This is my 45th 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.
Phyrexia: All Will Be One is a cool set for cubes that offers a lot of new tools for existing cubes, and also introduces a mechanic that can make poison a far more legitimate subtheme for cubes if that’s something you want your cube to support. Between a massive amount of proliferation support and a new mechanic that supports poison as a viable win condition, cubes that support counters themes of all kinds will get access to a lot of tools that aren’t mentioned in my article. So if poisoning your opponent is something you want to do and you don’t see a lot of those support cards in this Top 20, don’t fret! The focus of this article is more on conventional cube builds than it is on branching out with entirely new levels of support. If you want to poison your opponents, now’s the time to experiment!
What I Like: Mother of Runes is a powerful card with a strong effect. So much so that a significantly worse version of that effect in Giver of Runes has also proven to be a solid card. Is it good enough that even a worse version of that effect will still be good? I think that the limitations Skrelv has (not providing blocking protection, costing life/mana to activate, etc.) will impact its value in generic goodstuff decks, but if your cube has a big focus on creature-based combo, a 3rd version of Mother of Runes might very well be what you’re in the market for. It also has some synergy with artifacts matters support if that’s something you explore in white, as well as providing some Toxic support if you want to venture into poison as a potential win condition.
What I Don't Like: As I mentioned above, there’s a lot of areas where Skrelv falls short. As an artifact, it’s more vulnerable as a defensive option. The lack of true “protection” makes the defense it provides worse, and not being able to protect your blockers from combat damage limits the functions it can perform. In addition to not being able to target itself and needing to spend life or mana to activate the ability.
Verdict: If your cube supports a lot of creature-based combos that can win the game on the spot, a 3rd Mother/Giver variant might be exactly what you’re in the market for. But if you are just planning on having it play like an additional protection creature for random creature decks, I think the limitations will prove to be too much for it to really shine without artifact/toxic support for it to contribute to as well.
What I Like: This takes Razormane Masticore and upgrades its defensive stats to protect it from multicolor cards, and also modifies the removal effect to hit all nonland permanent types. In a game that goes long where you have a lot of other effects to spend your mana on, pitching spells to answer permanents can be a good way to gain leverage over your opponent’s board. If you’re playing a deck that can take advantage of the discarded gas, Argentum’s value will increase by a lot.
What I Don't Like: One of the advantages of Razormane was the ability to discard excess lands to remove blockers from the board. Argentum can’t do this effectively because of the mana value restriction on the target. You have to be pitching meaningful gas spells to impact the opponent’s board, and in a lot of cases, being able to pitch lands to kill their creatures and then cast your nonland spells will be the better play. That option is taken away here because of the way the removal is templated. I also find that in 2023, sinking 5 mana into a threat that can be disenchanted that also dies to sorcery-speed removal without providing any value is a big risk. Probably too risky for Argentum to prove to be great.
Verdict: I think that this card isn’t better enough than Razormane Masticore to make me want to run a card I removed a decade ago for underperforming. Especially since the primary value of the OG version (discarding unneeded lands to bolt my opponent’s creatures) has been effectively removed from this card. I would consider this card in large cubes that have a focus on multicolor cards and discard synergy, and probably pass on it everywhere else.
What I Like: This will take a specific type of shell to shine in, but if your cube supports activated abilities in any way beyond just mana dorks and there’s a shell this card can shine in, I think it has the opportunity to be incredible. The passive ability allows all your mana dorks and utility creatures to tap for mana and activate their abilities immediately, and the {+1} ability gives you access to another activation every turn. If you play this turn 2 off a mana dork, you can immediately plus it to essentially reduce the mana investment to 2. You can tap mana dorks to cast more mana dorks, and essentially chain them into each other, making cool effects like Glimpse of Nature and friends a potentially exciting thing to support. And the {-2} ability will bring back critical support creatures and …more mana dorks, if that’s what the deck’s gameplan is. There WILL be decks in constructed that find ways to break Tyvar, and if you have a cube that has a surplus of mana creatures and cheap creatures with powerful activated abilities, don’t sleep on this card. It might not be for every cube, but if you have an environment with a deck that wants this card, it’ll be a beast.
What I Don't Like: In most cubes, there aren’t a ton of support cards beyond the few mana dorks that will be in the average G/x midrange deck that can really take full advantage of what Tyvar brings to the table. It’ll function as a ramp card sometimes, and it can get back cheap creatures from the ‘yard, but without a critical mass of creatures that can really benefit big from the ability, I think it’ll fall slightly short of being great, and wind up being a 24th card too often.
Verdict: If you play a cube with the right saturation of mana dorks and utility creatures with valuable activated abilities, Tyvar will be a super cool and unique card that can enable all kinds of shenanigans. But in a conventionally constructed cube list, I think it’ll just fall short if all he does is interact with ~3 mana dorks and ~1 activated ability creature in a standard midrange build.
What I Like: A 2mv mana dork that taps for one mana of any color that has 3 toughness is a decent baseline. It also has the ability to randomly hose the opponent by exiling cards from their graveyard that might be important to their strategy. It’s a nice way to shoehorn in some additional graveyard hate, and those effects can be hard to come by. It reminds me a bit of Werebear; mana creature early, medium-sized beater in the mid- to late-game. This one just happens to get bigger as graveyards shrink rather than grow.
What I Don't Like: The exile clause isn’t a may. Which means you need to eat your own graveyard when you don’t have other targets, and that can be problematic for a lot of G/x midrange shells that like to interact with their own ‘yard for value. If the value was a may, I think it would’ve been significantly stronger. When compared to a card like Sylvan Caryatid that a lot of cubes don’t run anymore, I think the additional protection/reliability will be valuable more often than the graveyard hate clause and the potential 3/3 body, especially if your own graveyard matters to you at all.
Verdict: If your multicolor green midrange decks don’t utilize your own graveyard and you’re looking to get access to more ‘yard hate, I think Scrapgorger is a good option for large cubes that have capacity for an additional mana dork in the 2mv creature slot.
What I Like: Nahiri can be both a 3 loyalty 3mv play or a 5 loyalty 4mv play, which adds quite a bit of flexibility to her casting window. She has a {+1} ability that forces a creature to attack you, with both protects Nahiri and your other ‘walkers in a superfriends shell. She has a 2nd {+1} ability that gives you the ability to rummage, and it is templated in a way where the draw part of the activation isn’t predicated on the discard, so you can just draw a card if you’re hellbent (something I missed until it was pointed out by MTGS user Sliver Lord) which makes it quite good. And that ability has synergy with the {0} one, which can return creatures from your graveyard to the battlefield for a turn (with haste) before they get sacrificed. The ability can grab equipment too, but I imagine that aspect will be very niche. Nahiri has no abilities that remove her loyalty, so she’ll be growing while protecting herself, rummaging through your deck, or returning cheap threats for pressure/ETB utility.
What I Don't Like: I wish the {0} ability was less than or equal to instead of just less than, because it would open up a much wider range of potential ETB creature targets to extract extra value from with her immediate activation. If you’re paying mana for the effect and can’t reach a loyalty value needed for the {0} ability to grab a creature, the other two effects are much lower impact, and I imagine it will feel pretty mediocre in those situations.
Verdict: Nahiri is a solid Boros ‘walker and can contribute to a couple of shells pretty well, namely superfriends and ETB trigger abuse decks. If that sounds like something that will be valuable for your cube, I think that larger cubes might be able to find room in their Boros sections to give her a spin, especially if cards like Comet aren’t your flavor of Magic.
What I Like: An uncounterable 8/8 trample haste for 7 mana is pretty good. It will apply a lot of pressure quickly to creature-light control shells, and the Ward ability will allow you to predict how reliable it will be the turn it’s cast. The toxic ability provides a way to win in 3 turns even if the opponent absorbs most of the regular trample damage with blockers.
What I Don't Like: Carnage Tyrant is a full mana cheaper, and brings a lot of the same value to the table, it’s weaker against mass removal, but hexproof is a lot better than ward in the late game. I imagine the opponent will take 8 from the Rex and then answer it in a lot of the situations where Tyrant can continue to chip in since it’s cheaper and more reliable, despite the lack of haste.
