I was initially excited by the set, but when I'm making this list I find a lot of the cards I'm initially excited about are probably just gonna get test.
I still want to own them though. I absolutely love their design.
This set looks fun, nostalgic, and chock full of awesome designs. The set's themes don't quite align what I'm aiming for in my cube so I don't have a lot of includes, but there are a few standouts.
Steel Seraph replaces Scheming Fence: This will usually be cast as a 1WW 3/3 flying lifelink with multiple upsides, like a mini-Baneslayer. I like that it slots into the either the blink deck or my pet deck lifegain matters/Angel tribal. Giving hasty lifelink (if you have a clean attack) or flying (if you need evasion) to another creature seems great because it gives you value right away. Like the old morphtrick, I really want to cast Steel Seraph for three mana, then use Flickerwisp, Ephemerate, or Soulherder to upgrade it to full Baneslayer mode.
Third Path Iconoclast replaces Gelectrode: Being 1 cheaper is a big deal for a a payoff. In general, I think it’s more net fun to build up resources than to tear them down. Gelectrode is really miserable to play against because little creatures in your hand are blanks. Gelectrode is more devastating once online, but it takes an extra turn to get going so it can’t go off right away like Third Path Iconoclast.
Where’s a thread for the white removal spell? That card seems sweet, and I don’t know why it hasn’t been mentioned…
Funny to me how I’m not sure if you mean the plains matters sorcery or the elite spellbinder instant — both are sweet W removal spells and neither have threads.
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I primarily play limited, so most of my spoiler season comments view cards through that lens.
@ Poitle - i think ur missing out on recruitment officer, just looking @ ur list, i think you cud easily swap out usher of the fallen to give it a test run
@ Poitle - i think ur missing out on recruitment officer, just looking @ ur list, i think you cud easily swap out usher of the fallen to give it a test run
I personally think Usher of the Fallen is somewhat better than Recruitment Officer
@ Poitle - i think ur missing out on recruitment officer, just looking @ ur list, i think you cud easily swap out usher of the fallen to give it a test run
I personally think Usher of the Fallen is somewhat better than Recruitment Officer
why's that opterown? they are almost always going to just be a 1 mana 2/1 duder & thats it. sure w/ a turn 1 usher of the fallen, you cud swing T2 & pay 2 mana & make a 1/1 token if thats what you wanted to do w/ ur 2nd turn. beyond T2/T3, ur probably attacking into a board state where the either 1 of them will die, @ which pt ur not making tokens anymore w/ the usher. so best case scenario, you get to play it T1 & make 1 token on the the folowing turn & probably a 2nd token the turn it dies b/c ur turning all ur guys sideways. thats not terrible, i'm not saying that it is, but whats the odds of you opening up w/ ur 1 of usher in ur 40 card deck vs the # of times you going to draw it later & its only going to get 1 chance to swing & potentially make a token; as opposed to playing the recruiter later & maybe it drawing you out of a potentially losing situation? all i'm saying, is that it shud be tested & that seemed like a fairly reasonable swap in his list. i cud have suggested other cards, but i didnt want to get into a long drawn out back & forth about it. in ur list i think you shud try it out over the mardu woe-reaper; there aint enuff warriors to worry about that corner case of that 1 time eating that card in the yard & gaining that 1 life, won you a game; but thats just me.
@ Poitle - i think ur missing out on recruitment officer, just looking @ ur list, i think you cud easily swap out usher of the fallen to give it a test run
I personally think Usher of the Fallen is somewhat better than Recruitment Officer
why's that opterown? they are almost always going to just be a 1 mana 2/1 duder & thats it. sure w/ a turn 1 usher of the fallen, you cud swing T2 & pay 2 mana & make a 1/1 token if thats what you wanted to do w/ ur 2nd turn. beyond T2/T3, ur probably attacking into a board state where the either 1 of them will die, @ which pt ur not making tokens anymore w/ the usher. so best case scenario, you get to play it T1 & make 1 token on the the folowing turn & probably a 2nd token the turn it dies b/c ur turning all ur guys sideways. thats not terrible, i'm not saying that it is, but whats the odds of you opening up w/ ur 1 of usher in ur 40 card deck vs the # of times you going to draw it later & its only going to get 1 chance to swing & potentially make a token; as opposed to playing the recruiter later & maybe it drawing you out of a potentially losing situation? all i'm saying, is that it shud be tested & that seemed like a fairly reasonable swap in his list. i cud have suggested other cards, but i didnt want to get into a long drawn out back & forth about it. in ur list i think you shud try it out over the mardu woe-reaper; there aint enuff warriors to worry about that corner case of that 1 time eating that card in the yard & gaining that 1 life, won you a game; but thats just me.
