8/8 semi-evasive durdle in my mind. That's not a solid investment at all. Why they decided to give him Hexproof... but not really... doesn't make much sense to me.

Rating: 2-
Not Cubeworthy

Vortex Elemental: People call this the Blue Typhoid Rats but I mean do they not realize how hard it is to hold mana up for these kinds of cards early on? You can't like cast spells and still threaten to eat attackers. This card is way worse than it may seem for that reason alone. With respect to its removal aspect, meh, 6 mana is a lot. Still, as much as I want to completely dismiss this card, the fact of the matter is that Blue has terrible early creatures and this one is defensive and still has relevance in the mid-to-late game (it can axe a big threat). All things considered that's not bad. I wouldn't be excited to play with the card in my decks but I'm starting to think that I'll be using it more than I think.

Rating: 2
Cubeworthy

Whelming Wave: My only issue with this card is that Cylonic Rift is vastly superior. You don't cast these kinds of cards on turn 4; you use them on turns 8+ to finish people off. I mean, really, what Krakens are you casting on turn 3 lol? Anyways, Cyclonic Rift just does everything that this card does and much more all at instant speed. I like the idea of having a Blue "Plague Wind," believe me, I just couldn't imagine ever playing this over Rift.

Rating: 2 in general, 3 in the Quest for Ula's Temple deck
Not Cubeworthy

Black
Archetype of Finality: So this is what passes off for 6 drops nowadays eh? I'm not going to waste any time on this overcosted, underwhelming defensive pile of trash.

Rating: 1
Not Cubeworthy

Ashiok's Adept: Too small, too slow, too vulnerable, too situational. I set the bar high for Black cards given the extreme levels of competition in the color and this one falls far short of the mark. Even in the Tormented Hero, Skirsdag High Priest, Agent of the Fates, Xathrid Necromancer deck with Undying Evil and Nighthowler he's still not something that I would seriously consider playing. At 2 mana I MIGHT have given him a go but 3 is just too slow for my blood.

Rating: 1
Not Cubeworthy

Champion of Stray Souls: Mass Recurring Nightmare on a recursive stick has never looked so bad. This card is horrendously unplayable in every format and that includes EDH as far as I'm concerned. I get that every meta is different and that EDH is often viewed as casual format but I refuse to believe that playing this guy figures to help more than hinder on average. I don't normally take the time to explain every reason why a card is bad but I really do feel compelled to make an exception for this guy. First of all he's a 4/4 for 6 which is already laughable. He's outclassed by most slightly above-average 4 drops at that rate. You're paying Grave Titan for that? Given me a break… Anyways, from there we have a 7 mana Haunted Crossroads ability which I can guarantee you is a trap. Using it will, more often than not, cause you to lose games as you spend endless amounts of time and mana dicking around with this useless durdle. In fact I think that he would almost be strictly better if the ability were removed because then you'd never be accidentally tricked into using it. Now, the one redeeming feature of the guy is that if you have 5 mana, a bunch of dudes and a full GY he can revive an army. Why that's better than say playing a Living Death or Sepulchral Primordial is beyond me but let's roll with it I guess. Anyways, what this means is that instead of having your 6 mana do-nothing killed immediately people can just wait until you skip your next turn too before Wrathing and forcing you to spend another 3 turns doing, well, nothing. The option is always there to kill him prior to that if needed but that won't usually be the case I imagine. This is EDH that we're talking about after all. The fact that he has to Tap meaning that you can't even abuse "big mana" with him is just utterly pathetic. There's literally no scenario in which this card can feel abusable. I know that he will get played in EDH, way more than he deserves, but the least I can do is urge my readers to reconsider and to critically asses his worth. Just how bad do your opponents' decks have to be for this card to be good? Pretty damn bad.

Drown in Sorrow: Until Massacre stops being a card I see no reason to play this in Constructed decks. Infest has never been powerful enough to make the cut in my Cubes and I've yet to see the card played in EDH. It's not horrendous or anything but the effect has always felt far too weak for me. Scry 1 isn't enough to pull it out of the gutter in my mind.