Verdict: If you’re looking for another big green creature that’s engineered to kill draw-go control players, you can look to the Rex for a solid option. I think it’s worth testing in 720 card cubes that are in need of more outs against late-game countermagic.
What I Like: The new Sword joins the short list of Swords that can provide two full cards worth of value with each connection. As the game goes long, the additional cards played off the ability will snowball, allowing midrange decks to grind out value. If midrange green creature decks are popular in your group, the protection from green allows your ground pounders to punch through a lot of blockers.
What I Don't Like: If I spend 5 mana on this to cast + equip and I connect, I’m going to be unlikely to generate meaningful value from the connection in that turn. The abilities require mana to take full advantage of them, so any gas I hit will more likely than not go to waste that turn. It’s not until I connect multiple times that the value starts to become reliable or add up, and that’s not something I’m looking for with a mana investment that steep. Additionally, I’m not a big fan of the protections. Red and green have a ton of answers to artifacts, protection from red isn’t nearly as valuable since the Sword grants +2 toughness anyways, and green has no way to block the cheap flying creatures I want to attach Swords to anyways.
Verdict: I think this is a middle-of-the-pack Sword, and it’s not something I’m looking to include in my cube. But if you’re a Sword completionist or someone that really has an affinity for equipment, I could see this breaking into some larger cubes that have some games that run long enough to have a multiple-connection Sword pull its weight.
What I Like: In Unga Bunga green (cheap mana dorks into beefy 3-5mv beatdown threats) this might be just what the doctor ordered. It can come down on T2 after a mana dork, bash for 4 with trample on T3+, and provide a source of proliferate (which will randomly be good with +1/+1 counters and planeswalker loyalties hanging around). Not to mention the fact that if you want to support poison, this is a way to reliably get counters on the opponent.
What I Don't Like: If your green decks tend to focus more on midrange/ramp, Contaminator won’t deliver much for you. And if your aggro is more zoo-centric and less Unga Bunga ramp + midrange threat in nature, the 4/4 trampling body will still be nice, but it won’t be nearly as powerful if it comes down a turn or two later. Without the proliferate trigger providing additional value or the ability to drop it on T2, I think it’s a miss for shells that don’t play those kinds of decks.
Verdict: If you support Unga Bunga green, +1/+1 counters matters, or superfriends/poison where the proliferation + toxic can shine, I think this is merely an okay option. If those descriptions match your cube, give this creature a shot! It will shine in a lot of different builds. But for me, I support traditional Zoo aggro, ramp, midrange, and Loam in my green section, and I don’t think this card is a perfect fit there. But I think the 630-720 range is probably where this will settle unless you support the decks where it can be an all star.
What I Like: This creature has the ability to be both a beatdown creature that can hit really hard AND be a value creature that can destroy artifacts and enchantments while developing your board. The vigilance/menace ability can provide both evasion and defense, the +2/+2 ability can lead to turns where it can deliver explosive damage, and the Naturalize trigger will obviously generate value and disrupt the opponent’s gameplan.
What I Don't Like: Needing to pay 3 more mana for the Naturalize hurts because you can’t guarantee the removal of a critical target without 6 mana available at once. That, and the competition in the Gruul section is really tight, and room for an oversized beater with an expensive value ability is hard to find room for in small cubes.
Verdict: I like this creature, and I could see finding room for it in slightly larger Gruul sections, perhaps somewhere in the 630-720 range.
What I Like: If you resolve this and it lives, and it goes into a deck loaded to the gills with powerful ETB triggers, it’s going to be a very powerful creature. The 4/7 vigilant body is a very solid one at 5 mana, and if you can start doubling up on your ETB triggers, the game can get out of hand quickly. Not to mention the fact that she stops all your opponents’ triggers from happening, so she can really disrupt their gameplan too. That ability also protects her from Chupacabras being able to eat her after she comes down.
What I Don't Like: Another 5-mana threat with no way to protect itself that needs to survive to generate value. In the right deck, under the right circumstances, she’ll snowball out of control and generate lots of extra value. But a lot of the time, your opponent will just untap and kill Elesh Norn and you’ll have nothing to show for your investment. Its a steep risk for a card that needs to be in the right deck to begin with.
Verdict: In bigger cubes that go really deep on the ETB trigger support, Elesh Norn is very likely worth a spin. But I think the combination of her narrowness and the fact that she’s a 5mv creature that doesn’t guarantee value will be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of cubes. I expect her to see more play in larger (630- to 720-sized) cubes than anywhere else. Besides EDH, of course, where I’m sure she’ll be a monster.
What I Like: In comparison to Outland Liberator, Cankerbloom always has 3 power, and has the option to Proliferate if the window shows up where that has a big impact. In +1/+1 counter decks, superfriends shells, and maybe even poison decks, this card will be better than Liberator because of the extra value the Proliferation brings.
What I Don't Like: Liberator can transform into a 3/3 Trygon Predator that can wreak havoc on artifact-heavy shells. In powered cubes with a high concentration of artifacts, I think Liberator’s transform ability will prove more valuable, and I’m unsure if cubes have/want a need for both in green.
Verdict: In unpowered cubes I could see Cankerbloom replacing Liberator if you support shells where the Proliferate trigger can be meaningful. In artifact-heavy powered lists, I think the upside on Liberator is stronger. Either way, both of the cards are likely in the ranges of 630+, unless you have a specific need for that kind of effect based on the archetype suite you support.
What I Like: In comparison to Oblivion Ring, Ossification only costs 2 mana, which is a big deal. It can’t hit artifacts or enchantments, but that matters slightly less on cards that cost 3+ mana than it does on cards that are cheap enough to effectively disrupt fast mana. Being an out to any creature or ‘walker for 2 mana is a good deal.
What I Don't Like: I think this card would be printable without the basic land restriction. Randomly getting hosed by a Vindicate or Strip Mine is nasty, and there are a lot of decks where the basic land restriction will be quite prohibitive. It would’ve been better if you could enchant a Plains instead of a Basic Land, since all the dual lands and trilands would still be able to provide an outlet for Ossification to attach to in multicolor control decks while still being able to stapled to a basic plains.
Verdict: Playable cheap removal that can hit multiple permanent types is nothing to scoff at, so if you can find the room to give it a try, I say go for it. I think this just misses for me at 540, but I could see playing it a 630+ without too many issues.
What I Like: A 2-power unblockable 2-drop is a nice base set of stats for a tempo creature. And being able to copy spells (of any mana cost!) for free is obviously powerful. Especially when the requirement to trigger the ability is relatively easy to accomplish. The ‘dancer gets an oil counter every time you cast a noncreature spell. And the cost to copy spells is 2 oil counters. So you can essentially copy every 3rd spell you play for free. It’s important to note that in powered cubes, all the moxen will add counters to the ‘dancer (in addition to all other artifacts, enchantments, and ‘walkers) so you don’t have to play 3 instants/sorceries to get your first trigger. Baubles and the like can add the oil, and then you can copy your first real “spell” right away.
What I Don't Like: It does require you to jump through some hoops to generate value. Every 3rd spell is as often as this can trigger, so getting more than one will be hard to do in the average game.
Verdict: This is probably on par with Sea Gate Stormcaller, a card I like well enough. Stormcaller has the advantage of only needing one spell in your hand and it can copy it, instead of the ‘dancer not copying anything until noncreature spell 3+ post-resolution. That being said, ‘dancer can copy bigger spells, and the impact can be really nasty when it goes off. I may end up testing this over Stormcaller at some point in the future, after I have more time to explore its potential. I think this is a card I would play at 630 for sure, and might be worth testing at 540 if you support a spells matters archetype in your cube.
What I Like: This is an Experiment One that trades its regenerate clause for better proliferate synergy and some Warrior tribal to better pair with Najeela. If you support Zoo-style aggro in green, you’ve likely played Experiment One and Pelt Collector, so you know what to expect from the Adaptive, more or less.
