Ferocidon, it is more splashable and more aggressive.
Nightmare Shepherd heavily disappointed us, I'd comfortaby say it is the worst of the three. Braids is fun, but slow, fragile and inconsistent, so I'd test Dracolich over it. It might be worse in the long run though.
Shardless Agent. It is the narrower card of the two, as it doesn't work with counterspells, but it is a solid two for one in the right decks. Growth Spiral is not meaningfully better than the mono green options for me to cube it.
Maul >= Blade >> Sword. Not coming with a creature attached is a big drawback. Maul has a high initial impact, and while inefficient, does provide reach to the white deck. Blade is just some very convenient value that slots easily into decks. Reads bad but plays quite well.
I think Master. Hostage Taker was too slow and fragile. In the late game, you can immediately cast what you steal, but in your experience, it seldom happened. You almost always cast it turn three or four to stop the beatdown, and it would usually get promptly removed. Even rarer were the times you actually stole something that is also beneficial to you and had the time to cast it to gain card advantage.
Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis vs Force of Virtue
Nekrataal vs Skinrender (I feel like this is an obvious Skinrender, but lately I've seen what feels like a trend back toward Nekrataal)
Elspeth was far better for us. She is good after a mass removal or when your draw was low on creatures. Non-aggro/token decks are also interested in her, as she is quite good on defense and can grind value in a long game.
We play Nekrataal over Skinrender, Nekrataal kills more high-priority targets and can be played on an empty board. Overall they are close though.
@Breathe1234 I always feel like I need more mana rocks, thanks for the suggestions. Personally, I could never cut green slots for more colorless slots, though. Unless you mean working a higher # of 2-drop rampers into colorless more and finding other green 2’s, which I also wouldn’t prefer, because Rofellos and Cobra are busted, and Sylvan Caryatid does a lot of things.
-Tezzeret The Seeker vs. Tezzeret, Artifice Master vs. Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas (regardless of slot use)
I’m assuming Urza, Lord High Artificer is better than all 3 in most peoples’ eyes.
Also:
Questing Beast vs. Nightpack Ambusher
Crawling Barrens vs. erratic portal vs. darksteel colossus
(moreso I’d just like to hear if people have tried/still play the Iron Giant, since Infect is a no-go for my design.)
Urza is better than all the Tezzerets. We only play Artifice Master, as it is the most playable of the three outside of a dedicated artifacts deck.
My initial thoughts are that the blue and white guilds would rather have the cycling or no-life-loss options, whereas the green and black guilds would rather have crucible synergies.
Blast > Staggershock, 3 mana burn just isn't too appealing.
Sovereign > Paladin > Spirit - Paladin trades with everything and does nothing if you don't attack with it. Sovereign has a strong static ability in your worst matchups.
Fireblast > Stoke > Char - Fireblast is narrow, but far stronger. The two damage of Char proved quite bad against aggro.
I'll probably test showdown at some point, but aggro is saturated with four drops in those colors. Two-drops have a much milder competition.
Forsake > Fragmentize - Forsake is maindeckable, Fragmentize is a narrow sideboard card in most cubes. It also sucks to draw it a turn after they Tinkered their Myr Battlesphere. If artifacts are so prevalent Fragmentize is maindeckable, go with that.
I find that the instant limitation on Gearhulk is very limiting in practice. Many decks do not have the instant density to run it.
Aetherling is exceptional in control mirrors. I found it also narrow, and too slow against midrange decks. It is the best inevitability tool, but most control decks have enough ways to win the game with utility bodies and planeswalkers, so it is not a necessary piece as I once found it to be.
Oddity >= Poulkranos >> Master
Iteration > Sprite > Mind
Shade > Siphoner > Reaver > Jadar
Tracker > Prowler
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Ferocidon, it is more splashable and more aggressive.
Nightmare Shepherd heavily disappointed us, I'd comfortaby say it is the worst of the three. Braids is fun, but slow, fragile and inconsistent, so I'd test Dracolich over it. It might be worse in the long run though.
Shardless Agent. It is the narrower card of the two, as it doesn't work with counterspells, but it is a solid two for one in the right decks. Growth Spiral is not meaningfully better than the mono green options for me to cube it.
Maul >= Blade >> Sword. Not coming with a creature attached is a big drawback. Maul has a high initial impact, and while inefficient, does provide reach to the white deck. Blade is just some very convenient value that slots easily into decks. Reads bad but plays quite well.
Cut Feast and Famine
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Ob > Liliana
Wall > Druid except for the combo like others said
Behold >= Illumination > Pull
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Agreed
Elspeth was far better for us. She is good after a mass removal or when your draw was low on creatures. Non-aggro/token decks are also interested in her, as she is quite good on defense and can grind value in a long game.
We play Nekrataal over Skinrender, Nekrataal kills more high-priority targets and can be played on an empty board. Overall they are close though.
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Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Urza is better than all the Tezzerets. We only play Artifice Master, as it is the most playable of the three outside of a dedicated artifacts deck.
Beast is at least a league above ambusher.
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Krasis >> Nissa
Scavenger > Carver > Engineer
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Kiora Bests the Sea God > Frost Titan
Galvanic Blast > Mizzium Mortars
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Blast > Staggershock, 3 mana burn just isn't too appealing.
Horizon > Pathways > bicycle lands
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Sovereign > Paladin > Spirit - Paladin trades with everything and does nothing if you don't attack with it. Sovereign has a strong static ability in your worst matchups.
Fireblast > Stoke > Char - Fireblast is narrow, but far stronger. The two damage of Char proved quite bad against aggro.
I'll probably test showdown at some point, but aggro is saturated with four drops in those colors. Two-drops have a much milder competition.
Forsake > Fragmentize - Forsake is maindeckable, Fragmentize is a narrow sideboard card in most cubes. It also sucks to draw it a turn after they Tinkered their Myr Battlesphere. If artifacts are so prevalent Fragmentize is maindeckable, go with that.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Aetherling is exceptional in control mirrors. I found it also narrow, and too slow against midrange decks. It is the best inevitability tool, but most control decks have enough ways to win the game with utility bodies and planeswalkers, so it is not a necessary piece as I once found it to be.
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Stoke, Blade, and Meren.
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Sarkhan > Terror > Conscripts
Divest > Despise > Appetite
Shatter > Never
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Games > Surrak > Sovereign
Liliana > Ob
Field > Realm
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022