Rating: 2-
Not Cubeworthy

Eater of Hope: I had to read this card 2 or 3 times just to make sure that I wasn't missing anything. Enormous cost, terrible stats, marginal activated abilities. The trifecta of unplayableness has been achieved! This card seems horrendous in every casual format including EDH and I could never see myself wanting to play with it in Cube. Black has some amazing finishers at 6+ mana and he falls way short of the mark. He's a terrible sac outlet given that both of abilities have non-zero mana costs which means that he'll never be able compete with Altars, Attritions or Sadistic Hynotists. All-in-all he's just a very bad card that I would never recommend playing. Even if you're looking for something budget-friendly you're still much better off running something like Sepulchral Primordial as your big finisher who's resilient to spot removal.

Rating: 1
Not Cubeworthy

Fate Unraveler: I expect this card to have the most overall impact for "kitchen-table Black" if only because Nekusar, the Mindrazer is such a beloved EDH general and he's very clearly designed to work in that archetype. He will see a ton of play in that format as a result. I like that he's a 3/4 and not say a 2/3 which he very easily could have been. That deck needs every blocker that it can get. I don't expect to see him played much outside of EDH because the "discard= damage" archetype is just so weak, slow, vulnerable, marginal, etc. in a Constructed setting. I would also never play this card "just because" because that's not a winning line. He's not strong enough to justify the heat that he'll put on you.

Rating: 1 outside of EDH, 3+ in the context of Nekusar combo
Not Cubeworthy

Fated Return: People call this an EDH card but I don't really see it. 7 mana is enough for Sepulchral Primordial, Sheoldred, Whispering One, Grave Betrayal and I mean I could list a ton of sweet 6 and 8 drops that you'd also always field first. The actual EDH Reanimator decks still want the 1-3 mana revival such as Animate Dead because you don't need to worry about removal when that Jin Gitaxias, Core-Augur is coming out on turn 2-3 or whatever. I dunno, I couldn't see myself ever slotting this into any of my Black EDH decks and I mean it's way too overcosted to see play anywhere else.

Rating: 2
Cubeworthy

Gild: Until Sever the Bloodline stops being a thing I don't see why you'd ever play with this card.

Rating: 1
Not Cubeworthy

Herald of Torment: He's like Vampire Nighthawk except instead of gaining life you lose it :3. I don't mind aggressive cards, I've played a fair number of Hunted Horrors in my day, I just can't see myself ever playing this thing over the Nighthawk.

Rating: 1
Not Cubeworthy

Pain Seer: I don't know about the rest of you but my Black decks typically have way too many 4+ drops in them to ever support a card such as this. Besides, how often can a 2/2 actually get a hit in? Anyone unable to handle a 2/2 probably isn't going to stay alive for very long. The best case scenario for this card is that he comes down on turn 2 and gets a few hits off on someone who has a slow start. You lose ~4 life and draw 2 cards and are now stuck with a useless Grizzly Bears. All subsequent copies are now mulligans. That's the BEST CASE scenario in my mind. Maybe there's some card out there that can tap him but it's probably not something that I'd want to play regardless. If we're talking about 2 card combos that draw cards at the cost of life in the color that already has access to Syphon Mind and Phyrexian Arena among other things, well, let's just say that I've already lost interest in the subject.

Rating: 2
Not Cubeworthy

Servant of Tymaret: It's a zombie that causes global lifeloss. As much as I hate everything about it I imagine that it's still playable in the Leechridden Swamp, Maggot Carrier, Shepherd of Rot, Vengeful Dead, Gray Merchant of Asphodel Zombie deck. The current 3 drop of choice is Gangrenous Zombies who are severely underpowered when you don't actually have the snow-covered Swamps (and, well, even if you do...). As bad as this card is it's the worst if you want another budget drainer in the list. I would never play this card "as is" though. Paying 3 mana a turn to drain everyone for 1 just seems like a losing proposition.