What I Don't Like: This is a slightly worse version of an already mediocre card. If you need the density for your beatdown green Zoo shells, this card will be serviceable, but it’s far from exciting.
Verdict: If your cube wants another Experiment One variant for your green aggro decks, this can likely replace something slightly less consistent like Wolfbitten Captive and slot in just fine. But this isn’t a good creature, and it would just replace your current worst green aggro beater with a new worst green aggro beater that’s marginally better. If you support green aggro and your cube is 540 cards or bigger, this will likely begrudgingly become part of your critical mass of 1mv beaters.
What I Like: 6 mana is a lot, but this card has a powerful suite of abilities. The passive ability protects it from being attacked by more than one creature per combat, which is very powerful. The {+1} ability does a lot of stuff. You can use it proactively to blink ETB triggers for value, you can use it to give a creature “vigilance” to be able to protect the ‘walker, you can use it aggressively to kill tokens, lower loyalty, or remove counters, OR you can use it defensively to remove your opponent’s creature from the board until the end of THEIR next turn (effectively removing the creature from the board as a blocker and as a counterattacker in perpetuity if you want to). The {0} ability creates a 4-power creature token that can become even more threatening with +1/+1 counters, anthems, or equipment thanks to the double strike. And the {-4} ability is really nasty, essentially killing everything on the board except your best creature and their worst creature. Unlike other cards that can function as an ETB abusing curve-topper, The Eternal Wanderer always has access to her token-creating ability, and can simply add 4 more power to the board any time there isn’t something more pressing to do with her abilities. I think as a midrange curve-topper and as a control finisher, this ‘walker shows a lot of promise, and is worth some extensive testing. Especially if your cube support ETB trigger abuse shells.
What I Don't Like: It’s hard to find room for 6mv permanents in the cube, and this directly competes with the 6mv Elspeth, which is also a serviceable control finisher, savage midrange curve-topper and effective go-wide token support card. Smaller cubes won’t have room for both, and you’ll have to decide which one best fits the support roll that they play. They’re both good control finishers, they’re both good midrange curve-toppers, so the tiebreaker will go to whether or not token decks or ETB decks would benefit more in your environment.
Verdict: At 540, I’m finding a way to play both this card and the 6mv Elspeth. In smaller cubes, you’ll have to decide which one is better suited to shine in your environment. But don’t sleep on this card. It can protect itself, contribute to multiple archetypes, crank out 4 power per turn, and devastate the board when it resolves.
What I Like: I like the flexibility offered by Nissa’s casting cost. She can be a 5-mana walker with 3 loyalty, a 6-mana ‘walker with 5 loyalty, or a 7-mana ‘walker with 7 loyalty. The {+1} ability will create an X/X token equal to Nissa’s loyalty when the token is created. It’s important to note that the tokens are X/X tokens, not */* tokens, so their value is fixed when the ability resolves. If the opponent kills Nissa later on, the tokens don’t die, and their P/T doesn’t fluctuate with Nissa’s loyalty. Even in 5-mana mode, Nissa’s {+1} will create a 4/4, and then a 5/5 on the next turn, etc. Nissa’s {-1} ability will be able to blow up critical artifacts and enchantments at any point where she’s on the table. And Nissa’s {-7} ability (which is available immediately if you cast her in 7mv mode) is a devastating Overrun variant that will end a lot of games on the spot. She can build your board while working towards a game-ending ultimate, Naturalize away critical targets, and function as a game-ending bomb when cast for big mana.
What I Don't Like: The {+1} abilities interaction of working with last-known information will be confusing for some drafters, and the way that it interacts with burn and removal will lead to a lot of misplays. She CAN be bolted in response to the {+1} ability to shrink her loyalty and make smaller tokens. However, if she’s killed outright by an instant-speed spell, the creature’s P/T won’t change, because the last known value assigned to her loyalty is still whatever it was after the ability was activated. So if you play her on 5 mana, tick her up to 4 loyalty, and she gets Bolted, she has 1 loyalty, and you make a 1/1. If the opponent hits her with a Baleful Mastery in response, you still get a 4/4, because that was the last known value for her loyalty. This will cause confusion and issues with even experienced drafters, I assure you.
Verdict: I’m comfortably testing this at 540, and I think there’s a chance it could creep down into 450+ lists too. It’s a cool card with interesting play patterns and multiple spots on the curve to cast it in.
What I Like: This Edict variant fixes a lot of issues that we’ve faced with Edict effects historically. First and foremost, this can kill planeswalkers, which in the good majority of cases, will kill the only ‘walker they have out since having multiple ‘walkers out simultaneously isn’t the norm (I mean, it’s not super rare, but it will be in the minority of cases). Secondly, it allows you to differentiate between token creatures and nontoken creatures, giving you the ability to kill the Rabblemaster and not the goblin token when that’s what you need to do. It allows you to be slightly more surgical with your creature targets, so you can hit the “right” creature slightly more often. In addition to being a reliable bullet against an opposing ‘walker.
What I Don't Like: I’ve been hurt by Edicts before. Despite the ability to choose between token and nontoken targets there are still going to be a good number of cases where your opponent has a mana dork + big threat out, or a Welder + big robot, or a discard/looter + reanimated monster, or a 2/1 aggro beater + scary curve-topper and this Edict will still be just as bad as all the other ones.
Verdict: The ‘walker killing clause is just enough for me to be willing to test this out in my 540 despite my hesitation that I will still too often be placed in situations where Edicts just fail to compete against targeted removal. But I’m willing to be proven wrong. Cubes with a high saturation of indestructible, hexproof/shroud, and/or protection creatures will want to give this a shot at any size. Especially if they support the Dark Depths combo! Other cubes may settle at the 540+ range to test, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this winds up being relegated to larger cubes simply because of the limitations native to all Edict effects.
What I Like: This is a green Crucible of Worlds with an added clause that lets you recast permanent cards from your graveyard if that’s the right play for the turn. It’s limited to your turn and only one spell …but that says nothing about your opponent’s turn! You can cast permanents (and play lands) from your ‘yard on your turn, and cast instants and cards with flash [from hand] on your opponent’s turn. I expect this to be powerful in flash decks, Loam shells, and when pairing with cards like Deranged Hermit or evoke spells is possible. I love Crucible effects. Pairing with fetchlands to out-resource the opponent, Strip Mine effects to disrupt them, or replaying manlands to keep yourself in threats is good in slower, more grindy matchups. The added permanent clause will help to replay threats against opponents digging for answers, and in the midrange deck’s worst matchup, you can slowly and consistently apply pressure from your repeatedly cast permanents. In some matchups, this will be even more devastating than the other Crucible effects because of the value that consistently casting a threatening permanent can have on a control player trying to keep you off win conditions. Especially when doubled with regular Crucible value, which is already good in those kinds of matchups.
What I Don't Like: If Loam and Crucible land value isn’t your bag, making this effect cost 4 mana and double-green isn’t going to do it any favors. If your playgroup doesn’t play the kinds of draw-go control decks that typically prey on midrange shells, your midrange decks don’t need cards like this to leverage incremental advantages.
Verdict: If you like Crucible effects and they’re still successful in your cube, medium-sized cubes should find room for Conduit. Small cubes don’t necessarily need this effect alongside the other available options for redundancy, and being more expensive definitely hurts the argument. And if traditional control isn’t a thing in your cube, you won’t need cards like this that help midrange in those matchups. Control will have a hard time beating this resolved card in a deck that combines the ability to replay threats and utilize the Crucible effect simultaneously. I’m finding room for this at 540, and I’m stoked to add it in. I could see some 450 card cubes experimenting with it depending on the need. But for folks that don’t like Crucible effects, this can be a pass for your group. Unless, of course, the ability to cast permanents every turn from the ‘yard adds enough intrigue for you to test this out even if Crucible effects aren’t your bag (which could very well be the case). Playing stuff from the ‘yard is good.
