This is my 43rd installment of the "top 20" set (P)review articles! Just like the previous reviews, it will be in a spoiled top X countdown format, with each section having an image, a brief summary/description, and my verdict on what cubes I think it could potentially see some play in. I got a lot of positive feedback on the format from the last few articles, so I’m going to keep the “what I like” and “what I don’t like” sections.
Keep in mind (just like the others) that this is a set preview. Similar to draft predictions in professional sports, this list is an educated guess at best. Some cards I value highly in here may turn out to not last long in the cube. Other cards that are lower down on the list (or even missed entirely!) could (well, very likely may) turn out to be great cards. Even the great Tom Brady was drafted in the 6th round! Again, this is not intended to be gospel, set in stone, or written as a review for posterity. This is simply written to be an enjoyable guess at cards I like for cubes, and hopefully it'll allow some cube managers to evaluate cards they may have otherwise overlooked and/or put some cards in perspective that may've been overhyped. Nothing more.
Dominaria United is a solid set for the cube, and provides cubes of all design types with some tools to help contribute to the goals. Some of the common features, like kicker, play well in the cube and are established abilities that we know function. Others, like the tribal-themed cards and the domain effects may be limited to certain cube types to have full effect.
What I Like: As a combo-centric Blood Artist-type effect, a 2-mana 2/2 deathtouch has solid base stats. It can still function within demonstrated loops to provide a win condition, and the added Soul Warden effect isn’t limited to death triggers to gain you life. It can buy time until you can combo off, and it has a leg up on several of the other enablers that have weaker baseline bodies.
What I Don't Like: Even within cubes that support creature-based loop combos, not all of them include Orzhov support cards to function. Additionally, it only triggers off of your creatures, preventing the drain effect from being more impactful in normalized board states.
Verdict: If your cube supports creature-based loop combos and/or you’re looking for another Blood Artist type of effect for Orzhov, this creature can play really well in those kinds of cubes. Otherwise, it’s going to be a miss.
What I Like: The ability for a creature to function at multiple points in the curve provides a lot of added value in the flexibility. And while unlike some of the other X/X for X creatures this card will have 1 less power and toughness, both the flying and the haste are quite valuable. Cubes that have had success with other scaleable threats will likely enjoy having a card that can be serviceable in the midgame and a bomb topdeck if you’re flooded. It makes for a decent Imperial Recruiter target too, since it can be a powerful play in the later stages of the game.
What I Don't Like: The 0/0 base statline hurts the value of this card. It would be too good as a 1/1, but I would’ve really liked this to be an 0/1 base so that at 5 mana it could be a 4/5 flying, and be set up to survive an on-curve Wildfire effect for those kinds of shells. I think most cubes have passed the point where creatures merely being “solid” at multiple places in the curve provide enough value to make the cut over cards that are hyper-efficient at fixed mana values.
Verdict: A solid playable that can slot into several decks and fit into multiple places in the cube. If you’ve had a lot of success with scaleable threats in the past, this creature may be worth a close look in larger lists. But I think it will ultimately be too inefficient for most cube lists.
What I Like: A 3/3 for 3 that can cash in on less-than-valuable permanents and turn them into edicts or fresh cards is a nice place to be. The punisher-esque mechanic doesn’t hurt as much on this version of Braids since your sacrifice is elective. While the effect lacks reliability, if the question is “would I be willing to exchange this dead permanent for a random card” the answer will always be yes if you want it to be. You can attempt to be surgical with the mutual sacrifice effect knowing full well that you’re likely going to get the drain & draw, and that’s okay …especially when you can mitigate the cost with recursive effects, token generators, and the like.
What I Don't Like: The effect itself is too unreliable to make Braids a stellar card. If all you want is a 3/3 for 3 that can turn your Bloodghasts into card draws, this card will work fine. But if you’re looking for a scalpel to carve away at your opponent’s critical permanents …this isn’t it. Additionally, the end step activation restriction hurts your ability to pair the effect with recursive abilities you want to control the timing windows for. If it were “once during each of your turns” instead, you could sacrifice Gravecrawlers or lands and recast them or replay them with Crucible effects in the same turn, maximizing the number of effective uses for the sacrifice effect.
Verdict: I think larger cube lists supporting both aristocrats and stax decks in their black sections can find decent uses for Braids. But ultimately I think the opponent option combined with the timing window issues will prove too restrictive for her to shine in smaller cubes.
What I Like: This is a solid flying threat for decks saturated with spells, and spell-based combo decks (like storm) can make good use from the spell cost-reduction ability. It can grow to a decent powered evasive beater, and provide access to future spells at a discounted rate. Decks saturated with cheap cantrips and utility spells can grow the Djinn’s power to scary levels quickly, and the 4 toughness makes it a resilient threat.
What I Don't Like: I think a combination of competition and the importance of maximizing slot equity will prevent this creature from finding a home outside of cubes that want both a spells-matters beater AND a storm combo enabler.
Verdict: If your cube supports both spells matters decks and storm combo shells, and both the beatdown creature and the Baral/Electromancer effect will prove valuable, finding a slot for this creature will prove to be a good use of the real estate in blue. But if you don’t play both of those kinds of shells, I expect it to be too narrow to push out cards in the congested blue section.
What I Like: In cubes that play a lot of 3- to 5-color control decks, Binding will be a stellar removal spell. One Triome can make this card an O-Ring with flash, and any more land types than that and it can become a 1- or 2-cc instant-speed removal spell. Obviously, if that situation is a common reality for your playgroup, this card will be a stellar performer.
What I Don't Like: In cubes that typically play 2-color decks (or support their 3+ color decks with manabases that don’t have basic land types), this card will cost 4 mana at its cheapest, and it’ll likely just be worse than Cast Out in most situations.
Verdict: If you support domain-centric manabases with a lot of duals/shocks/fetches/triomes/etc. and play 3- to 5-color midrange and control decks regularly, this card will be very strong. If you don’t (or don’t want to encourage that style of deckbuilding) it’ll likely be a miss.
What I Like: There are only so many cards that can tap for 1 mana of any color of your choice on turn 1, and they all come with varying drawbacks. There are fewer still that can count as a basic land type for the purposes of casting a Daze, boosting your Rofellos mana production, or contributing to Domain. And if “gates matter” is a thing for your cube, this will obviously provide some extra support for that theme.
What I Don't Like: While the number of cards that can perform this function is small, the drawbacks on this card are significant. In comparison to something like Mana Confluence, this card can never fix more than one color of mana and sometimes enters the battlefield tapped. And the basic land type/gate synergy “upsides” will never come close to eclipsing those two shortfalls.
Verdict: Larger cubes desperate for aggressive fixing options may very well find a home for a card like this alongside the usual suspects. But I don’t think this is going to boot out any current fixing options that cubes play to solve these mana issues. I would consider this card at 720 if I supported multicolor aggro shells.
