I've added rare lands to my cube and I'm very happy with it. I was just always so frustrated with the mana fixing coming into play tapped and being so bad in aggressive decks. In the end I want decks to be able to play their cards on curve and rare fixing has allowed for that to be the case.
I'm mostly just avoiding the duals+fetches combo and anything that feels like it has to be rare, like man lands. Duals+Fetches I think is just too powerful for peasant, and would lead to people pretty much always first picking a dual or fetch.
Agreed on pretty much all fronts. I recently made the switch to include a subset of rare lands as well, and it's been a very positive change. Pain lands, Check lands, Bicycle lands, and even Shock lands (not nearly as high of a power-level when they can't be fetched) all feel fine at Peasant. They don't really change the raw power level of the cube, they simply add consistency and result in more games where both players can actually cast their spells on curve (ya know, good games of Magic). Plus they end up being decently high picks, especially compared to trilands/vivids, which makes the decision making during a draft much more interesting.
It's been said in the past, but WotC has basically admitted that their hesitance to print lands at lower rarities has nothing to do with power level and everything to do with selling packs. That helps remove any philosophical qualms I might have about breaking rarity.
Personally, fetchlands are where it feels like we start creeping into powered/unpowered territory, specifically because now your lands are adding this additional utility (shuffling, graveyard filling, landfall, etc). Plus who actually likes all that extra shuffling? I'm happy to (mostly) escape it at Peasant.
Agreed on pretty much all fronts. I recently made the switch to include a subset of rare lands as well, and it's been a very positive change. Pain lands, Check lands, Bicycle lands, and even Shock lands (not nearly as high of a power-level when they can't be fetched) all feel fine at Peasant. They don't really change the raw power level of the cube, they simply add consistency and result in more games where both players can actually cast their spells on curve (ya know, good games of Magic). Plus they end up being decently high picks, especially compared to trilands/vivids, which makes the decision making during a draft much more interesting.
It's been said in the past, but WotC has basically admitted that their hesitance to print lands at lower rarities has nothing to do with power level and everything to do with selling packs. That helps remove any philosophical qualms I might have about breaking rarity.
Personally, fetchlands are where it feels like we start creeping into powered/unpowered territory, specifically because now your lands are adding this additional utility (shuffling, graveyard filling, landfall, etc). Plus who actually likes all that extra shuffling? I'm happy to (mostly) escape it at Peasant.
Formerly hedgehogger