I like Mauling the most. Followed by Triumph. I don't much care for Terror variants in the cube anymore. If I was going to play one, it would be Heartless Act, but I don't run any of the Terrors.
3 - Neither, but I guess Disallow if I had to choose. I think there are too many better versions of both of these types of cards to want either one.
Which card do you like better than Disallow? I'm not particularly fond of the card, but found countering a triggered or activated ability to be extremely valuable at times. Would you rather have Sublime Epiphany?
3 - Neither, but I guess Disallow if I had to choose. I think there are too many better versions of both of these types of cards to want either one.
Which card do you like better than Disallow? I'm not particularly fond of the card, but found countering a triggered or activated ability to be extremely valuable at times. Would you rather have Sublime Epiphany?
I'd rather not play any Stifle effects (that we currently have access to) ...but if I had to play one, I'd rather have Sublime Epiphany or Nimble Obstructionist. But I'd rather just play a different card altogether.
1 - Duskwatch Recruiter > Sylvan Advocate > Mayor of Avabruck, unless you have a human subtheme in which case mayor jumps ahead of advocate. I ran advocate for awhile and was wholly unimpressed, and Mayor just flips so rarely in cube that you almost have to treat it as an anthem.
2 - Declaration in Stone >>>>>>>>> Kabira Takedown. I don't think this is close. There's a lot of decks where takedown will never do more than 2 or 3 damage, which isn't enough.
Edit - If you're drowning in white removal and want to test the takedown to get the land flexibility, I suppose dec is a 2nd tier white removal spell, but I think I'd only cut it if you were also running winds (which I actually like better than dec anyway), otherwise I'd cut an O-ring variant so you have more varied removal.
I'm not too big on the human tribal theme. If I was playing humans, it would mostly be a white-black color. I just don't think the payoff is high enough. I think you might just be better off playing cards like Luminarch Aspirant.
Werewolves do go up a little bit in value if you play Aether vial. I'm testing the card myself as my cube has a lot of white, black and green 2 drops along with recruiter, duskwatcher recruiters etc; You can Vial in creatures etb. and get their werewolf trigger.
Sylvan Advocate's stats have actually been pretty good for cube; It feels like the Tarmogoyf for cube; The lands get +2/+2 doesn't show up too much, in theory it could be a combo with Rude Awakening but they don't play well together.
If it was me, I would go Duskwatch > Mayor > Sylvan. But honestly, they're all fine cards.
I would play Declaration in Stone - the main reason is the card is playable in aggressive, midrange, control and control decks. Takedown is not.
Ancestral/ Probe - Both very strong, I wouldn't rank. It depends more on your meta, but both very strong. Then Sleight of Hand and finally opt.
2) Champion of Wits is very good - discard outlet, flicker target etc. Exclusion is very good too, but the reason why it doesn't see play too much is Man-o-war and Barrin, Tolarian Archmage allows you to target your own creatures - this is sometimes relevant in flicker decks. Sea Gate isn't very good.
I would say Champion > Exclusion > Sea Gate. But this decision to cut should be dependent on the number of discard outlets/ big creature removal in your cube.
3) I don't have enough experience with either, but 4 mana feels a bit too much for this effect. I would give the edge to conclave - I think in order for this to be good, there needs to be a discount.
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Thanks for the responses (also I incorrectly listed Sylvan Advocate and not Sylvan Caryatid - my bad, I fixed it now). Can anyone elaborate on what makes STE valued so highly? The ability to ramp mana AND block on Wall of Roots has been invaluable for us, and the persist combo enablers can turn the Druid into an infinite mana machine under the right circumstances... I guess we are undervaluing STE because we aren't seeing the scenarios where he really shines. The ability to chump and sac once is certainly fun, and the ramp being a harder-to-remove land and not just a creature that taps for mana is also nice too, especially where things like Mirari's Wake and Nissa, Who Shakes the World are concerned. Is it just that, or are we missing something else too?