What I Like: There’s a lot to unpack with this creature. First, the enlist ability allows you to utilize two of your smaller creatures to attack into a bigger blocker, much in the same way that banding does. If the opponent has a 5/5 creature out, it would normally stonewall your smaller creatures. But being able to tap a 3-power threat and use Guardian to attack as a 5/2 actually threatens the blocking threat, so you can still attack for 5 and they can’t freely eat an attacking creature. More importantly, if they DO decide to throw a big blocker in front of your enlisted attacker, you can pitch a random card from your hand to make your attacker indestructible, forcing the opponent to trade a big on-board presence for a random card from your hand, dissuading the opponent from wanting to block at all, and allowing you to push in for extra damage. Additionally, the scry feature is nice, and the creature will survive destroy-based removal when it’s worth a card to keep it around. It can also serve as a cheap discard outlet for Orzhov reanimator decks if that’s a thing you elect to support.
What I Don't Like: I wish enlist wasn’t limited to non-summoning sick creatures. If this could provide a pseudo-haste effect to your threats, it would be incredible. As it is, it’s limited to boards with congested combat situations to be valuable, and enlist only works on offense. And on its own, a 2/2 threat without evasion just isn’t doing it for me anymore.
Verdict: Combat-centric cubes with a lot of midrange monsters might present enough board scenarios for the enlist to be a really appetizing effect. Otherwise, I think the card’s going to be a miss. Combat-heavy cubes that use white in reanimator might want this creature at any size, but for most cubes, I think this will ultimately be relegated to the 630-720 range.
What I Like: An exiling Naturalize is a good baseline casting option for a 4cc Golgari removal spell that can exile any nonland permanent you want. In larger cubes that want to dedicate the majority of their Golgari spells to flexible removal, you could do a lot worse than Tear Asunder. The ability to use the 2cc mode to blast early fast mana and have the fallback option of an instant-speed, exiling Maelstrom Pulse for 4 mana is pretty nice.
What I Don't Like: This card really needs access to both modes to be good. As just a green spell, the exile clause doesn’t come close to making up for the lack of cycling on a card like Wilt, so you really need access to black mana to justify its inclusion …and there are a lot of really good Golgari removal spells already.
Verdict: Larger cubes that are both powered (to make the best use of the 2cc Naturalize mode) and are heavy enough in the multicolor section to find room for this after Golgari’s usual suspects might want to take a close look at this card. But I don’t think most tighter gold sections will be able to find room to Tear Ass anytime soon.
A 2-power 2-drop that can grind advantage and make flying threats.
What I Like: Nobody likes this creature but me! This is a splashable 2-power 2-drop that makes extra flying attackers in turns where players discard cards. There are a lot of discard effects in black, and they don’t all have to be used aggressively to provide value. It checks both players, so every time you loot or rummage, you can make an extra flying threat. Rankle, Liliana, Dack, Wheel, JVP, Etc… there are a lot of ways to get this to trigger beyond just hitting the opponent with Duresses and Hymns and stuff. Additionally, it can grind away at the opponent’s hand in the later stages of the game, giving you bodies and churning away at the opponent’s reactive spells if they’re playing countermagic in control shells. All the while, giving you an extra flying token every time the ability is used. It can also be triggered on both turns if that’s something that can arise, punishing the opponent’s looting effects and the like.
What I Don't Like: If the effect could be activated as an instant, it’d be awesome (although I certainly understand why this guy can’t). A reduction to a 3-mana activation would also be welcome. Most importantly, if the creature tokens could block, it would’ve gone a long way from taking this guy from good to great.
Verdict: I like this card and I’d be willing to try it out in my cube if it was a little bit larger. I think there’s enough discard synergy to make it a worthwhile inclusion in cubes that are 630 or bigger, and perhaps even in smaller cubes if there’s enough looting effects to really spice it up.
What I Like: A 1/2 looter that drains the opponent for 1 every time an instant or sorcery card is pitched is a solid baseline for any 2cc looter. But pairing that with the ability to pay 2 mana and sacrifice it to flash back a spell from your graveyard is pretty impressive. If your cube uses black as part of a spells matters package and you run powerful instants and sorceries that are strong enough to warrant sacrificing a body to replay …the recipe is in place for Vohar to play well in your cube.
What I Don't Like: There’s nothing not to like, though the sorcery-speed limitation on the activate ability does prohibit Vohar from giving you access to countermagic from the ‘yard. Discarding proactive spells to get the drain trigger will often be counterproductive with the typical gameplan of spell-heavy tempo decks (because it gives you less triggers for your Pyromancers and Witches and stuff) so the drain life text feels like it won’t be super relevant in the decks that would supposed to be triggering a lot.
Verdict: Dimir likes to loot, because a lot of the decks play well from the ‘yard. So if you have a free slot in your gold section for a roleplayer, and you play spells broken enough to warrant a steep flashback cost, take a close look at Vohar. I think I’d be able to find room for this kind of card in a 630-720 card cube that can use all of its modes, but the competition is just a bit too steep in the current cube configuration I run.
What I Like: If you play a go-wide token strategy in your Selesnya decks, KD will fit right in. It provides you with an anthem to boost your team, can grow and make more tokens when you get flooded and need a mana sink, and he can be sacrificed to protect your token army in the face of an opposing Wrath.
What I Don't Like: 5 mana to activate is a lot, and I wish it cost less to use his ability. It would be great if the sacrifice effect saved more than just tokens, and having a 3rd base power would’ve been nice.
Verdict: If you support tokens in your Selesnya archetypes, there’s no clearer signpost card than KD. And in the right shells, it’s certainly a powerful card. Selesnya’s options are relatively dry for larger cubes, so if you want to add in a card that can provide some clear direction for their drafts, KD can be a nice card. I think the 630 range is where it might start to get some traction.
What I Like: As both a human and a warrior, the Firebrand can be a good functioning beater for several different meaningful tribes. The 3-power attacker that can stop 2/X creatures from blocking can serve as an evasive ability not only for her, but for the rest of your attacking team as well. In Najeela decks trying to potentially reach an activated ability, your manabase might have access to enough Domain effects to make the ability super cheap. But even in a typical 2-color aggro deck, activating the ability for 4 isn’t bad. It gives you a 5-power attacker that can shut down their biggest blocker, and provide a nice mana sink if you’re flooded.
What I Don't Like: There are a lot of decent options in red’s 2cc creature slot now, and unless the tribal and/or domain features are going to be big sellers for your group, the Firebrand may fall a bit short.
Verdict: I think this is a solid inclusion on its own, and I’d play it at 630 just at face value. In cubes supporting human tribal, warrior tribal, and/or a domain subtheme, it could crack into lists that are even smaller. I think the domain templating is a bit of additive distraction, because even when that ability costs 4-mana in a 2-color deck (or hell, even 5 mana in mono-red) it’s still a valuable extra ability on a 3-power 2-drop that can disrupt blocking for your whole team.
An oversized midrange creature with some synergy potential.