Rating: 2
Not Cubeworthy

Red
Felhide Spiritbinder: I try to like Red. I really do. The problem is that Wizards sure as Hell doesn't make it easy for me. This is the kind of card that could have been a something. This was a strong piece of design space that could have been explored. Instead they gave us some garbage 4 drop with weak stats and a marginal, mana-intensive and conditional ability. I would never play with this card. It would never come anywhere near my decks and if I accidentally shuffled some basic lands in my Cubes I would always draft those over this because someone might accidentally put him in their deck if I passed him. There is no competitive sphere where this card is remotely playable. He's just another joke.

Rating: 1
Not Cubeworthy

Flame-Wreathed Phoenix: I was thinking about this card for a while and I eventually concluded that I could see myself consistently wanting both versions of this card. A big flier for 4 mana is always worthwhile and even if it just becomes a glorified Chandra's Phoenix I'm ok with that because I'm always ok with playing Chandra's Phoenix in my decks to begin with. Given that this one has an easier time recurring I don't see why I wouldn't be able to make it work to some extent. This is by no means a bomb and it's not going to revolutionize the 4 drop slot in Red or anything. It just seems like a solid playable who's good on both offence and defence.

Rating: 3
Cubeworthy

Firestoker Dragon: Let's just say that I'm anything but stoked to play with this travesty of a card.

Rating: 1
Not Cubeworthy

Pharagax Giant: I feel like someone from the naming department lost a game of Scrabble once after getting an "x" and a "g" and said to himself "never again." This card isn't actually worth discussing because it's just going to be a 5 mana 5/5 98% of the time (which is obviously unplayable) but I did want to briefly touch on the Tribute mechanic. I'm a little disappointed with it from a multiplayer perspective because I'm basically expecting it to produce nothing but slightly above-curve creatures and little else. Since we live in a world of Taurean Maulers and Malignuses who are are already huge for their cost I really don't expect to see many playable ones. I find that to be unfortunate :(.

Rating: 1
Not Cubeworthy

Satyr Firedancer: As much as I'd like to say that this card could be playable in the Flame Rift, Sizzle, Breath of Malfegor etc. deck the problem is that he just becomes another Guttersnipe. People aren't idiots; they'll kill your stupid creature and then kill you. I want to like this card because I do like that ability but this guy really needed to be an Enchantment.

Rating: 2
Not Cubeworthy

Whim of the Fates: Oh, goody, the token ****ty Red chaos spell... Thanks Wizards...

Rating: 0
Not Cubeworthy

Green
Archetype of Endurance: I would be shocked to see this card played in any format (including EDH). The effect is fine and all but I mean 8 mana? Really? My bar for Green is set very high because Sylvan Primordial is a thing and if you're not betting than an easily accessible, $1.00, top-tier alternative then you're probably not going to make the cut. I like Hexproof, I do, I just want it at some point before turn 10. I would never play this card over Asceticism for example and I would almost always play Dense Foliage over either. I just don't want to play this guy and get crushed by a Wrath or something and feel like an idiot. Anyways, I don't see how this guy could ever edge other Green monsters out so I really don't expect to ever see this guy cast. 8 mana... come on >.<...

Rating: 2-
Not Cubeworthy

Courser of Kruphix: HOLY **** A PLAYABLE CARD. The second including Brimaz in case anyone was counting. There's not much to say about this card that hasn't already been said but I'll give my 2 cents on it. I love the fact that she fuels Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, that she gains life and that she draws you a card every 2-3 turns. I'm also a big fan of her big butt since blocking is exactly what you want to be doing when you have something like this in play. As long as you can survive then you'll probably be in a good shape. Green has always had a relatively weak 3 drop slot and it looks like Yavimaya Elder might have some legitimate competition on the "rampy-esque card advantage" front. She's not strictly better or worse, just different, and I like that about her. I'm glad there's a small ray of hope in this otherwise miserable set.