- Regarding Recruitment Officer: it has a very high ceiling, but the hoops to jump through is also fairly high, and the payoff isn't exactly the greatest. Other Savannah Lion variants have lower ceilings, but they also require much less effort to jump through their respective hoops. I'd rather spend my time and resources jumping through more worthwhile hoops than Recruitment Officer's.
- I'm not saying this as a mod, but personally I think it's rude to offer unsolicited cube swaps unless you actually play said person's cube with their playgroup. I don't publish my change logs anymore because I got tired of people who I don't even know questioning / critiquing my decisions when they don't understand my wants and needs or play my cube with me. Cube curation / card selection / etc can be very personal.
@ Poitle - i think ur missing out on recruitment officer, just looking @ ur list, i think you cud easily swap out usher of the fallen to give it a test run
I personally think Usher of the Fallen is somewhat better than Recruitment Officer
why's that opterown? they are almost always going to just be a 1 mana 2/1 duder & thats it. sure w/ a turn 1 usher of the fallen, you cud swing T2 & pay 2 mana & make a 1/1 token if thats what you wanted to do w/ ur 2nd turn. beyond T2/T3, ur probably attacking into a board state where the either 1 of them will die, @ which pt ur not making tokens anymore w/ the usher. so best case scenario, you get to play it T1 & make 1 token on the the folowing turn & probably a 2nd token the turn it dies b/c ur turning all ur guys sideways. thats not terrible, i'm not saying that it is, but whats the odds of you opening up w/ ur 1 of usher in ur 40 card deck vs the # of times you going to draw it later & its only going to get 1 chance to swing & potentially make a token; as opposed to playing the recruiter later & maybe it drawing you out of a potentially losing situation? all i'm saying, is that it shud be tested & that seemed like a fairly reasonable swap in his list. i cud have suggested other cards, but i didnt want to get into a long drawn out back & forth about it. in ur list i think you shud try it out over the mardu woe-reaper; there aint enuff warriors to worry about that corner case of that 1 time eating that card in the yard & gaining that 1 life, won you a game; but thats just me.
The only decks really interested in running Lions-with-upside are aggressive white-heavy decks. Recruitment Officer's upside is pretty minor, as it costs 4 mana to (maybe) find a card! If you're in the position that you need to pay 4 mana to dig for a small creature, you're probably not doing well, and the ability probably isn't going to pull you through the game either. If you're playing Recruitment Officer outside of white aggro, it's very mediocre, and the ability is more likely to whiff as you're probably running fewer creature cards 3MV or less. Sure, having an upside is better than none at all, but it's not an impactful upside in my opinion.
What about steel seraph has performed well? Common play pattern?
The flying often functions as pseudo haste, elspeth style, and then let’s it add more than 3 damage on further turns. Also can be key to sniping or at least effectively contesting loyalty on PWs that hit the board early seemingly well defended (opp deployed it with sufficient ground blockers vs no flying visible). But if you’re vs aggro (or the right board vs nonaggro decks tbf) the lifelink can also be really critical. Pretty much what it says on the tin, just great effects at a great rate.
Vigilance option, 6 mana option, artifact synergies, and getting a better body from blink/cheat/reanimate are better than if they weren’t there of course, but relatively fringe so far, not really part of the core gameplay but relevant icing when taken together.
edit: To be clear, W 3s are *really* stacked (and I personally feel like cubes are often slightly bloated on 3 already). So I don’t necessarily expect it to keep a place in all environments. But it is among the A tier of W 3s for me so I do recommend getting some direct reps and seeing how you like it vs the other A W 3s.