What I Like: A 4/5 for 4 is a good statline in cubes that support Wildfire and Languish effects. Having the opponent lose 2 life every time they draw a card gives you a pseuto-Vortex type effect that will trigger every turn, and it also randomly punishes a lot of draw effects in the cube. Hell, making the opponent lose 6 life whenever they cast Brainstorm or activate a Jace is nothing to scoff at. Likewise, gaining 2 life for each of your own draws can make all of your draw effects even better, and provide some much needed lifegain in black decks that punish their own life totals for value. Where Sheoldred really shines is when paired with draw-7 effects. Casting a Wheel of Fortune or activating a Memory Jar will result in the opponent losing 14 life and you gaining 14 life, which is obviously going to be game-warping in and of itself.
What I Don't Like: If the opponent simply untaps and kills Sheoldred, having them lose 2 life for their draw is a pretty poor use of your 4 mana. So the juice needs to be worth the squeeze when deciding if Sheoldred should be played in your deck (and subsequently in your cube).
Verdict: In cubes that support both draw-7 shenanigans shells and Wildfire decks, you should get enough slot equity out of Sheoldred to make it worthy of testing out. If you don’t play those kinds of decks, I don’t think the draw punishing on its own is going to be worth playing a 4cc card with an arguably low guaranteed impact. I’m testing this in my 540 cube because I play both draw-7 decks and Wildfire shells, otherwise I’d be passing on it most likely.
What I Like: The closest comparison we have to Ertai is Venser. They’re both 4-mana flash creatures that provide tempo disruption and rarely provide an effect worth more than card parity. In comparison to Venser, the draw clause is better than the bounce when you’re targeting a card that is in the better half of the cards in the opponent’s deck. If you expect the odds of the drawn card to be lower value than the target, the exchange is worthwhile. And after the exchange, you’re left with an extra 3-power creature on the board. Additionally, it’s one of the few cards in the cube that can counter activated/triggered abilities, which makes the effect unique. And it exiles the targets, denying death triggers and the like when that matters. Additionally, the draw drawback can be mitigated with Leovold and Narset types of effects if you play them, and it can also be used to target your own cards to draw extra cards if you have a spell/ability/permanent that you’re willing to sacrifice to draw a card. There’s a lot of things that Ertai can do, and there’s a lot of value in that flexibility. Additionally, steve_man pointed out the interaction that this has with Karakas, which can be a frustrating uphill battle to climb.
What I Don't Like: When targeting cards that are in the lower 50% of the quality of cards in the opponent’s deck, you run the risk of the draw exchanging it out for something better. And Venser can target artifacts, enchantments, and LANDS in addition to the things Ertai can hit, which prevents Ertai from killing O-Rings and stuff that can be problematic at times.
Verdict: I think the value is just high enough on Ertai to give him a spin over one of the flexible Dimir options that a lot of people run. I think it’s a worthwhile inclusion for most medium- to large-sized cubes that have a lot of board state interaction.
What I Like: Cut Down kills a lot of creatures (about 75% of the creatures in my cube) for one mana at instant speed with no drawbacks. The closest comparison is probably Disfigure, and Cut Down has ~10% more targets, and can remove some critical blockers when you’re pushing through early damage without having to tangle in combat to kill them.
What I Don't Like: I wish the value was 6 or less instead of 5, because there are a good number of additional targets I’d like to snag, but that’s asking a lot of a removal spell with no lifeloss drawback.
Verdict: The leaner your cube is, the more valuable this card will be. Some cubes might have this be a 360 staple because like 90% of their creatures are small and this kills almost everything. Other cubes might have bigger creatures overall and it may hit 50% of the creatures and not be very good. But I think the average cube will present about 75% of its creatures as targets, and it’s going to be a solid inclusion in those lists in the 450-630 range.
What I Like: This fits the very mold of what most cubes that support black aggro want from their 1cc creatures these days. It’s both a 2-power 1-drop, and it can recur itself for value in stax shells. We’re all familiar with the recipe, and it’s a successful one.
What I Don't Like: Like always, I wish this was a zombie, and I wish there wasn’t a non-skeleton clause that interferes with Gutterbones (as was pointed out by meltingsho) but those are pretty minor nitpicks.
Verdict: If you support black recursive/stax aggro this card will play well for you. If those kinds of creatures aren’t part of black’s repertoire in your cube, this isn’t going to be anything that you haven’t seen before. I would play this in the smallest of cubes that supports black stax aggro, and I wouldn’t play it at all if you don’t. Most cubes in the 360/450 range that play that kind of deck will want this creature though.
What I Like: This fits a traditional aggro shell in the cube that’s quite a bit different than what we normally see from black. Similar to Figure/Warden, this creature scales as the game progresses, and it allows you to increase the amount of pressure you apply without having to overextend and commit additional resources to the board. It can attack for 2 on T2, 3 on T3, and 4+ on T4+. And once it starts growing, it will also draw additional cards. By the time the opponent decides to remove it, you may have been able to replace it with multiple additional drawn threats, more than making up the mana investment sunk into it.
What I Don't Like: I wish the last activation was 2B instead of 1BB so it would be more friendly in 2-color aggro decks, but again, that’s a relatively minor nitpick.
Verdict: For cubes that like to play black aggro, but dislike the traditional 2-power 1-drop model and/or have strayed away from the recursive stax threat model, this might be a black aggro creature that still interests you. I ranked this above the Conscript because it might very well appeal to cube groups that like aggressively-leaning black decks but don’t like the traditional aggressive creature model. If you support black aggro of any kind (traditional, stax, or value) I think this creature should appeal to you, and I could see this being slotted in in the 360/450 range if you support that decktype.
What I Like: Replaying a permanent every turn (including lands!) is not an ability to scoff at. The lovechild between Lurrus and Sun Titan, the Paragon has a solid body for both offensive and defensive sides of the board, and will provide additional value directly to the board every turn, in addition to providing some incidental lifegain along the way. And man is this card broken with Black Lotus. T1 land, Lotus, Paragon, replay Lotus, play 3 more mana worth of stuff and gain 2 life. Yikes!
What I Don't Like: The exile clause prevents some of the loops from working with her, like replaying a lone fetch/Strip Mine every turn for perpetual value, so she’s not just a giant, better Ramunap Excavator in white. Additionally, the value usually isn’t instantaneous, so if you run her out on T4, you can’t replay any additional lands or cast any additional spells from the ‘yard that turn, so she won’t play out as a value creature until T5+, or if she’s topdecked late in the game when you’re flooded. She would be so awesome with Wildfire too, but unfortunately she’s not a 3/5. Lifelink would’ve been really awesome.
Verdict: This is a powerful value engine that will impact the board a lot the longer she’s allowed to stick around, and she has an explosive ceiling. I think this card is worth testing in the 360/450 range, but I actually think it’s being slightly overrated by the cube community at large. I think the lack of value it has until T5+ in most situations may end up costing her in the long run, and it may end up being relegated to medium- to large-sized cubes given enough reps to see how she plays in the average-case scenario.