Rating: 3+
Cubeworthy

Fated Intervention: Let's cut to the chase; this isn't Thragtusk. SHOCKER! As such I cannot in good conscience call this a solid 5 drop or anything. It's not. With that in mind let's talk about what it can do. First of all I don't really care about the dumb "ambush the attacker" tricks in multiplayer. It rarely has a significant impact on the game in my experience. When, then, could I see myself playing with or against this thing to promising results? One option would be to play it in Enchantress since it triggers your Enchantress's Presences and Argothian Enchantresses and such. On that note it can also be played in Bant/Selesnya Hexproof Aura decks to pump Ethereal Armor and Ancestral Mask while providing you with some defence. In addition, you can play it in your Epic Experiments deck filled with spells that produce creature tokens. In fact, you can pair it with any creatures or spells who care about Instants and Sorceries over creatures. Maybe your deck has Delver of Secrets or even Guttersnipe. Are all of these niche uses that are arguably pretty bad to begin with? Absolutely. Is the card completely unplayable though? Probably not. If you're just playing a "dumb Green dudes" deck then Thragtusk is always the better option. Roll with him and never look back. That being said I can envision scenarios where this card sees play and possibly holds his own. I mean you never know, someone might get you the turn after they cast Ajani's Chosen by eating your attacker and drawing 2 cards. Who knows, maybe that'll activate their Sphere of Safety in a big way. There's enough "Enchantments matter" cards out there that I'm never going to completely discount this type of effect. A couple of instant speed 3/3s for 5 isn't horrendous (it's not good but it's conceivably playable) so as long as you can abuse the Enchantment card type then you're probably in a decent position.

Rating: 2-
Not Cube worthy

Nessian Wilds Ravager: I would never play a 6 mana 12/12 because Multani, Maro-Sorcerer and Primeval Titan are things and I don't expect him to ever consistently be a giant Flame-Tongue Kavu. Heck I'd probably just play Gruul Ragebeast if that's what I was looking for. Obviously the card synergizes with Doubling Season effects and whatnot but I mean I still see a big dumb Green monster who dies to Doom Blade at no benefit. I think that he's better than most of his prerelease promo counterparts (the Blue one is probably marginally better) because a 6 mana 12/12 is still something but I mean I've been playing against Lord of Extinction for years and the card has basically never done anything. I don't see why this card would fare any better. I would literally never play with this card myself because even something as simple as Sylvan Primordial is just infinitely more versatile in my mind.

Rating: 2
Not Cubeworthy

Unravel the Aether: Deglamer has always been playable in a world of Darksteel Colossuses and Sundering Titans. I realize that Fade into Antiquity et al. work too but sometimes speed is far more important than power. I expect this to see a tiny amount of play in very broken metas.

Rating: 1 in general but 2 in very broken circles
Not Cubeworthy in general

Multicolor
Chromanticore: Yeah I'm not playing 5 colors for a bad version of Sphinx of the Steel Wind. I get that it "beats" removal and I know that it virtually has Haste but I just can't get past the fact that I have to play all 5 colors for a card that isn't even above the curve in terms of power-level. I woulfd much rather slam a Sepulchral Primordial or Sylvan Primordial in to play for that price. It's obviously not a bad or anything but it's not in-your-face good even though it really needed to be.

Rating: 2
Not Cubeworthy

Ephara, God of Polis: I like this card for her applications in UW pillow-fort decks packed with Propagandas and Ghostly Prisons. You have the Luminarch Ascensions and Sacred Mesas to fuel her and plenty of resilient Enchantments to trigger her. Not having to splash Green for Enchantress's Presence is a big deal, especially for budget decks with bad mana bases. I fully expect to see her a lot in EDH as a result because everyone seems to love playing these "don't attack me" decks. While she obviously has other combo applications they all seem to involve splashing Green. Hexproof Auras with Verdant Embrace, Sprout Swarm, Prophet of Kruphix and more can all reliably trigger her at each upkeep. Getting her devoted might be difficult in those lists but I mean who cares about that when you're drawing ~5 cards per turn? I mean this card says "Indestructible," "each upkeep" and "draw a card." She's going to see play and she's going to feel overpowered when she works. I don't think for a second that she's broken or anything but I do like that she's both powerful and abusable. The other major Gods have all impressed me thusfar and even though the new minor ones will be harder to trigger when you're talking about something in the same vein as a Mind's Eye who can randomly attack/block as a 6/5 Indestructible bastion of death for 4 mana than who am I to complain?