I still want to own them though. I absolutely love their design.
Include
Loran of the Third Path
Arcane Proxy
Testing
Recruitment Officer
Surge Engine
Misery's Shadow
Phyrexian Fleshgorger
Transmogrant's Crown
Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
Feldon, Ronom Excavator
Rootwire Amalgam
Third Path Iconoclast
My cube
My cube on Cube tutor
I'm OP_Forever. I'll be putting this in my signature for a while so everyone know I change my nickname.
Phyrexian Fleshgorger for Murderous Rider
Arcane Proxy for Mulldrifter
Loran of the Third Path for Brimaz
Third Path Iconoclast for Izzet Charm
Steel Seraph for Lion Sash
Feldon, Ronom Excavator for Goblin Cratermaker
My Top 3:
Loran of the Third Path is the white Rec Sage we've been waiting for. Card of the set for me.
Third Path Iconoclast will be awesome in the Izzet spells deck. Love that it's like Monastery Mentor instead of Young P.
Arcane Proxy is a card I can't wait to see in action. I know one player in my playgroup is going to Ancestral Vision off it in many games.
My 540 card Powered Cube last updated March 2022
WHITE
Remorseful Cleric --> Scholar of New Horizons
Elite Spellbinder --> Loran of the Third Path
BLUE
Tezzeret, Artifice Master --> Teferi, Temporal Pilgrim
BLACK
Tenacious Underdog --> Misery's Shadow
Drana, Liberator of Malakir --> Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
Unearth --> Dreams of Steel and Oil
RED
Kargan Intimidator --> Feldon, Ronom Excavator
MULTICOLOR
Sprite Dragon --> Third Path Iconoclast
Gerrard's Verdict --> Legion of Ashes
COLORLESS
Circuit Mender --> Haywire Mite
Thunderhawk Gunship --> Phyrexian Fleshgorger
Recruitment Officer replaces Hanweir Militia Captain: An aggro creature plus a late game draw engine seems great for the bargain cost of W.
Steel Seraph replaces Scheming Fence: This will usually be cast as a 1WW 3/3 flying lifelink with multiple upsides, like a mini-Baneslayer. I like that it slots into the either the blink deck or my pet deck lifegain matters/Angel tribal. Giving hasty lifelink (if you have a clean attack) or flying (if you need evasion) to another creature seems great because it gives you value right away. Like the old morph trick, I really want to cast Steel Seraph for three mana, then use Flickerwisp, Ephemerate, or Soulherder to upgrade it to full Baneslayer mode.
Third Path Iconoclast replaces Gelectrode: Being 1 cheaper is a big deal for a a payoff. In general, I think it’s more net fun to build up resources than to tear them down. Gelectrode is really miserable to play against because little creatures in your hand are blanks. Gelectrode is more devastating once online, but it takes an extra turn to get going so it can’t go off right away like Third Path Iconoclast.
Funny to me how I’m not sure if you mean the plains matters sorcery or the elite spellbinder instant — both are sweet W removal spells and neither have threads.
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StaffYou can always create the thread yourself. Be the change you want to see in the world!
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Adding: Recruitment Officer, Loran of the Third Path, Third Path Iconoclast
Testing: Phyrexian Fleshgorger
Considering: Feldon, Ronom Excavator, Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor, Misery's Shadow
But it’s hard…
phyrexian fleshgorger in for triplicate titan
third path iconoclast in for lutri, the spellchaser
skystrike officer in for nadir kraken
Loran of the Third Path
Recruitment Officer
Third Path Iconoclast
Arcane Proxy
Testing
Teferi, Temporal Pilgrim
Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
Phyrexian Fleshgorger
Watching
Misery's Shadow
Legions to Ashes
Surge Engine
Razorlash Transmogrant
Phyrexian Dragon Engine
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/the-cube-forum/articles-podcasts-and-guides/828225-set-p-review-my-top-20-the-brothers-war-bro-cards
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!