What I Like: Transitioning from a card that I think is being overrated by the cube community to one I think is being underrated. While Squee’s overall damage output over time is middle-of-the-pack in comparison to other Rabblemaster variants, there are some distinct advantages that Squee has that pushes it towards the top of the pack. First off, the haste allows Squee to have the most immediate impact out of all the variants, and the highest guaranteed value out of all of them if the opponent untaps and kills it. It does the most damage on T3, and is tied for the most damage after the first two attacks. The haste also makes it one of the better topdecks out of all the options. And lastly, the ability to replay itself from the graveyard is such an incredible upside, and makes up for a lot of the survivability deficiencies it has in combat.
What I Don't Like: Compared to the other options, it doesn’t do the most damage over the length of the full game. And it doesn’t make the most tokens. And it can’t attack into 2-power blockers. I would’ve killed for this to be a 2/3, but even as it is, it’s one of the better Rabblemaster variants available to us.
Verdict: Its overall damage over time is in the lower half of the Rabblemasters. But it does the most damage on T3, is tied for the most damage on T4, is the best topdeck out of all of them, and has the ability to bring itself back from the dead! Overall this might be the 2nd best Rabblaster variant we have access to, and I can’t imagine a situation where a cube that supports aggro (or tokens) in red wouldn’t want to have access to this card. I think it’s an easy 360 playable.
What I Like: Looks like Wizards skipped past the 2U 2/1 that ETB bounces any nonland permanent and went straight to …this. This provides excellent tempo advantage being able to bounce any nonland target you want, card advantage by drawing you a card, or board advantage by giving you an extra flying threat. It’s the Swiss-army-knife of blue utility creatures, and is good in pretty much any spot. It’s valuable when you’re pushing an advantage, stabilizing, or clawing out of a hole.
What I Don't Like: I don’t know how to fault this card in a meaningful way; I had to read it a couple times to make sure it said nonland permanent and not creature or planeswalker …but I read it correctly.
Verdict: Blue is hard to make room in, but whatever you’re doing, make sure to give this creature a close look. It does a lot of stuff in a cheap, convenient package. I would personally find room for this at 360.
As always, thanks for reading! Cheers, and happy cubing.
Everyone else: It's been 4 months since the last Standard set!
Me: It's been 4 months since wtwlf's last Set (P)review!
Thank you again for another wonderful contribution to the cube community. I found this set to be particularly vexing since many of the best cards were vying for incredibly stacked cube slots, while some of the weaker ones ended up having significantly less competition. As a result, several of your lower ranked cards are going to sneak into my cube, while some of the higher ranked ones will be left high and dry. There's no greater victim of this than Serra Paragon, which, despite my initial excitement, I could not in good conscience find a single cut for. The life of a cube manager is toilsome indeed.
This is the first time that I'm interested in 4 to 6 over your 2 and 3. Part of it might be due to me missing a lot of cubing experiences over the years.
I might underestimating Squee, Dubious Monarch and Serra Paragon. I'll take a close look at them. Thanks for your insight.
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I am Monkey D Luffy/OP_Forever. I currently lost access to my old account.
I'm interesting in cards like Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim and what it takes for aristocrats to be a viable archetype.
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I'm actively maintaining a comprehensive article to help explain to new cube players how some complex vintage level cards work in a cube environment. Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Thank you so much for doing these!
There is 6 or 7 cards I will probably test. Still not sure how Sheoldred will perform (and what to cut for it) but it's a really good set!
This is the first time that I'm interested in 4 to 6 over your 2 and 3. Part of it might be due to me missing a lot of cubing experiences over the years.
I might underestimating Squee, Dubious Monarch and Serra Paragon. I'll take a close look at them. Thanks for your insight.
I think Squee is awesome, and is being underrated currently. I also think Paragon is awesome, but is being overrated by the community. Looking forward to playing both and seeing if my guess is accurate.
I'm interesting in cards like Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim and what it takes for aristocrats to be a viable archetype.
You're welcome! And aristocrats/creature-based loop combos are fun ways to make white creature decks viable in combo environments. Elas can be a good roleplayer in those kinds of cubes.
Excellent as always, my cube brother! Glad to see you place Squee and the Paragon so high on you list.
Trying to decide if I want to run the new Ertai over Tezz, AoB. Tezz rarely gets drafted by my group and most of the artifact decks are UR these days instead of UB.
I made an account just to let you know that each set I've been looking forward to these for the past few years. You always have as close to perfect analysis as possible and you've done a huge amount for the community. Really appreciated.
Ill probably test out your 1-7 in 540, but am skeptical of serra and and evolved sleeper. Also may try King Darien as selesnya is the shallowest guide for me.
I made an account just to let you know that each set I've been looking forward to these for the past few years. You always have as close to perfect analysis as possible and you've done a huge amount for the community. Really appreciated.
Ill probably test out your 1-7 in 540, but am skeptical of serra and and evolved sleeper. Also may try King Darien as selesnya is the shallowest guide for me.
Thanks for the kind words!
And ya, Serra Paragon is one of the cards I included that I'm the least sure about myself.
Again, great article! This sounds like pandering, but this is literally the best part of rumor season for me!
In slam dunks, We get our 1cc 2/1, this time in black. Not too powerful, but uncommon is gentle to the wallet (looking at you Ragavan). Wish it had better art though.
Sleeper is good. Im a fan of 1 drops that can have impact even in the late game. Not a priority, but will try to get one if available.
Not a fan of Serra Paragon. The value is not immediate and recursion is not possible. Does not make that competitive 4cc slot for me.
(Does Rabblemaster Math) Squee is an in for me. 3 haste is great. May replace Krenko.
Aether Channeler is an upgrade from
Barrin. Tempo, token, or mulldrifter/2 is so blinkable.
Overall a real good set for cube.
Perhaps because The set does not have those limited linear mechanics.
Thank you for this! I actually also really like The Raven Man on first look. I had success in my cube with Tinybones, Trinket Thief as a buildaround, so this will fit quite well.
I'm curious to hear your opinion on Timeless Lotus. Going from 5 to 10 in one turn seems strong in theory, even considering it lacks the immediate impact of Gilded Lotus.
Again, great article! This sounds like pandering, but this is literally the best part of rumor season for me!
In slam dunks, We get our 1cc 2/1, this time in black. Not too powerful, but uncommon is gentle to the wallet (looking at you Ragavan). Wish it had better art though.
Sleeper is good. Im a fan of 1 drops that can have impact even in the late game. Not a priority, but will try to get one if available.
Not a fan of Serra Paragon. The value is not immediate and recursion is not possible. Does not make that competitive 4cc slot for me.
(Does Rabblemaster Math) Squee is an in for me. 3 haste is great. May replace Krenko.
Aether Channeler is an upgrade from Barrin. Tempo, token, or mulldrifter/2 is so blinkable.
Overall a real good set for cube. Perhaps because The set does not have those limited linear mechanics.
Thanks! Ya, all of that makes sense to me, and I have similar reservations about the Paragon.
Thank you for this! I actually also really like The Raven Man on first look. I had success in my cube with Tinybones, Trinket Thief as a buildaround, so this will fit quite well.