- Against decks with board wipes, you still get the ramp
- You can block sacrifice against aggressive decks
- It has some value with Aristocrats/ Black recursion decks - you can even sacrifice it to yawgmoth/ birthing pod in the late game.
But my philosophy is whatever 2 mana +1 mana dork you pick, its hard to get it that wrong.
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Yeah I'm also confused by this. Both let you dig 2 cards deep and you're screwed with both if you keep a 1-lander and there's no land in the top 3. I suppose sleight lets you see both cards first, but if you're just looking for lands that's irrelevant - if the top card is a land you scry to the top and draw it, if it's a spell you bottom it and draw the second card.
In fact, sleight is worse if there's 2 lands on top and you want to draw both. And opt is an instant. Opt is just a better card IMO.
-They are relatively equal if both cards are bad (Sleight maybe gets the edge here because you keep the best worst card rather than card #2)
-Opt is better if both cards are good
-They are the same if top card is bad, second is good
-Sleight is better if top card is good, second is bad
Yah my mistake - Both opt and sleight sees two cards, both passes the one land - can trip test.
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-They are relatively equal if both cards are bad (Sleight maybe gets the edge here because you keep the best worst card rather than card #2)
-Opt is better if both cards are good
-They are the same if top card is bad, second is good
-Sleight is better if top card is good, second is bad
1 - Wow these are so different and soulfire isn't even a white card, it's a Jeskai card. I think if I had to rate them I'd do Soulfire Grand Master >>> Adorned Pouncer > The Birth of Meletis, although I haven't really played with Birth.
I'm a bit higher than most on Spikefield Hazard. Its kills over 40% of creatures my cube. Can exile creatures like Bloodghast. And can be a land. We even had an instance that Hazard stopped Recurring Nightmare from looping. I guess it depends if ya think the extra damage from Wild Slash is really worth it to close out a creature/planeswalker/player or to nail a 2 toughness creature. Ferocious can make it hit Gideons, but thats about it, its a Shock. IMO think Hazard is better than Wild Slash cuz of its utility and flexiblity.
Each of them gets better/worse depending on the context of your deck/cube design.
Secure the Wastes is best in flash builds or controlling shells and gets additional value if you play Najeela/Intimidator or other Warrior synergy.
History of Benalia is best when you have permanent/enchantment interactions (like E. Tutor, Sun Titan and Sevinne's Reclamation) or with some tribal Knight synergy.
Finale of Glory is best in Selesnya ramp builds. It has the best power/cost ratio of most of the scaleable effects, and can make like (~80?+) power off of Mirari's Wake on curve.
Spectral Procession is best in mono-white, in decks with multiple Anthems, and/or in Moat/Earthquake shells.
So I think the context matters too much to just match them up head-to-head.
Same, unless you have a bogles archetype in your cube.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
Go for the Throat for sure, then Liliana's Triumph if you're in a high-powered environment where you will often see single, giant monsters / Eldrazi, otherwise Hagra Mauling.
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2 - Forbid vs Neutralize ?
3 - Disallow vs Negate ?
2 - Forbid >>>>>>>> Neutralize
3 - Neither, but I guess Disallow if I had to choose. I think there are too many better versions of both of these types of cards to want either one.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
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Which card do you like better than Disallow? I'm not particularly fond of the card, but found countering a triggered or activated ability to be extremely valuable at times. Would you rather have Sublime Epiphany?
I'd rather not play any Stifle effects (that we currently have access to) ...but if I had to play one, I'd rather have Sublime Epiphany or Nimble Obstructionist. But I'd rather just play a different card altogether.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
I'm not too big on the human tribal theme. If I was playing humans, it would mostly be a white-black color. I just don't think the payoff is high enough. I think you might just be better off playing cards like Luminarch Aspirant.
Werewolves do go up a little bit in value if you play Aether vial. I'm testing the card myself as my cube has a lot of white, black and green 2 drops along with recruiter, duskwatcher recruiters etc; You can Vial in creatures etb. and get their werewolf trigger.