What I Like: They skipped past making a better Pacifism or a better Arrest and simply made both obsolete with this new common. Pacifism was always missing the ability to shut off activated abilities from making it good (since it can’t deal with mana dorks because of that clause) and Arrest always missed the mark because 3 mana was too much. Not only do we get a 2 mana Arrest …but this can hit artifacts too! Oh ya, that’s right, and planeswalkers also, for good measure. The ability to Pacify creatures, and shut off activated abilities is nice. The ability to target moxen and other fast mana and turn them off is very good. And oh ya, this can also shut off all planeswalkers too, for 2 mana! Note that since this doesn’t exile the target, the opponent won’t get a duplicate ETB trigger if Disruption is answered and they unlock their card again. It also doesn’t prohibit you from being able to attack and kill a pacified ‘walker if the insurance policy against enchantment removal is warranted. This deals with so many permanents in the cube for 2 mana, and I’m super excited to play it. It also ensures that pacified targets still die to your Wrath effects, so when there’s a big board wipe that kills everything, the enchanted creature dies too, so they can’t get it back later with a disenchant like they can against O-Ring effects.
What I Don't Like: Obviously it doesn’t turn off passive abilities of any of its targets. Nissa will still double mana, Rabblemaster will still make a goblin and Excavator will still give them a Crucible effect. Also, if the opponent does get rid of the enchantment, the creature they get back has “haste” of sorts, since it never left play.
Verdict: This is a very solid removal spell, and I could definitely see this being played in the 450-540 range, and perhaps down into cubes that are even smaller if there’s cheap artifact targets abound.
What I Like: This creature is really powerful. The clause is ETB, not cast, and that trigger will draw you the best card out of your top 10, as well as several more goodies to go alongside it. It will likely draw at least 3-4 cards when it triggers, and often it’ll be more like 5. And unlike simply drawing X cards, the ability to dig 10 cards deep for the best cards is insanely powerful. This is everything I ever wanted from the Kozilek that draws cards, except it’s ETB instead of cast, Digs instead of plain draws, and it has several other upsides too. Atraxa is green, so she can be targeted by Natural Order. There’s no limitation to how the trigger happens, so she’s a bomb reanimator creature. If you cheat her out with Show and Tell or whatever, you’re going to fill your hand back up with more gas and add a must-answer threat to the board. And if she’s brought in by Sneak/Breach, the haste is going to be extra powerful with her because of the lifelink. Not to mention the simple fact that she’s a 7-mana 7/7 flying, lifelink, vigilant creature (that also has deathtouch for good measure). And despite being 4 colors, a midrange green deck with birds, hierarchs, signets/talisman, Relics or whatever else will make this card perfectly castable in a lot of shells. In testing so far, she’s been used to hardcast as often as she’s been cheated out, and she’s an absolutely top-tier premium target for ramp, reanimator, sneak/show, and Natural Order decks immediately. The smallest number of drawn cards I’ve seen is 3. The most has been 6. On average, it’s closer to 4-5, including usually the 2-3 best cards from your top 10. It’s an absolutely savage ETB trigger, and it’s easy to get access to.
What I Don't Like: Red in the color identity w/ haste would’ve made it an ever stronger hardcast card. Trample instead of deathtouch would’ve been welcome too, I suppose. And if it were an artifact creature for Tinker, it would be compleat.
Verdict: This creature is absolutely gross, and the ETB trigger is backbreaking. Like a Dig Through Time on steroids, stapled to the most insane stat monster you could need …that doesn’t even need to be hardcast to trigger. It competes with Griselbrand and Archon of Cruelty as the creme de la creme of big mana creature targets. I would play this in the smallest of cubes as long as reanimation archetypes and fatty-cheating decks are supported. Card’s crazy good.
As always, thanks for reading! Feel free to comment here or hit me up on Twitter and comment there.
1. I recall 2-3 years ago, people were saying that Griselbrand was an absolute mistake as he was considered the absolute best reanimation target for almost every single scenario - Show and Tell/ Sneak Attack/ Reanimation/ Instant Speed Reanimation/ Oath/ etc. But Atraxa/ Archon printed recently are not only on-par with Griselbrand, but might prove to be better. On one hand, I like how the gap between the best/ worst fatty cheat targets are closing but on the other hand, I'm getting a bit uncomfortable about these deck's power levels.
2. Conduit of Worlds/ Lands archetype has always been a player favorite, despite how weak it is to the other archetypes. I think it really needs another Stripe Mine/ Fast Bond effect to really be more viable.
3. I'll be watching Mercurial Spelldancer more closely. The unfortunate reason why I didn't add this into my cube is because any good spells matters card would probably snap Legacy/ Modern in half as UR Delver is already incredibly dominant in those formats any good UR spells matter card would essentially require a ban, as demonstrated in the past 5 years. I feel this card has most likely been extensively tested and deemed as safe by play testing, so my thoughts are wait and see.
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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
Thanks for this! Always my favorite part of spoiler season. I don't have any real comments about the list. I'm a little higher on the Edict than you, but that's about it.
Conduit of Worlds can only be activated as a sorcery, so unfortunately no shenanigans on their turn. How does that impact your opinion and ranking of thecard?
Conduit of Worlds can only be activated as a sorcery, so unfortunately no shenanigans on their turn. How does that impact your opinion and ranking of the card?
I know it's limited to sorcery speed (and it says so in the evaluation). It still pairs well with instants and cards with flash because you can cast permanents w/ Crucible on your turn and cards with flash & instants from your hand on their turn. My evaluation is the same.
Here's the quote from the text above:
Quote from The Article »
It’s limited to your turn and only one spell …but that says nothing about your opponent’s turn! You can cast permanents (and play lands) from your ‘yard on your turn, and cast instants and cards with flash on your opponent’s turn.
Sorry if the wording is confusing, but it says that it's limited to your turn in the first sentence. Doesn't stop you from doing stuff as normal on your opponent's turn though!
I'll add "from hand" to the last part to make it clearer. But the evaluation is the same, and I never thought I could cast things on my opponent's turn with it. Card's super awesome.
Great stuff wtwlf, always appreciate the work you put into these. Love your explanations (though I'll confess I don't really understand the distinction you're making with Conduit), especially because I didn't grok the nuance of Nissa's tokens being X/X instead of */* until you pointed it out. Seems like that's going to be a real PITA to keep track of, but I guess I'll give it a spin and see how it plays.
Thanks as always, so much fun to read and think about. I am for sure adding #1-5, maybe Ms. Wanderer as well. Side thought, have you reconsidered Portal to Phyrexia? Its a bomb in other formats.
I don't really understand the distinction you're making with Conduit
I'd be happy to try and explain it, but I don't know what's causing the confusion...
Quote from hoodwink »
Thanks again for your hard work!
You're welcome!
Quote from Thundermare3 »
Thanks as always
Of course!
Quote from Thundermare3 »
have you reconsidered Portal to Phyrexia?
Card was super underwhelming in testing. Cheating it out early had so little impact w/ Tinker/Show/Etc. I ended up being in a better spot just cheating out a card that was threatening on its own instead. It's probably insane in EDH where it gets cast in the mid/late game and wrecks the boards for multiple players and always has targets to return, but in the cube, I need to be cheating out cards that are good in all matchups/situations, and I definitely need cards that are threats themselves.
Seeing linear mechanics such as toxic, corrupted and oily, I was not hoping much from cube. Although we get powerful cube cards from individual, powerful cards designed for tournament play, seems that this is not the case as well for this set.
Among your suggestions, for my 450 I may swap in Planar disruption in place of one of the Orings, to lessen the curve a bit and to have some variety in cards.
though I'll confess I don't really understand the distinction you're making with Conduit
I believe Wtwlf's point was that you can activate Conduit on your turn and use it, then play instants and creatures with flash on your opponent's turn to sort of get around the "only cast one spell on your turn" restriction of the card.
Wtwlf, as always, thanks for these posts. They are so helpful in compiling buy lists.