I'm curious to hear your opinion on Timeless Lotus. Going from 5 to 10 in one turn seems strong in theory, even considering it lacks the immediate impact of Gilded Lotus.
You're welcome!
Raven Man looks sweet. I think tapping right away is a big upside of Gilded, so I think taking a turn off is too big a drawback by comparison. But if the cube is playing multiple 5-color gold cards, that adds extra value to Timeless. 60/40 Gilded, IMO.
This is my 43rd installment of the "top 20" set (P)review articles! Just like the previous reviews, it will be in a spoiled top X countdown format, with each section having an image, a brief summary/description, and my verdict on what cubes I think it could potentially see some play in. I got a lot of positive feedback on the format from the last few articles, so I’m going to keep the “what I like” and “what I don’t like” sections.
Keep in mind (just like the others) that this is a set preview. Similar to draft predictions in professional sports, this list is an educated guess at best. Some cards I value highly in here may turn out to not last long in the cube. Other cards that are lower down on the list (or even missed entirely!) could (well, very likely may) turn out to be great cards. Even the great Tom Brady was drafted in the 6th round! Again, this is not intended to be gospel, set in stone, or written as a review for posterity. This is simply written to be an enjoyable guess at cards I like for cubes, and hopefully it'll allow some cube managers to evaluate cards they may have otherwise overlooked and/or put some cards in perspective that may've been overhyped. Nothing more.
Dominaria United is a solid set for the cube, and provides cubes of all design types with some tools to help contribute to the goals. Some of the common features, like kicker, play well in the cube and are established abilities that we know function. Others, like the tribal-themed cards and the domain effects may be limited to certain cube types to have full effect.
Without further ado, here’s the countdown!
Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim
An Orzhov aristocrats combo enabler.
What I Like: As a combo-centric Blood Artist-type effect, a 2-mana 2/2 deathtouch has solid base stats. It can still function within demonstrated loops to provide a win condition, and the added Soul Warden effect isn’t limited to death triggers to gain you life. It can buy time until you can combo off, and it has a leg up on several of the other enablers that have weaker baseline bodies.
What I Don't Like: Even within cubes that support creature-based loop combos, not all of them include Orzhov support cards to function. Additionally, it only triggers off of your creatures, preventing the drain effect from being more impactful in normalized board states.
Verdict: If your cube supports creature-based loop combos and/or you’re looking for another Blood Artist type of effect for Orzhov, this creature can play really well in those kinds of cubes. Otherwise, it’s going to be a miss.
Shivan Devastator
A scaleable, hastey, flying threat.
What I Like: The ability for a creature to function at multiple points in the curve provides a lot of added value in the flexibility. And while unlike some of the other X/X for X creatures this card will have 1 less power and toughness, both the flying and the haste are quite valuable. Cubes that have had success with other scaleable threats will likely enjoy having a card that can be serviceable in the midgame and a bomb topdeck if you’re flooded. It makes for a decent Imperial Recruiter target too, since it can be a powerful play in the later stages of the game.
What I Don't Like: The 0/0 base statline hurts the value of this card. It would be too good as a 1/1, but I would’ve really liked this to be an 0/1 base so that at 5 mana it could be a 4/5 flying, and be set up to survive an on-curve Wildfire effect for those kinds of shells. I think most cubes have passed the point where creatures merely being “solid” at multiple places in the curve provide enough value to make the cut over cards that are hyper-efficient at fixed mana values.
Verdict: A solid playable that can slot into several decks and fit into multiple places in the cube. If you’ve had a lot of success with scaleable threats in the past, this creature may be worth a close look in larger lists. But I think it will ultimately be too inefficient for most cube lists.
Braids, Arisen Nightmare
A new stax support creature.
What I Like: A 3/3 for 3 that can cash in on less-than-valuable permanents and turn them into edicts or fresh cards is a nice place to be. The punisher-esque mechanic doesn’t hurt as much on this version of Braids since your sacrifice is elective. While the effect lacks reliability, if the question is “would I be willing to exchange this dead permanent for a random card” the answer will always be yes if you want it to be. You can attempt to be surgical with the mutual sacrifice effect knowing full well that you’re likely going to get the drain & draw, and that’s okay …especially when you can mitigate the cost with recursive effects, token generators, and the like.
What I Don't Like: The effect itself is too unreliable to make Braids a stellar card. If all you want is a 3/3 for 3 that can turn your Bloodghasts into card draws, this card will work fine. But if you’re looking for a scalpel to carve away at your opponent’s critical permanents …this isn’t it. Additionally, the end step activation restriction hurts your ability to pair the effect with recursive abilities you want to control the timing windows for. If it were “once during each of your turns” instead, you could sacrifice Gravecrawlers or lands and recast them or replay them with Crucible effects in the same turn, maximizing the number of effective uses for the sacrifice effect.
Verdict: I think larger cube lists supporting both aristocrats and stax decks in their black sections can find decent uses for Braids. But ultimately I think the opponent option combined with the timing window issues will prove too restrictive for her to shine in smaller cubes.
Haughty Djinn
A spells matters & storm support critter.
What I Like: This is a solid flying threat for decks saturated with spells, and spell-based combo decks (like storm) can make good use from the spell cost-reduction ability. It can grow to a decent powered evasive beater, and provide access to future spells at a discounted rate. Decks saturated with cheap cantrips and utility spells can grow the Djinn’s power to scary levels quickly, and the 4 toughness makes it a resilient threat.
What I Don't Like: I think a combination of competition and the importance of maximizing slot equity will prevent this creature from finding a home outside of cubes that want both a spells-matters beater AND a storm combo enabler.
Verdict: If your cube supports both spells matters decks and storm combo shells, and both the beatdown creature and the Baral/Electromancer effect will prove valuable, finding a slot for this creature will prove to be a good use of the real estate in blue. But if you don’t play both of those kinds of shells, I expect it to be too narrow to push out cards in the congested blue section.
Leyline Binding
A domain-based O-Ring variant with flash.
What I Like: In cubes that play a lot of 3- to 5-color control decks, Binding will be a stellar removal spell. One Triome can make this card an O-Ring with flash, and any more land types than that and it can become a 1- or 2-cc instant-speed removal spell. Obviously, if that situation is a common reality for your playgroup, this card will be a stellar performer.
What I Don't Like: In cubes that typically play 2-color decks (or support their 3+ color decks with manabases that don’t have basic land types), this card will cost 4 mana at its cheapest, and it’ll likely just be worse than Cast Out in most situations.
Verdict: If you support domain-centric manabases with a lot of duals/shocks/fetches/triomes/etc. and play 3- to 5-color midrange and control decks regularly, this card will be very strong. If you don’t (or don’t want to encourage that style of deckbuilding) it’ll likely be a miss.
Thran Portal
A fast painland of sorts.
