Top 3 sets in the past decade for cube. Ranked by the likelihood of sticking around for a year+
100%:
Shatterskull Smashing
Emeria's Call
Turntimber Symbiosis
Thiefing Skydiver
Luminarch Aspirant (possibly best white 2 drop not named stoneforge)
90%+:
Agadeem's Awakening (It's archetype narrowness makes me a bit more aprehensive than the others)
Kagran Intimidator
75%+
Bloodchief's Thirst
50%+
Bala Ged Recovery (great early, great late, tapped land matters less in green decks that want regrowth)
25%+
Sea gate stormcaller (maybe a bit narrow, but the upside is there)
10%-:
Skyclave slave (solid card, but competition is strong)
Nighthawk Scavenger
Hagra Mauling
Not testing, possibly test later:
Nullpriest of Oblivion
Magmatic channeler
Kazandu Mammoth
Skyclave apparition
Nissa of shadowed boughs
Jace, Mirror mage
Sea gate resotration (spell is sooo bad, cant justify a slot)
Other MDFC's not listed
Verdict is still out, need to watch some more. Also, yes I know that Day 1 standard with ZNR doesn't necessarily predict performance in cube, but it is better than nothing.
You should play them in your cube and see how effective they are in there. Standard ≠ Cube. Limited ≠ Cube. I'm interested in seeing how they play in other formats too, but the only way to know for sure is to play with them in the cube format and see how they do. I couldn't care less if they're amazing in standard/limited, or terrible in standard/limited. It's how they play in the cube that matters.
Again, I didn't feel like I needed to make the disclaimer that I realized standard and limited are not cube, but I guess I did. My point is that other formats can and do inform cube testing decisions and provide a limited degree of predictive value of the likelihood of success in other formats. Of course there are standard all-stars or limited bombs that don't translate to cube and I'm not saying that success in other formats determines a card's success in cube. At a time, when I can't get the group together to cube, I'll take early cues where I can get them -- particularly on MDFC's which are still an unknown.
Which is great! I'm also super interested to see how they play out elsewhere. That information can be important for figuring out all the subtle ways they can have their utility maximized in the cube.
I just wanted to encourage everyone to test the ones they like for their cubes, independently of how good or bad they look in other formats. Cheers!
I have been working in design for almost a decade at this point. A lot of my attention is in the area of game design. MDFC's is probably the most exciting mechanic for WOTC to put out in a very long time, for me at least. Mechanics that absolve the game of random inequity are incredibly potent, particularly in this case. I really hope we see these kinds of cards again, and I hope they push them just a bit more next time. I am not a fan of these for my cube, but I have been working on an un-powered cube for a month or so now, and some of these are rather appealing to me for that cube and I am keeping an eye on the MDFC discussion, which I think has been really good to delve into.
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LEGACY|UWStonebladeCOMMANDER|UBGThe Mimeoplsm Ooze & Aghhs!MODERN|UWAzorius Control THE JUICE[BOX]³ CUBE
[180 classic cube]
100%:
Shatterskull Smashing
Emeria's Call
Turntimber Symbiosis
Thiefing Skydiver
Luminarch Aspirant (possibly best white 2 drop not named stoneforge)
90%+:
Agadeem's Awakening (It's archetype narrowness makes me a bit more aprehensive than the others)
Kagran Intimidator
75%+
Bloodchief's Thirst
50%+
Bala Ged Recovery (great early, great late, tapped land matters less in green decks that want regrowth)
25%+
Sea gate stormcaller (maybe a bit narrow, but the upside is there)
10%-:
Skyclave slave (solid card, but competition is strong)
Nighthawk Scavenger
Hagra Mauling
Not testing, possibly test later:
Nullpriest of Oblivion
Magmatic channeler
Kazandu Mammoth
Skyclave apparition
Nissa of shadowed boughs
Jace, Mirror mage
Sea gate resotration (spell is sooo bad, cant justify a slot)
Other MDFC's not listed
Last Updated 02/07/24
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You should play them in your cube and see how effective they are in there. Standard ≠ Cube. Limited ≠ Cube. I'm interested in seeing how they play in other formats too, but the only way to know for sure is to play with them in the cube format and see how they do. I couldn't care less if they're amazing in standard/limited, or terrible in standard/limited. It's how they play in the cube that matters.
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 just wanted to encourage everyone to test the ones they like for their cubes, independently of how good or bad they look in other formats. Cheers!
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!
THE JUICE[BOX]³ CUBE
Emeria's Call
Kabira Takedown
Luminarch Aspirant
Skyclave Cleric
Glasspool Mimic
Jace, Mirror Mage
Jwari Disruption
Sea Gate Stormcaller
Thieving Skydiver
Bala Ged Recovery
Inscription of Abundance
Kazandu Mammoth
Khalni Ambush
Tangled Florahedron
Turntimber Symbiosis
Kargan Intimidator
Shatterskull Smashing
Song-Mad Treachery
Kazuul's Fury
Agadeem's Awakening
Blackbloom Rogue
Hagra Mauling
Nighthawk Scavenger
Nullpriest of Oblivion
Skyclave Shade
Skyclave Relic
Yasharn, Implacable Earth
We want to extensively test the new modal spell lands, so we erred on the side of optimism for includes Looking forward to playing with ZNR.