You're welcome! And you're correct about the Conduit interpretation. If your deck plays exclusively at sorcery speed, you have to decide between casting from hand or off Conduit. If you have lots of options that can be played at instant speed, you can play cards via Conduit on your turn, and from your hand on your opponent's turn, which really undermines the restrictions the card is supposed to impose on you.
This is my 45th 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.
Phyrexia: All Will Be One is a cool set for cubes that offers a lot of new tools for existing cubes, and also introduces a mechanic that can make poison a far more legitimate subtheme for cubes if that’s something you want your cube to support. Between a massive amount of proliferation support and a new mechanic that supports poison as a viable win condition, cubes that support counters themes of all kinds will get access to a lot of tools that aren’t mentioned in my article. So if poisoning your opponent is something you want to do and you don’t see a lot of those support cards in this Top 20, don’t fret! The focus of this article is more on conventional cube builds than it is on branching out with entirely new levels of support. If you want to poison your opponents, now’s the time to experiment!
Without further ado, here’s the countdown!
Skrelv, Defector Mite
A new Mother of Runes variant.
What I Like: Mother of Runes is a powerful card with a strong effect. So much so that a significantly worse version of that effect in Giver of Runes has also proven to be a solid card. Is it good enough that even a worse version of that effect will still be good? I think that the limitations Skrelv has (not providing blocking protection, costing life/mana to activate, etc.) will impact its value in generic goodstuff decks, but if your cube has a big focus on creature-based combo, a 3rd version of Mother of Runes might very well be what you’re in the market for. It also has some synergy with artifacts matters support if that’s something you explore in white, as well as providing some Toxic support if you want to venture into poison as a potential win condition.
What I Don't Like: As I mentioned above, there’s a lot of areas where Skrelv falls short. As an artifact, it’s more vulnerable as a defensive option. The lack of true “protection” makes the defense it provides worse, and not being able to protect your blockers from combat damage limits the functions it can perform. In addition to not being able to target itself and needing to spend life or mana to activate the ability.
Verdict: If your cube supports a lot of creature-based combos that can win the game on the spot, a 3rd Mother/Giver variant might be exactly what you’re in the market for. But if you are just planning on having it play like an additional protection creature for random creature decks, I think the limitations will prove to be too much for it to really shine without artifact/toxic support for it to contribute to as well.
Argentum Masticore
A new Razormane Masticore variant.
What I Like: This takes Razormane Masticore and upgrades its defensive stats to protect it from multicolor cards, and also modifies the removal effect to hit all nonland permanent types. In a game that goes long where you have a lot of other effects to spend your mana on, pitching spells to answer permanents can be a good way to gain leverage over your opponent’s board. If you’re playing a deck that can take advantage of the discarded gas, Argentum’s value will increase by a lot.
What I Don't Like: One of the advantages of Razormane was the ability to discard excess lands to remove blockers from the board. Argentum can’t do this effectively because of the mana value restriction on the target. You have to be pitching meaningful gas spells to impact the opponent’s board, and in a lot of cases, being able to pitch lands to kill their creatures and then cast your nonland spells will be the better play. That option is taken away here because of the way the removal is templated. I also find that in 2023, sinking 5 mana into a threat that can be disenchanted that also dies to sorcery-speed removal without providing any value is a big risk. Probably too risky for Argentum to prove to be great.
Verdict: I think that this card isn’t better enough than Razormane Masticore to make me want to run a card I removed a decade ago for underperforming. Especially since the primary value of the OG version (discarding unneeded lands to bolt my opponent’s creatures) has been effectively removed from this card. I would consider this card in large cubes that have a focus on multicolor cards and discard synergy, and probably pass on it everywhere else.
Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler
An activated abilities matters support engine!
What I Like: This will take a specific type of shell to shine in, but if your cube supports activated abilities in any way beyond just mana dorks and there’s a shell this card can shine in, I think it has the opportunity to be incredible. The passive ability allows all your mana dorks and utility creatures to tap for mana and activate their abilities immediately, and the {+1} ability gives you access to another activation every turn. If you play this turn 2 off a mana dork, you can immediately plus it to essentially reduce the mana investment to 2. You can tap mana dorks to cast more mana dorks, and essentially chain them into each other, making cool effects like Glimpse of Nature and friends a potentially exciting thing to support. And the {-2} ability will bring back critical support creatures and …more mana dorks, if that’s what the deck’s gameplan is. There WILL be decks in constructed that find ways to break Tyvar, and if you have a cube that has a surplus of mana creatures and cheap creatures with powerful activated abilities, don’t sleep on this card. It might not be for every cube, but if you have an environment with a deck that wants this card, it’ll be a beast.
What I Don't Like: In most cubes, there aren’t a ton of support cards beyond the few mana dorks that will be in the average G/x midrange deck that can really take full advantage of what Tyvar brings to the table. It’ll function as a ramp card sometimes, and it can get back cheap creatures from the ‘yard, but without a critical mass of creatures that can really benefit big from the ability, I think it’ll fall slightly short of being great, and wind up being a 24th card too often.
Verdict: If you play a cube with the right saturation of mana dorks and utility creatures with valuable activated abilities, Tyvar will be a super cool and unique card that can enable all kinds of shenanigans. But in a conventionally constructed cube list, I think it’ll just fall short if all he does is interact with ~3 mana dorks and ~1 activated ability creature in a standard midrange build.
Armored Scrapgorger
A graveyard hating mana dork.
What I Like: A 2mv mana dork that taps for one mana of any color that has 3 toughness is a decent baseline. It also has the ability to randomly hose the opponent by exiling cards from their graveyard that might be important to their strategy. It’s a nice way to shoehorn in some additional graveyard hate, and those effects can be hard to come by. It reminds me a bit of Werebear; mana creature early, medium-sized beater in the mid- to late-game. This one just happens to get bigger as graveyards shrink rather than grow.
What I Don't Like: The exile clause isn’t a may. Which means you need to eat your own graveyard when you don’t have other targets, and that can be problematic for a lot of G/x midrange shells that like to interact with their own ‘yard for value. If the value was a may, I think it would’ve been significantly stronger. When compared to a card like Sylvan Caryatid that a lot of cubes don’t run anymore, I think the additional protection/reliability will be valuable more often than the graveyard hate clause and the potential 3/3 body, especially if your own graveyard matters to you at all.
Verdict: If your multicolor green midrange decks don’t utilize your own graveyard and you’re looking to get access to more ‘yard hate, I think Scrapgorger is a good option for large cubes that have capacity for an additional mana dork in the 2mv creature slot.
Nahiri, the Unforgiving
A flexibly costed Boros ‘walker.
What I Like: Nahiri can be both a 3 loyalty 3mv play or a 5 loyalty 4mv play, which adds quite a bit of flexibility to her casting window. She has a {+1} ability that forces a creature to attack you, with both protects Nahiri and your other ‘walkers in a superfriends shell. She has a 2nd {+1} ability that gives you the ability to rummage, and it is templated in a way where the draw part of the activation isn’t predicated on the discard, so you can just draw a card if you’re hellbent (something I missed until it was pointed out by MTGS user Sliver Lord) which makes it quite good. And that ability has synergy with the {0} one, which can return creatures from your graveyard to the battlefield for a turn (with haste) before they get sacrificed. The ability can grab equipment too, but I imagine that aspect will be very niche. Nahiri has no abilities that remove her loyalty, so she’ll be growing while protecting herself, rummaging through your deck, or returning cheap threats for pressure/ETB utility.
What I Don't Like: I wish the {0} ability was less than or equal to instead of just less than, because it would open up a much wider range of potential ETB creature targets to extract extra value from with her immediate activation. If you’re paying mana for the effect and can’t reach a loyalty value needed for the {0} ability to grab a creature, the other two effects are much lower impact, and I imagine it will feel pretty mediocre in those situations.
Verdict: Nahiri is a solid Boros ‘walker and can contribute to a couple of shells pretty well, namely superfriends and ETB trigger abuse decks. If that sounds like something that will be valuable for your cube, I think that larger cubes might be able to find room in their Boros sections to give her a spin, especially if cards like Comet aren’t your flavor of Magic.