What I Like: There are only so many cards that can tap for 1 mana of any color of your choice on turn 1, and they all come with varying drawbacks. There are fewer still that can count as a basic land type for the purposes of casting a Daze, boosting your Rofellos mana production, or contributing to Domain. And if “gates matter” is a thing for your cube, this will obviously provide some extra support for that theme.
What I Don't Like: While the number of cards that can perform this function is small, the drawbacks on this card are significant. In comparison to something like Mana Confluence, this card can never fix more than one color of mana and sometimes enters the battlefield tapped. And the basic land type/gate synergy “upsides” will never come close to eclipsing those two shortfalls.
Verdict: Larger cubes desperate for aggressive fixing options may very well find a home for a card like this alongside the usual suspects. But I don’t think this is going to boot out any current fixing options that cubes play to solve these mana issues. I would consider this card at 720 if I supported multicolor aggro shells.
Guardian of New Benalia
A new Seasoned Hallowblade variant.
What I Like: There’s a lot to unpack with this creature. First, the enlist ability allows you to utilize two of your smaller creatures to attack into a bigger blocker, much in the same way that banding does. If the opponent has a 5/5 creature out, it would normally stonewall your smaller creatures. But being able to tap a 3-power threat and use Guardian to attack as a 5/2 actually threatens the blocking threat, so you can still attack for 5 and they can’t freely eat an attacking creature. More importantly, if they DO decide to throw a big blocker in front of your enlisted attacker, you can pitch a random card from your hand to make your attacker indestructible, forcing the opponent to trade a big on-board presence for a random card from your hand, dissuading the opponent from wanting to block at all, and allowing you to push in for extra damage. Additionally, the scry feature is nice, and the creature will survive destroy-based removal when it’s worth a card to keep it around. It can also serve as a cheap discard outlet for Orzhov reanimator decks if that’s a thing you elect to support.
What I Don't Like: I wish enlist wasn’t limited to non-summoning sick creatures. If this could provide a pseudo-haste effect to your threats, it would be incredible. As it is, it’s limited to boards with congested combat situations to be valuable, and enlist only works on offense. And on its own, a 2/2 threat without evasion just isn’t doing it for me anymore.
Verdict: Combat-centric cubes with a lot of midrange monsters might present enough board scenarios for the enlist to be a really appetizing effect. Otherwise, I think the card’s going to be a miss. Combat-heavy cubes that use white in reanimator might want this creature at any size, but for most cubes, I think this will ultimately be relegated to the 630-720 range.
Tear Asunder
A flexible Golgari removal spell.
What I Like: An exiling Naturalize is a good baseline casting option for a 4cc Golgari removal spell that can exile any nonland permanent you want. In larger cubes that want to dedicate the majority of their Golgari spells to flexible removal, you could do a lot worse than Tear Asunder. The ability to use the 2cc mode to blast early fast mana and have the fallback option of an instant-speed, exiling Maelstrom Pulse for 4 mana is pretty nice.
What I Don't Like: This card really needs access to both modes to be good. As just a green spell, the exile clause doesn’t come close to making up for the lack of cycling on a card like Wilt, so you really need access to black mana to justify its inclusion …and there are a lot of really good Golgari removal spells already.
Verdict: Larger cubes that are both powered (to make the best use of the 2cc Naturalize mode) and are heavy enough in the multicolor section to find room for this after Golgari’s usual suspects might want to take a close look at this card. But I don’t think most tighter gold sections will be able to find room to Tear Ass anytime soon.
The Raven Man
A 2-power 2-drop that can grind advantage and make flying threats.
What I Like: Nobody likes this creature but me! This is a splashable 2-power 2-drop that makes extra flying attackers in turns where players discard cards. There are a lot of discard effects in black, and they don’t all have to be used aggressively to provide value. It checks both players, so every time you loot or rummage, you can make an extra flying threat. Rankle, Liliana, Dack, Wheel, JVP, Etc… there are a lot of ways to get this to trigger beyond just hitting the opponent with Duresses and Hymns and stuff. Additionally, it can grind away at the opponent’s hand in the later stages of the game, giving you bodies and churning away at the opponent’s reactive spells if they’re playing countermagic in control shells. All the while, giving you an extra flying token every time the ability is used. It can also be triggered on both turns if that’s something that can arise, punishing the opponent’s looting effects and the like.
What I Don't Like: If the effect could be activated as an instant, it’d be awesome (although I certainly understand why this guy can’t). A reduction to a 3-mana activation would also be welcome. Most importantly, if the creature tokens could block, it would’ve gone a long way from taking this guy from good to great.
Verdict: I like this card and I’d be willing to try it out in my cube if it was a little bit larger. I think there’s enough discard synergy to make it a worthwhile inclusion in cubes that are 630 or bigger, and perhaps even in smaller cubes if there’s enough looting effects to really spice it up.
Vohar, Vodalian Desecrator
A very solid Dimir looter.
What I Like: A 1/2 looter that drains the opponent for 1 every time an instant or sorcery card is pitched is a solid baseline for any 2cc looter. But pairing that with the ability to pay 2 mana and sacrifice it to flash back a spell from your graveyard is pretty impressive. If your cube uses black as part of a spells matters package and you run powerful instants and sorceries that are strong enough to warrant sacrificing a body to replay …the recipe is in place for Vohar to play well in your cube.
What I Don't Like: There’s nothing not to like, though the sorcery-speed limitation on the activate ability does prohibit Vohar from giving you access to countermagic from the ‘yard. Discarding proactive spells to get the drain trigger will often be counterproductive with the typical gameplan of spell-heavy tempo decks (because it gives you less triggers for your Pyromancers and Witches and stuff) so the drain life text feels like it won’t be super relevant in the decks that would supposed to be triggering a lot.
Verdict: Dimir likes to loot, because a lot of the decks play well from the ‘yard. So if you have a free slot in your gold section for a roleplayer, and you play spells broken enough to warrant a steep flashback cost, take a close look at Vohar. I think I’d be able to find room for this kind of card in a 630-720 card cube that can use all of its modes, but the competition is just a bit too steep in the current cube configuration I run.
King Darien XLVIII
A Selesnya token support card.
What I Like: If you play a go-wide token strategy in your Selesnya decks, KD will fit right in. It provides you with an anthem to boost your team, can grow and make more tokens when you get flooded and need a mana sink, and he can be sacrificed to protect your token army in the face of an opposing Wrath.
What I Don't Like: 5 mana to activate is a lot, and I wish it cost less to use his ability. It would be great if the sacrifice effect saved more than just tokens, and having a 3rd base power would’ve been nice.
Verdict: If you support tokens in your Selesnya archetypes, there’s no clearer signpost card than KD. And in the right shells, it’s certainly a powerful card. Selesnya’s options are relatively dry for larger cubes, so if you want to add in a card that can provide some clear direction for their drafts, KD can be a nice card. I think the 630 range is where it might start to get some traction.
Radha's Firebrand
A 2cc 3-power beater in red.