Rating: 3 (she's more of a build-around-me than a generically good card)
Cubeworthy insofar as there's support for the pillow-fort Enchantment deck

Karametra, God of Harvests: I love this card in EDH and she seems perfectly playable in Constructed Bant/Selesnya ramp as well. Prophet of Kruphix anyone? Green is very good at triggering devotion and I love her long-term impact on games. She's obviously no Mirari's Wake, Primeval Titan nor a Sylvan Primordial but there's just enough potential here to keep me interested. The obvious card to pair her with is Knight of the Reliquary but I mean ramp is just so generically powerful that it doesn't really matter what direction you take the deck in. Churning out Stoneforge Mystics, Thragtusks, Sigarda, Host of Herons, Sylvan Primordials, etc. and fueling Aura Shards seems sweet. Oh, for what it's worth the body is just a bonus but it's totally reasonable in Green. Utopia Sprawl into Predator Ooze anyone? If you trigger her, awesome! If not, hey, that's fine too.

Rating: 3
Cubeworthy

Kiora, the Crashing Wave: Costs 4 mana, starts with a low amount of loyalty, only thwarts 1 creature from 1 opponent with her +1 and has a ludicrously scary Emblem. This is a recipe for "generically unplayable 'Walker" if I've ever seen one. Casting her on a stable board in a multiplayer setting is a pipe-dream at best and no self-respecting group is going to stand idly by and watch you tick her up. She's going to come down, activate once and promptly die. If you want to play with a 4 mana Explore, good on you, that's not just not something that interests me personally. I could have maybe seen myself playing her if she could ult straight out of a Doubling Season or something but as it stands I just don't see how you could reasonably expect to get consistent value out of her. She's too scary to ignore and she's woefully ill-equipped to protect herself in a multiplayer setting.

Rating: 2-
Not Cubeworthy

Kiora's Follower: Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is a big game and this is a solid enabler for it in UG decks. It's bigger than say Voyaging Satyr and can even bestow Vigilance on your best beater which is always sweet. The card's stiffest competition is likely Coiling Oracle and while it's a worse "generic value" critter I could easily see it winning out in Nykthos decks. Multiplayer can be a rough format at times because anyone can hit 6-8 mana and play some stupidly powerful card and win and so it's nice when you can field some powerful early drops that will enable you to get there. This is the kind of 2 drop that you don't have to hate life to play because it will almost always be relevant. I will admit that you'll probably never want to see it on turn 7 but I mean I can just imagine curving out with Utopia Srpawl, this and a Wistful Selkie in your Nykthos decks and proceeding to cast, well, anything! I like it a lot in that sense. This is clearly a pushed card and I do think that it has legitimate multiplayer applications. I would probably always draft and play this in Cube and I could easily see people fielding it in EDH. Again, it not only ramps but it can untap your key lands and provide Vigilance to your best beaters. That's a very powerful skillset for a 2 drop.