Tyrranax Rex
A big midrange control killer.
What I Like: An uncounterable 8/8 trample haste for 7 mana is pretty good. It will apply a lot of pressure quickly to creature-light control shells, and the Ward ability will allow you to predict how reliable it will be the turn it’s cast. The toxic ability provides a way to win in 3 turns even if the opponent absorbs most of the regular trample damage with blockers.
What I Don't Like: Carnage Tyrant is a full mana cheaper, and brings a lot of the same value to the table, it’s weaker against mass removal, but hexproof is a lot better than ward in the late game. I imagine the opponent will take 8 from the Rex and then answer it in a lot of the situations where Tyrant can continue to chip in since it’s cheaper and more reliable, despite the lack of haste.
Verdict: If you’re looking for another big green creature that’s engineered to kill draw-go control players, you can look to the Rex for a solid option. I think it’s worth testing in 720 card cubes that are in need of more outs against late-game countermagic.
Sword of Forge and Frontier
A new Standard-legal Sword!
What I Like: The new Sword joins the short list of Swords that can provide two full cards worth of value with each connection. As the game goes long, the additional cards played off the ability will snowball, allowing midrange decks to grind out value. If midrange green creature decks are popular in your group, the protection from green allows your ground pounders to punch through a lot of blockers.
What I Don't Like: If I spend 5 mana on this to cast + equip and I connect, I’m going to be unlikely to generate meaningful value from the connection in that turn. The abilities require mana to take full advantage of them, so any gas I hit will more likely than not go to waste that turn. It’s not until I connect multiple times that the value starts to become reliable or add up, and that’s not something I’m looking for with a mana investment that steep. Additionally, I’m not a big fan of the protections. Red and green have a ton of answers to artifacts, protection from red isn’t nearly as valuable since the Sword grants +2 toughness anyways, and green has no way to block the cheap flying creatures I want to attach Swords to anyways.
Verdict: I think this is a middle-of-the-pack Sword, and it’s not something I’m looking to include in my cube. But if you’re a Sword completionist or someone that really has an affinity for equipment, I could see this breaking into some larger cubes that have some games that run long enough to have a multiple-connection Sword pull its weight.
Bloated Contaminator
A 3-mana 4/4 trampler.
What I Like: In Unga Bunga green (cheap mana dorks into beefy 3-5mv beatdown threats) this might be just what the doctor ordered. It can come down on T2 after a mana dork, bash for 4 with trample on T3+, and provide a source of proliferate (which will randomly be good with +1/+1 counters and planeswalker loyalties hanging around). Not to mention the fact that if you want to support poison, this is a way to reliably get counters on the opponent.
What I Don't Like: If your green decks tend to focus more on midrange/ramp, Contaminator won’t deliver much for you. And if your aggro is more zoo-centric and less Unga Bunga ramp + midrange threat in nature, the 4/4 trampling body will still be nice, but it won’t be nearly as powerful if it comes down a turn or two later. Without the proliferate trigger providing additional value or the ability to drop it on T2, I think it’s a miss for shells that don’t play those kinds of decks.
Verdict: If you support Unga Bunga green, +1/+1 counters matters, or superfriends/poison where the proliferation + toxic can shine, I think this is merely an okay option. If those descriptions match your cube, give this creature a shot! It will shine in a lot of different builds. But for me, I support traditional Zoo aggro, ramp, midrange, and Loam in my green section, and I don’t think this card is a perfect fit there. But I think the 630-720 range is probably where this will settle unless you support the decks where it can be an all star.
Migloz, Maze Crusher
A 3-mana 4/4 Gruul beater.
What I Like: This creature has the ability to be both a beatdown creature that can hit really hard AND be a value creature that can destroy artifacts and enchantments while developing your board. The vigilance/menace ability can provide both evasion and defense, the +2/+2 ability can lead to turns where it can deliver explosive damage, and the Naturalize trigger will obviously generate value and disrupt the opponent’s gameplan.
What I Don't Like: Needing to pay 3 more mana for the Naturalize hurts because you can’t guarantee the removal of a critical target without 6 mana available at once. That, and the competition in the Gruul section is really tight, and room for an oversized beater with an expensive value ability is hard to find room for in small cubes.
Verdict: I like this creature, and I could see finding room for it in slightly larger Gruul sections, perhaps somewhere in the 630-720 range.
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
A Panharmonicon Elesh Norn!
What I Like: If you resolve this and it lives, and it goes into a deck loaded to the gills with powerful ETB triggers, it’s going to be a very powerful creature. The 4/7 vigilant body is a very solid one at 5 mana, and if you can start doubling up on your ETB triggers, the game can get out of hand quickly. Not to mention the fact that she stops all your opponents’ triggers from happening, so she can really disrupt their gameplan too. That ability also protects her from Chupacabras being able to eat her after she comes down.
What I Don't Like: Another 5-mana threat with no way to protect itself that needs to survive to generate value. In the right deck, under the right circumstances, she’ll snowball out of control and generate lots of extra value. But a lot of the time, your opponent will just untap and kill Elesh Norn and you’ll have nothing to show for your investment. Its a steep risk for a card that needs to be in the right deck to begin with.
Verdict: In bigger cubes that go really deep on the ETB trigger support, Elesh Norn is very likely worth a spin. But I think the combination of her narrowness and the fact that she’s a 5mv creature that doesn’t guarantee value will be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of cubes. I expect her to see more play in larger (630- to 720-sized) cubes than anywhere else. Besides EDH, of course, where I’m sure she’ll be a monster.
Cankerbloom
A new Outland Liberator variant.
What I Like: In comparison to Outland Liberator, Cankerbloom always has 3 power, and has the option to Proliferate if the window shows up where that has a big impact. In +1/+1 counter decks, superfriends shells, and maybe even poison decks, this card will be better than Liberator because of the extra value the Proliferation brings.
What I Don't Like: Liberator can transform into a 3/3 Trygon Predator that can wreak havoc on artifact-heavy shells. In powered cubes with a high concentration of artifacts, I think Liberator’s transform ability will prove more valuable, and I’m unsure if cubes have/want a need for both in green.
Verdict: In unpowered cubes I could see Cankerbloom replacing Liberator if you support shells where the Proliferate trigger can be meaningful. In artifact-heavy powered lists, I think the upside on Liberator is stronger. Either way, both of the cards are likely in the ranges of 630+, unless you have a specific need for that kind of effect based on the archetype suite you support.
Ossification
A Cheaper Oblivion Ring variant.
What I Like: In comparison to Oblivion Ring, Ossification only costs 2 mana, which is a big deal. It can’t hit artifacts or enchantments, but that matters slightly less on cards that cost 3+ mana than it does on cards that are cheap enough to effectively disrupt fast mana. Being an out to any creature or ‘walker for 2 mana is a good deal.
What I Don't Like: I think this card would be printable without the basic land restriction. Randomly getting hosed by a Vindicate or Strip Mine is nasty, and there are a lot of decks where the basic land restriction will be quite prohibitive. It would’ve been better if you could enchant a Plains instead of a Basic Land, since all the dual lands and trilands would still be able to provide an outlet for Ossification to attach to in multicolor control decks while still being able to stapled to a basic plains.
Verdict: Playable cheap removal that can hit multiple permanent types is nothing to scoff at, so if you can find the room to give it a try, I say go for it. I think this just misses for me at 540, but I could see playing it a 630+ without too many issues.
Mercurial Spelldancer
An evasive spells matters beater.
What I Like: A 2-power unblockable 2-drop is a nice base set of stats for a tempo creature. And being able to copy spells (of any mana cost!) for free is obviously powerful. Especially when the requirement to trigger the ability is relatively easy to accomplish. The ‘dancer gets an oil counter every time you cast a noncreature spell. And the cost to copy spells is 2 oil counters. So you can essentially copy every 3rd spell you play for free. It’s important to note that in powered cubes, all the moxen will add counters to the ‘dancer (in addition to all other artifacts, enchantments, and ‘walkers) so you don’t have to play 3 instants/sorceries to get your first trigger. Baubles and the like can add the oil, and then you can copy your first real “spell” right away.