What I Like: As both a human and a warrior, the Firebrand can be a good functioning beater for several different meaningful tribes. The 3-power attacker that can stop 2/X creatures from blocking can serve as an evasive ability not only for her, but for the rest of your attacking team as well. In Najeela decks trying to potentially reach an activated ability, your manabase might have access to enough Domain effects to make the ability super cheap. But even in a typical 2-color aggro deck, activating the ability for 4 isn’t bad. It gives you a 5-power attacker that can shut down their biggest blocker, and provide a nice mana sink if you’re flooded.
What I Don't Like: There are a lot of decent options in red’s 2cc creature slot now, and unless the tribal and/or domain features are going to be big sellers for your group, the Firebrand may fall a bit short.
Verdict: I think this is a solid inclusion on its own, and I’d play it at 630 just at face value. In cubes supporting human tribal, warrior tribal, and/or a domain subtheme, it could crack into lists that are even smaller. I think the domain templating is a bit of additive distraction, because even when that ability costs 4-mana in a 2-color deck (or hell, even 5 mana in mono-red) it’s still a valuable extra ability on a 3-power 2-drop that can disrupt blocking for your whole team.
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
An oversized midrange creature with some synergy potential.
What I Like: A 4/5 for 4 is a good statline in cubes that support Wildfire and Languish effects. Having the opponent lose 2 life every time they draw a card gives you a pseuto-Vortex type effect that will trigger every turn, and it also randomly punishes a lot of draw effects in the cube. Hell, making the opponent lose 6 life whenever they cast Brainstorm or activate a Jace is nothing to scoff at. Likewise, gaining 2 life for each of your own draws can make all of your draw effects even better, and provide some much needed lifegain in black decks that punish their own life totals for value. Where Sheoldred really shines is when paired with draw-7 effects. Casting a Wheel of Fortune or activating a Memory Jar will result in the opponent losing 14 life and you gaining 14 life, which is obviously going to be game-warping in and of itself.
What I Don't Like: If the opponent simply untaps and kills Sheoldred, having them lose 2 life for their draw is a pretty poor use of your 4 mana. So the juice needs to be worth the squeeze when deciding if Sheoldred should be played in your deck (and subsequently in your cube).
Verdict: In cubes that support both draw-7 shenanigans shells and Wildfire decks, you should get enough slot equity out of Sheoldred to make it worthy of testing out. If you don’t play those kinds of decks, I don’t think the draw punishing on its own is going to be worth playing a 4cc card with an arguably low guaranteed impact. I’m testing this in my 540 cube because I play both draw-7 decks and Wildfire shells, otherwise I’d be passing on it most likely.
Ertai Resurrected
A new Dimir Venser variant.
What I Like: The closest comparison we have to Ertai is Venser. They’re both 4-mana flash creatures that provide tempo disruption and rarely provide an effect worth more than card parity. In comparison to Venser, the draw clause is better than the bounce when you’re targeting a card that is in the better half of the cards in the opponent’s deck. If you expect the odds of the drawn card to be lower value than the target, the exchange is worthwhile. And after the exchange, you’re left with an extra 3-power creature on the board. Additionally, it’s one of the few cards in the cube that can counter activated/triggered abilities, which makes the effect unique. And it exiles the targets, denying death triggers and the like when that matters. Additionally, the draw drawback can be mitigated with Leovold and Narset types of effects if you play them, and it can also be used to target your own cards to draw extra cards if you have a spell/ability/permanent that you’re willing to sacrifice to draw a card. There’s a lot of things that Ertai can do, and there’s a lot of value in that flexibility. Additionally, steve_man pointed out the interaction that this has with Karakas, which can be a frustrating uphill battle to climb.
What I Don't Like: When targeting cards that are in the lower 50% of the quality of cards in the opponent’s deck, you run the risk of the draw exchanging it out for something better. And Venser can target artifacts, enchantments, and LANDS in addition to the things Ertai can hit, which prevents Ertai from killing O-Rings and stuff that can be problematic at times.
Verdict: I think the value is just high enough on Ertai to give him a spin over one of the flexible Dimir options that a lot of people run. I think it’s a worthwhile inclusion for most medium- to large-sized cubes that have a lot of board state interaction.
Cut Down
A solid cheap removal spell.
What I Like: Cut Down kills a lot of creatures (about 75% of the creatures in my cube) for one mana at instant speed with no drawbacks. The closest comparison is probably Disfigure, and Cut Down has ~10% more targets, and can remove some critical blockers when you’re pushing through early damage without having to tangle in combat to kill them.
What I Don't Like: I wish the value was 6 or less instead of 5, because there are a good number of additional targets I’d like to snag, but that’s asking a lot of a removal spell with no lifeloss drawback.
Verdict: The leaner your cube is, the more valuable this card will be. Some cubes might have this be a 360 staple because like 90% of their creatures are small and this kills almost everything. Other cubes might have bigger creatures overall and it may hit 50% of the creatures and not be very good. But I think the average cube will present about 75% of its creatures as targets, and it’s going to be a solid inclusion in those lists in the 450-630 range.
Cult Conscript
A recursive 2-power 1-drop.
What I Like: This fits the very mold of what most cubes that support black aggro want from their 1cc creatures these days. It’s both a 2-power 1-drop, and it can recur itself for value in stax shells. We’re all familiar with the recipe, and it’s a successful one.
What I Don't Like: Like always, I wish this was a zombie, and I wish there wasn’t a non-skeleton clause that interferes with Gutterbones (as was pointed out by meltingsho) but those are pretty minor nitpicks.
Verdict: If you support black recursive/stax aggro this card will play well for you. If those kinds of creatures aren’t part of black’s repertoire in your cube, this isn’t going to be anything that you haven’t seen before. I would play this in the smallest of cubes that supports black stax aggro, and I wouldn’t play it at all if you don’t. Most cubes in the 360/450 range that play that kind of deck will want this creature though.
Evolved Sleeper
A black Figure of Destiny variant.
What I Like: This fits a traditional aggro shell in the cube that’s quite a bit different than what we normally see from black. Similar to Figure/Warden, this creature scales as the game progresses, and it allows you to increase the amount of pressure you apply without having to overextend and commit additional resources to the board. It can attack for 2 on T2, 3 on T3, and 4+ on T4+. And once it starts growing, it will also draw additional cards. By the time the opponent decides to remove it, you may have been able to replace it with multiple additional drawn threats, more than making up the mana investment sunk into it.
What I Don't Like: I wish the last activation was 2B instead of 1BB so it would be more friendly in 2-color aggro decks, but again, that’s a relatively minor nitpick.
Verdict: For cubes that like to play black aggro, but dislike the traditional 2-power 1-drop model and/or have strayed away from the recursive stax threat model, this might be a black aggro creature that still interests you. I ranked this above the Conscript because it might very well appeal to cube groups that like aggressively-leaning black decks but don’t like the traditional aggressive creature model. If you support black aggro of any kind (traditional, stax, or value) I think this creature should appeal to you, and I could see this being slotted in in the 360/450 range if you support that decktype.
Serra Paragon
A flying threat with recursive value.