Sylvan Advocate's stats have actually been pretty good for cube; It feels like the Tarmogoyf for cube; The lands get +2/+2 doesn't show up too much, in theory it could be a combo with Rude Awakening but they don't play well together.
If it was me, I would go Duskwatch > Mayor > Sylvan. But honestly, they're all fine cards.
I would play Declaration in Stone - the main reason is the card is playable in aggressive, midrange, control and control decks. Takedown is not.
1) My bar for one mana cantrips is:
Can you keep a 1 land + Cantrip hand on the play?
Sleight of hand passes this test, opt does not.
Ancestral/ Probe - Both very strong, I wouldn't rank. It depends more on your meta, but both very strong. Then Sleight of Hand and finally opt.
2) Champion of Wits is very good - discard outlet, flicker target etc. Exclusion is very good too, but the reason why it doesn't see play too much is Man-o-war and Barrin, Tolarian Archmage allows you to target your own creatures - this is sometimes relevant in flicker decks. Sea Gate isn't very good.
I would say Champion > Exclusion > Sea Gate. But this decision to cut should be dependent on the number of discard outlets/ big creature removal in your cube.
3) I don't have enough experience with either, but 4 mana feels a bit too much for this effect. I would give the edge to conclave - I think in order for this to be good, there needs to be a discount.
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
- Against decks with board wipes, you still get the ramp
- You can block sacrifice against aggressive decks
- It has some value with Aristocrats/ Black recursion decks - you can even sacrifice it to yawgmoth/ birthing pod in the late game.
But my philosophy is whatever 2 mana +1 mana dork you pick, its hard to get it that wrong.
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
Please elaborate.
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Yeah I'm also confused by this. Both let you dig 2 cards deep and you're screwed with both if you keep a 1-lander and there's no land in the top 3. I suppose sleight lets you see both cards first, but if you're just looking for lands that's irrelevant - if the top card is a land you scry to the top and draw it, if it's a spell you bottom it and draw the second card.
In fact, sleight is worse if there's 2 lands on top and you want to draw both. And opt is an instant. Opt is just a better card IMO.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
-They are relatively equal if both cards are bad (Sleight maybe gets the edge here because you keep the best worst card rather than card #2)
-Opt is better if both cards are good
-They are the same if top card is bad, second is good
-Sleight is better if top card is good, second is bad
I think point 4 beats out point 2
[180 classic cube]
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
2 - Spikefield Hazard vs Wild Slash ?
3 - Skyclave Apparition vs Mirran Crusader ?
Surely instant v sorcery matters as well?
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
1 - Wow these are so different and soulfire isn't even a white card, it's a Jeskai card. I think if I had to rate them I'd do Soulfire Grand Master >>> Adorned Pouncer > The Birth of Meletis, although I haven't really played with Birth.
2 - Wild Slash > Spikefield Hazard, the flip lands are good but 1 damage is just such a minor effect.
3 - Mirran Crusader > Skyclave Apparition on power level, although I think apparition is a much more interesting card.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
Soulfire > Meletis > Pouncer
Hazard >>> Slash
Apparition > Crusader
My 630 Card Powered Cube
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I thinking now, how Ancestral Blade and Accorder Paladin in ranked in into this list: The Birth of Meletis vs Adorned Pouncer vs Soulfire Grand Master ?
secure the wastes
history of benalia
finale of glory
spectral procession
Secure the Wastes is best in flash builds or controlling shells and gets additional value if you play Najeela/Intimidator or other Warrior synergy.
History of Benalia is best when you have permanent/enchantment interactions (like E. Tutor, Sun Titan and Sevinne's Reclamation) or with some tribal Knight synergy.
Finale of Glory is best in Selesnya ramp builds. It has the best power/cost ratio of most of the scaleable effects, and can make like (~80?+) power off of Mirari's Wake on curve.
Spectral Procession is best in mono-white, in decks with multiple Anthems, and/or in Moat/Earthquake shells.
So I think the context matters too much to just match them up head-to-head.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
I also like Sacred Mesa, Martial Coup and Decree of Justice as token creators.