What I Don't Like: It does require you to jump through some hoops to generate value. Every 3rd spell is as often as this can trigger, so getting more than one will be hard to do in the average game.
Verdict: This is probably on par with Sea Gate Stormcaller, a card I like well enough. Stormcaller has the advantage of only needing one spell in your hand and it can copy it, instead of the ‘dancer not copying anything until noncreature spell 3+ post-resolution. That being said, ‘dancer can copy bigger spells, and the impact can be really nasty when it goes off. I may end up testing this over Stormcaller at some point in the future, after I have more time to explore its potential. I think this is a card I would play at 630 for sure, and might be worth testing at 540 if you support a spells matters archetype in your cube.
Evolving Adaptive
A new Experiment One variant.
What I Like: This is an Experiment One that trades its regenerate clause for better proliferate synergy and some Warrior tribal to better pair with Najeela. If you support Zoo-style aggro in green, you’ve likely played Experiment One and Pelt Collector, so you know what to expect from the Adaptive, more or less.
What I Don't Like: This is a slightly worse version of an already mediocre card. If you need the density for your beatdown green Zoo shells, this card will be serviceable, but it’s far from exciting.
Verdict: If your cube wants another Experiment One variant for your green aggro decks, this can likely replace something slightly less consistent like Wolfbitten Captive and slot in just fine. But this isn’t a good creature, and it would just replace your current worst green aggro beater with a new worst green aggro beater that’s marginally better. If you support green aggro and your cube is 540 cards or bigger, this will likely begrudgingly become part of your critical mass of 1mv beaters.
The Eternal Wanderer
A new 6mv white ‘walker!
What I Like: 6 mana is a lot, but this card has a powerful suite of abilities. The passive ability protects it from being attacked by more than one creature per combat, which is very powerful. The {+1} ability does a lot of stuff. You can use it proactively to blink ETB triggers for value, you can use it to give a creature “vigilance” to be able to protect the ‘walker, you can use it aggressively to kill tokens, lower loyalty, or remove counters, OR you can use it defensively to remove your opponent’s creature from the board until the end of THEIR next turn (effectively removing the creature from the board as a blocker and as a counterattacker in perpetuity if you want to). The {0} ability creates a 4-power creature token that can become even more threatening with +1/+1 counters, anthems, or equipment thanks to the double strike. And the {-4} ability is really nasty, essentially killing everything on the board except your best creature and their worst creature. Unlike other cards that can function as an ETB abusing curve-topper, The Eternal Wanderer always has access to her token-creating ability, and can simply add 4 more power to the board any time there isn’t something more pressing to do with her abilities. I think as a midrange curve-topper and as a control finisher, this ‘walker shows a lot of promise, and is worth some extensive testing. Especially if your cube support ETB trigger abuse shells.
What I Don't Like: It’s hard to find room for 6mv permanents in the cube, and this directly competes with the 6mv Elspeth, which is also a serviceable control finisher, savage midrange curve-topper and effective go-wide token support card. Smaller cubes won’t have room for both, and you’ll have to decide which one best fits the support roll that they play. They’re both good control finishers, they’re both good midrange curve-toppers, so the tiebreaker will go to whether or not token decks or ETB decks would benefit more in your environment.
Verdict: At 540, I’m finding a way to play both this card and the 6mv Elspeth. In smaller cubes, you’ll have to decide which one is better suited to shine in your environment. But don’t sleep on this card. It can protect itself, contribute to multiple archetypes, crank out 4 power per turn, and devastate the board when it resolves.
Nissa, Ascended Animist
A big green ‘walker!
What I Like: I like the flexibility offered by Nissa’s casting cost. She can be a 5-mana walker with 3 loyalty, a 6-mana ‘walker with 5 loyalty, or a 7-mana ‘walker with 7 loyalty. The {+1} ability will create an X/X token equal to Nissa’s loyalty when the token is created. It’s important to note that the tokens are X/X tokens, not */* tokens, so their value is fixed when the ability resolves. If the opponent kills Nissa later on, the tokens don’t die, and their P/T doesn’t fluctuate with Nissa’s loyalty. Even in 5-mana mode, Nissa’s {+1} will create a 4/4, and then a 5/5 on the next turn, etc. Nissa’s {-1} ability will be able to blow up critical artifacts and enchantments at any point where she’s on the table. And Nissa’s {-7} ability (which is available immediately if you cast her in 7mv mode) is a devastating Overrun variant that will end a lot of games on the spot. She can build your board while working towards a game-ending ultimate, Naturalize away critical targets, and function as a game-ending bomb when cast for big mana.
What I Don't Like: The {+1} abilities interaction of working with last-known information will be confusing for some drafters, and the way that it interacts with burn and removal will lead to a lot of misplays. She CAN be bolted in response to the {+1} ability to shrink her loyalty and make smaller tokens. However, if she’s killed outright by an instant-speed spell, the creature’s P/T won’t change, because the last known value assigned to her loyalty is still whatever it was after the ability was activated. So if you play her on 5 mana, tick her up to 4 loyalty, and she gets Bolted, she has 1 loyalty, and you make a 1/1. If the opponent hits her with a Baleful Mastery in response, you still get a 4/4, because that was the last known value for her loyalty. This will cause confusion and issues with even experienced drafters, I assure you.
Verdict: I’m comfortably testing this at 540, and I think there’s a chance it could creep down into 450+ lists too. It’s a cool card with interesting play patterns and multiple spots on the curve to cast it in.
Sheoldred's Edict
A new Edict variant.
What I Like: This Edict variant fixes a lot of issues that we’ve faced with Edict effects historically. First and foremost, this can kill planeswalkers, which in the good majority of cases, will kill the only ‘walker they have out since having multiple ‘walkers out simultaneously isn’t the norm (I mean, it’s not super rare, but it will be in the minority of cases). Secondly, it allows you to differentiate between token creatures and nontoken creatures, giving you the ability to kill the Rabblemaster and not the goblin token when that’s what you need to do. It allows you to be slightly more surgical with your creature targets, so you can hit the “right” creature slightly more often. In addition to being a reliable bullet against an opposing ‘walker.
What I Don't Like: I’ve been hurt by Edicts before. Despite the ability to choose between token and nontoken targets there are still going to be a good number of cases where your opponent has a mana dork + big threat out, or a Welder + big robot, or a discard/looter + reanimated monster, or a 2/1 aggro beater + scary curve-topper and this Edict will still be just as bad as all the other ones.
Verdict: The ‘walker killing clause is just enough for me to be willing to test this out in my 540 despite my hesitation that I will still too often be placed in situations where Edicts just fail to compete against targeted removal. But I’m willing to be proven wrong. Cubes with a high saturation of indestructible, hexproof/shroud, and/or protection creatures will want to give this a shot at any size. Especially if they support the Dark Depths combo! Other cubes may settle at the 540+ range to test, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this winds up being relegated to larger cubes simply because of the limitations native to all Edict effects.
Conduit of Worlds
A green Crucible of Worlds variant.
What I Like: This is a green Crucible of Worlds with an added clause that lets you recast permanent cards from your graveyard if that’s the right play for the turn. It’s limited to your turn and only one spell …but that says nothing about your opponent’s turn! You can cast permanents (and play lands) from your ‘yard on your turn, and cast instants and cards with flash [from hand] on your opponent’s turn. I expect this to be powerful in flash decks, Loam shells, and when pairing with cards like Deranged Hermit or evoke spells is possible. I love Crucible effects. Pairing with fetchlands to out-resource the opponent, Strip Mine effects to disrupt them, or replaying manlands to keep yourself in threats is good in slower, more grindy matchups. The added permanent clause will help to replay threats against opponents digging for answers, and in the midrange deck’s worst matchup, you can slowly and consistently apply pressure from your repeatedly cast permanents. In some matchups, this will be even more devastating than the other Crucible effects because of the value that consistently casting a threatening permanent can have on a control player trying to keep you off win conditions. Especially when doubled with regular Crucible value, which is already good in those kinds of matchups.