What I Like: Replaying a permanent every turn (including lands!) is not an ability to scoff at. The lovechild between Lurrus and Sun Titan, the Paragon has a solid body for both offensive and defensive sides of the board, and will provide additional value directly to the board every turn, in addition to providing some incidental lifegain along the way. And man is this card broken with Black Lotus. T1 land, Lotus, Paragon, replay Lotus, play 3 more mana worth of stuff and gain 2 life. Yikes!
What I Don't Like: The exile clause prevents some of the loops from working with her, like replaying a lone fetch/Strip Mine every turn for perpetual value, so she’s not just a giant, better Ramunap Excavator in white. Additionally, the value usually isn’t instantaneous, so if you run her out on T4, you can’t replay any additional lands or cast any additional spells from the ‘yard that turn, so she won’t play out as a value creature until T5+, or if she’s topdecked late in the game when you’re flooded. She would be so awesome with Wildfire too, but unfortunately she’s not a 3/5. Lifelink would’ve been really awesome.
Verdict: This is a powerful value engine that will impact the board a lot the longer she’s allowed to stick around, and she has an explosive ceiling. I think this card is worth testing in the 360/450 range, but I actually think it’s being slightly overrated by the cube community at large. I think the lack of value it has until T5+ in most situations may end up costing her in the long run, and it may end up being relegated to medium- to large-sized cubes given enough reps to see how she plays in the average-case scenario.
Squee, Dubious Monarch
A new Rabblemaster variant.
What I Like: Transitioning from a card that I think is being overrated by the cube community to one I think is being underrated. While Squee’s overall damage output over time is middle-of-the-pack in comparison to other Rabblemaster variants, there are some distinct advantages that Squee has that pushes it towards the top of the pack. First off, the haste allows Squee to have the most immediate impact out of all the variants, and the highest guaranteed value out of all of them if the opponent untaps and kills it. It does the most damage on T3, and is tied for the most damage after the first two attacks. The haste also makes it one of the better topdecks out of all the options. And lastly, the ability to replay itself from the graveyard is such an incredible upside, and makes up for a lot of the survivability deficiencies it has in combat.
What I Don't Like: Compared to the other options, it doesn’t do the most damage over the length of the full game. And it doesn’t make the most tokens. And it can’t attack into 2-power blockers. I would’ve killed for this to be a 2/3, but even as it is, it’s one of the better Rabblemaster variants available to us.
Verdict: Its overall damage over time is in the lower half of the Rabblemasters. But it does the most damage on T3, is tied for the most damage on T4, is the best topdeck out of all of them, and has the ability to bring itself back from the dead! Overall this might be the 2nd best Rabblaster variant we have access to, and I can’t imagine a situation where a cube that supports aggro (or tokens) in red wouldn’t want to have access to this card. I think it’s an easy 360 playable.
Aether Channeler
A godly Man-o’-War variant.
What I Like: Looks like Wizards skipped past the 2U 2/1 that ETB bounces any nonland permanent and went straight to …this. This provides excellent tempo advantage being able to bounce any nonland target you want, card advantage by drawing you a card, or board advantage by giving you an extra flying threat. It’s the Swiss-army-knife of blue utility creatures, and is good in pretty much any spot. It’s valuable when you’re pushing an advantage, stabilizing, or clawing out of a hole.
What I Don't Like: I don’t know how to fault this card in a meaningful way; I had to read it a couple times to make sure it said nonland permanent and not creature or planeswalker …but I read it correctly.
Verdict: Blue is hard to make room in, but whatever you’re doing, make sure to give this creature a close look. It does a lot of stuff in a cheap, convenient package. I would personally find room for this at 360.
As always, thanks for reading! Cheers, and happy cubing.
My 540 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 45th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ONE!
My 540 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 45th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ONE!
My 540 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 45th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ONE!
Me: It's been 4 months since wtwlf's last Set (P)review!
Thank you again for another wonderful contribution to the cube community. I found this set to be particularly vexing since many of the best cards were vying for incredibly stacked cube slots, while some of the weaker ones ended up having significantly less competition. As a result, several of your lower ranked cards are going to sneak into my cube, while some of the higher ranked ones will be left high and dry. There's no greater victim of this than Serra Paragon, which, despite my initial excitement, I could not in good conscience find a single cut for. The life of a cube manager is toilsome indeed.
540 Version: https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/zza
My 540 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 45th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ONE!
I might underestimating Squee, Dubious Monarch and Serra Paragon. I'll take a close look at them. Thanks for your insight.
I'm interesting in cards like Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim and what it takes for aristocrats to be a viable archetype.
Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i
There is 6 or 7 cards I will probably test. Still not sure how Sheoldred will perform (and what to cut for it) but it's a really good set!
I think Squee is awesome, and is being underrated currently. I also think Paragon is awesome, but is being overrated by the community. Looking forward to playing both and seeing if my guess is accurate.
You're welcome! And aristocrats/creature-based loop combos are fun ways to make white creature decks viable in combo environments. Elas can be a good roleplayer in those kinds of cubes.
Of course! And ya, I have a big question mark with Sheoldred. I want to see some spiciness in action before I judge.
My 540 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 45th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ONE!
Trying to decide if I want to run the new Ertai over Tezz, AoB. Tezz rarely gets drafted by my group and most of the artifact decks are UR these days instead of UB.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
My 540 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 45th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ONE!
Ill probably test out your 1-7 in 540, but am skeptical of serra and and evolved sleeper. Also may try King Darien as selesnya is the shallowest guide for me.
You're welcome!
Thanks for the kind words!
And ya, Serra Paragon is one of the cards I included that I'm the least sure about myself.
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My 45th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ONE!
Excellent! That's what I'll do.
Cheers,
rant
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In slam dunks, We get our 1cc 2/1, this time in black. Not too powerful, but uncommon is gentle to the wallet (looking at you Ragavan). Wish it had better art though.
Sleeper is good. Im a fan of 1 drops that can have impact even in the late game. Not a priority, but will try to get one if available.
Not a fan of Serra Paragon. The value is not immediate and recursion is not possible. Does not make that competitive 4cc slot for me.
(Does Rabblemaster Math) Squee is an in for me. 3 haste is great. May replace Krenko.
Aether Channeler is an upgrade from
Barrin. Tempo, token, or mulldrifter/2 is so blinkable.
Overall a real good set for cube.
Perhaps because The set does not have those limited linear mechanics.
Thanks!!
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I'm curious to hear your opinion on Timeless Lotus. Going from 5 to 10 in one turn seems strong in theory, even considering it lacks the immediate impact of Gilded Lotus.
Thanks! Ya, all of that makes sense to me, and I have similar reservations about the Paragon.
You're most welcome! This set update is (mostly) pretty cheap, which is nice.
You're welcome!
Raven Man looks sweet. I think tapping right away is a big upside of Gilded, so I think taking a turn off is too big a drawback by comparison. But if the cube is playing multiple 5-color gold cards, that adds extra value to Timeless. 60/40 Gilded, IMO.
My 540 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 45th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ONE!