Rating: 3
Cubeworthy

Mogis, God of Slaughter: People are on this guy like white on rice and I just don't see it. Let's get something out of the way right now; he's not even half as good as Purphoros is. To even compare him to Purphoros is a bit of an insult in my mind. Sulfuric Vortex is a good card because it comes down 3 on turn and shuts life gain out of the equation. This guy costs 4 and I don't think that he's ever beaten an Exsanguinate in his life. Triggering his body seems like a stretch at best although I will concede that Demigod of Revenge is an amazing card for that. Still this card isn't going to just beat a table or anything and if you think that triggering his body will be easy then prepare to be woefully disappointed. The fact that you can always pitch a random dork/token/whatever to him certainly doesn't help because it just plain gives people that much more breathing room to find a way to deal with him… or you. Taking 2 a turn isn't a lot and I'm not expecting him to do a very good impression of The Abyss (as many people are suggesting) but the option is ever-present if it's required. I am very underwhelmed with the guy in general and I don't believe for a second that he'll prove to be a generically powerful spell. Now, if you are interested in playing him, I have cooked some ideas up. We covered Demigod of Revenge and he's fine and all but there has to be more to the deck than that. Luckily for us you also have access to Veinfire Borderpost and War Elemental to fuel him. How do we go about casting the Elemental on curve? Dragonmaster Outcast, Figure of Destiny, Kargan Dragonlord, Ash Zealot and Stigma Lasher all spring to mind. The Lasher is obviously great against life gain. When your deck is that aggressive suddenly Rakdos, Lord of Riots is probably viable. While we're at it let's play Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Erebos, God of the Dead to hose lifegain even more and even Purphoros himself could make an appearance. Round out the deck with Wight of Precinct Six, Taurean Mauler, Boros Reckoner, Ember Swallower, Stormbreath Dragon, etc. Braid of Fire starts to look insane at that point because so many of your creatures have expensive activated abilities. Toss in a bit of Black draw (Syphon Mind) and revival (Oversold Cemetery) and the deck is done.

Rating: 2+
Cubeworthy

Siren of the Silent Song: This has to be fringe playable in some sort of budget Zombie mill deck with Undead Alchemist or something. I'm never going to touch the thing myself but a global Specter can't be the worst.

Rating: 2-
Not Cubeworthy

Xenagos, God of Revels: This card is trash outside of EDH. I dislike Mogis but I could somewhat see myself playing him at the very least. Xenagos, on the other hand, just seems awful and I would never touch him in 60 card formats. This card wants to be Kessig Wolf Run except that it fails on every front. No Trample, no synergy with mana dorks, spell slot vs land slot, etc. Maybe it's narrow-minded of me to compare the two but I mean how can I not? To be clear this guy is literally the word "Trample" away from being solid but as it stands I think that he's utterly unplayable in most settings. RG already has huge dudes and the only thing that it needs to close games out is some form of evasion. Given that Xenagos doesn't offer any I don't see why you'd ever want to field him. With respect to EDH, I don't actually know how good/bad he figures to be but my gut says that he's good enough to make the cut in most fair decks. Doubling your General's power and giving him Haste seems very good and triggering him seems easily do-able. Then again I don't think that triggering his body is very relevant when you have the ability to kill players in 1 or 2 hits (assuming equipment or self-pump). I've never really played an EDH deck that wins by attacking with its general that didn't already plan to 1 or 2 shot people hence my uncertainty about his worth in the format. Please correct me if I'm wrong/over-estimating his worth in that sphere. I just don't see how a resilient + free "Berserk/Reckless Charge love-child" for your General could fail to make the cut in most reasonably fair metas.

Rating: 1 in Constructed, 3+ in EDH
Not Cubeworthy

Artifact
Astral Cornucopia: This card is garbage at 3 CMC, garbage at 6 CMC and if you can ever cast it for more then you probably don't need it. Why they printed this is beyond me. If you want to fool around with Charge counters, by all means, I'm just looking for Coalition Relics and whatnot.

Rating: 1
Not Cubeworthy

Gorgon's Head: People seem like to like this effect on equipment and this is cheaper than Basilisk Collar $ wise and cheaper than Gorgon Flail mana wise. I fully expect it to see a minor amount of casual play.

Rating: 2-
Not Cubeworthy

Lands
Scry Lands: My opinion on these hasn't changed. They're definitely not worth paying top dollar for and so I don't expect to see them in the casual scene until they rotate out of Standard. The Scry is nice and all but it's not worth shelling out your hard-earned dollars for. Guildgates and Karoos are inexpensive and get the job done.
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Prid3

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