What I Don't Like: If Loam and Crucible land value isn’t your bag, making this effect cost 4 mana and double-green isn’t going to do it any favors. If your playgroup doesn’t play the kinds of draw-go control decks that typically prey on midrange shells, your midrange decks don’t need cards like this to leverage incremental advantages.
Verdict: If you like Crucible effects and they’re still successful in your cube, medium-sized cubes should find room for Conduit. Small cubes don’t necessarily need this effect alongside the other available options for redundancy, and being more expensive definitely hurts the argument. And if traditional control isn’t a thing in your cube, you won’t need cards like this that help midrange in those matchups. Control will have a hard time beating this resolved card in a deck that combines the ability to replay threats and utilize the Crucible effect simultaneously. I’m finding room for this at 540, and I’m stoked to add it in. I could see some 450 card cubes experimenting with it depending on the need. But for folks that don’t like Crucible effects, this can be a pass for your group. Unless, of course, the ability to cast permanents every turn from the ‘yard adds enough intrigue for you to test this out even if Crucible effects aren’t your bag (which could very well be the case). Playing stuff from the ‘yard is good.
Planar Disruption
A new …Pacifism variant!?
What I Like: They skipped past making a better Pacifism or a better Arrest and simply made both obsolete with this new common. Pacifism was always missing the ability to shut off activated abilities from making it good (since it can’t deal with mana dorks because of that clause) and Arrest always missed the mark because 3 mana was too much. Not only do we get a 2 mana Arrest …but this can hit artifacts too! Oh ya, that’s right, and planeswalkers also, for good measure. The ability to Pacify creatures, and shut off activated abilities is nice. The ability to target moxen and other fast mana and turn them off is very good. And oh ya, this can also shut off all planeswalkers too, for 2 mana! Note that since this doesn’t exile the target, the opponent won’t get a duplicate ETB trigger if Disruption is answered and they unlock their card again. It also doesn’t prohibit you from being able to attack and kill a pacified ‘walker if the insurance policy against enchantment removal is warranted. This deals with so many permanents in the cube for 2 mana, and I’m super excited to play it. It also ensures that pacified targets still die to your Wrath effects, so when there’s a big board wipe that kills everything, the enchanted creature dies too, so they can’t get it back later with a disenchant like they can against O-Ring effects.
What I Don't Like: Obviously it doesn’t turn off passive abilities of any of its targets. Nissa will still double mana, Rabblemaster will still make a goblin and Excavator will still give them a Crucible effect. Also, if the opponent does get rid of the enchantment, the creature they get back has “haste” of sorts, since it never left play.
Verdict: This is a very solid removal spell, and I could definitely see this being played in the 450-540 range, and perhaps down into cubes that are even smaller if there’s cheap artifact targets abound.
Atraxa, Grand Unifier
A new bomb cheat target.
What I Like: This creature is really powerful. The clause is ETB, not cast, and that trigger will draw you the best card out of your top 10, as well as several more goodies to go alongside it. It will likely draw at least 3-4 cards when it triggers, and often it’ll be more like 5. And unlike simply drawing X cards, the ability to dig 10 cards deep for the best cards is insanely powerful. This is everything I ever wanted from the Kozilek that draws cards, except it’s ETB instead of cast, Digs instead of plain draws, and it has several other upsides too. Atraxa is green, so she can be targeted by Natural Order. There’s no limitation to how the trigger happens, so she’s a bomb reanimator creature. If you cheat her out with Show and Tell or whatever, you’re going to fill your hand back up with more gas and add a must-answer threat to the board. And if she’s brought in by Sneak/Breach, the haste is going to be extra powerful with her because of the lifelink. Not to mention the simple fact that she’s a 7-mana 7/7 flying, lifelink, vigilant creature (that also has deathtouch for good measure). And despite being 4 colors, a midrange green deck with birds, hierarchs, signets/talisman, Relics or whatever else will make this card perfectly castable in a lot of shells. In testing so far, she’s been used to hardcast as often as she’s been cheated out, and she’s an absolutely top-tier premium target for ramp, reanimator, sneak/show, and Natural Order decks immediately. The smallest number of drawn cards I’ve seen is 3. The most has been 6. On average, it’s closer to 4-5, including usually the 2-3 best cards from your top 10. It’s an absolutely savage ETB trigger, and it’s easy to get access to.
What I Don't Like: Red in the color identity w/ haste would’ve made it an ever stronger hardcast card. Trample instead of deathtouch would’ve been welcome too, I suppose. And if it were an artifact creature for Tinker, it would be compleat.
Verdict: This creature is absolutely gross, and the ETB trigger is backbreaking. Like a Dig Through Time on steroids, stapled to the most insane stat monster you could need …that doesn’t even need to be hardcast to trigger. It competes with Griselbrand and Archon of Cruelty as the creme de la creme of big mana creature targets. I would play this in the smallest of cubes as long as reanimation archetypes and fatty-cheating decks are supported. Card’s crazy good.
As always, thanks for reading! Feel free to comment here or hit me up on Twitter and comment there.
Cheers, and happy cubing.
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My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
1. I recall 2-3 years ago, people were saying that Griselbrand was an absolute mistake as he was considered the absolute best reanimation target for almost every single scenario - Show and Tell/ Sneak Attack/ Reanimation/ Instant Speed Reanimation/ Oath/ etc. But Atraxa/ Archon printed recently are not only on-par with Griselbrand, but might prove to be better. On one hand, I like how the gap between the best/ worst fatty cheat targets are closing but on the other hand, I'm getting a bit uncomfortable about these deck's power levels.
2. Conduit of Worlds/ Lands archetype has always been a player favorite, despite how weak it is to the other archetypes. I think it really needs another Stripe Mine/ Fast Bond effect to really be more viable.
3. I'll be watching Mercurial Spelldancer more closely. The unfortunate reason why I didn't add this into my cube is because any good spells matters card would probably snap Legacy/ Modern in half as UR Delver is already incredibly dominant in those formats any good UR spells matter card would essentially require a ban, as demonstrated in the past 5 years. I feel this card has most likely been extensively tested and deemed as safe by play testing, so my thoughts are wait and see.
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
You're welcome!
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
Cheers,
rant
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CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
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My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
Conduit of Worlds can only be activated as a sorcery, so unfortunately no shenanigans on their turn. How does that impact your opinion and ranking of thecard?
I know it's limited to sorcery speed (and it says so in the evaluation). It still pairs well with instants and cards with flash because you can cast permanents w/ Crucible on your turn and cards with flash & instants from your hand on their turn. My evaluation is the same.
Here's the quote from the text above:
Sorry if the wording is confusing, but it says that it's limited to your turn in the first sentence. Doesn't stop you from doing stuff as normal on your opponent's turn though!
I'll add "from hand" to the last part to make it clearer. But the evaluation is the same, and I never thought I could cast things on my opponent's turn with it. Card's super awesome.
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My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
The green one is probably the closest, but it ultimately just didn't get there for me.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
Thanks again for your hard work!
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I'd be happy to try and explain it, but I don't know what's causing the confusion...
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Of course!
Card was super underwhelming in testing. Cheating it out early had so little impact w/ Tinker/Show/Etc. I ended up being in a better spot just cheating out a card that was threatening on its own instead. It's probably insane in EDH where it gets cast in the mid/late game and wrecks the boards for multiple players and always has targets to return, but in the cube, I need to be cheating out cards that are good in all matchups/situations, and I definitely need cards that are threats themselves.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
Among your suggestions, for my 450 I may swap in Planar disruption in place of one of the Orings, to lessen the curve a bit and to have some variety in cards.
Thanks again for the great read.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
I believe Wtwlf's point was that you can activate Conduit on your turn and use it, then play instants and creatures with flash on your opponent's turn to sort of get around the "only cast one spell on your turn" restriction of the card.
Wtwlf, as always, thanks for these posts. They are so helpful in compiling buy lists.
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My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!