Adding:
Loran of the Third Path
Third Path Iconoclast
Testing:
Phyrexian Fleshgorger
Feldon, Ronom Excavator
Watching:
Arcame Proxy
Transmogrant's Crown
Misery's Shadow
Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
Mishra's Command
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Staffhttps://cubecobra.com/content/article/63688dd071fb4819868af751
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Third Path Iconclast
Teething Wurmlet
Arcane Proxy
Testing:
Misery's Shadow
Watching:
Razorlash Transmogrant
Phyrexian Fleshgorger
Recruitment Officer
@ Poitle - i think ur missing out on recruitment officer, just looking @ ur list, i think you cud easily swap out usher of the fallen to give it a test run
I personally think Usher of the Fallen is somewhat better than Recruitment Officer
why's that opterown? they are almost always going to just be a 1 mana 2/1 duder & thats it. sure w/ a turn 1 usher of the fallen, you cud swing T2 & pay 2 mana & make a 1/1 token if thats what you wanted to do w/ ur 2nd turn. beyond T2/T3, ur probably attacking into a board state where the either 1 of them will die, @ which pt ur not making tokens anymore w/ the usher. so best case scenario, you get to play it T1 & make 1 token on the the folowing turn & probably a 2nd token the turn it dies b/c ur turning all ur guys sideways. thats not terrible, i'm not saying that it is, but whats the odds of you opening up w/ ur 1 of usher in ur 40 card deck vs the # of times you going to draw it later & its only going to get 1 chance to swing & potentially make a token; as opposed to playing the recruiter later & maybe it drawing you out of a potentially losing situation? all i'm saying, is that it shud be tested & that seemed like a fairly reasonable swap in his list. i cud have suggested other cards, but i didnt want to get into a long drawn out back & forth about it. in ur list i think you shud try it out over the mardu woe-reaper; there aint enuff warriors to worry about that corner case of that 1 time eating that card in the yard & gaining that 1 life, won you a game; but thats just me.
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Staff- Regarding Recruitment Officer: it has a very high ceiling, but the hoops to jump through is also fairly high, and the payoff isn't exactly the greatest. Other Savannah Lion variants have lower ceilings, but they also require much less effort to jump through their respective hoops. I'd rather spend my time and resources jumping through more worthwhile hoops than Recruitment Officer's.
- I'm not saying this as a mod, but personally I think it's rude to offer unsolicited cube swaps unless you actually play said person's cube with their playgroup. I don't publish my change logs anymore because I got tired of people who I don't even know questioning / critiquing my decisions when they don't understand my wants and needs or play my cube with me. Cube curation / card selection / etc can be very personal.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
The only decks really interested in running Lions-with-upside are aggressive white-heavy decks. Recruitment Officer's upside is pretty minor, as it costs 4 mana to (maybe) find a card! If you're in the position that you need to pay 4 mana to dig for a small creature, you're probably not doing well, and the ability probably isn't going to pull you through the game either. If you're playing Recruitment Officer outside of white aggro, it's very mediocre, and the ability is more likely to whiff as you're probably running fewer creature cards 3MV or less. Sure, having an upside is better than none at all, but it's not an impactful upside in my opinion.
The upsides on Usher of the Fallen and Mardu Woe-Reaper aren't amazing either, but I think they're more useful in the right deck than Recruitment Officer. There is very slight warrior synergy with Seasoned Dungeoneer as well.
Anyway, I digress, and we can discuss further in the dedicated thread if need be.
auto include
Loran of the third path
Third Path Iconoclast
75%+
Arcane Proxy
Haywire Mite
50%+
Bitter Reunion (not getting enough love imo)
Misery's Shadow
Phyrexian fleshgorger
25%+
Phyrexian Dragon engine
Lay down arms
Portal to phyrexia
Teferi, Temporal pilgrim
Teething wurmlet
10%-
Legion of ashes
Last Updated 02/07/24
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Interested in Custom Card Creation.
My Cube:Cardinal Custom Cube
A custom version of a third modern masters: MM2019
(filter->rarity to see in set rarity).
Last Updated 02/07/24
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Strategy Twitter https://www.twitter.com/heisenb3rg
The flying often functions as pseudo haste, elspeth style, and then let’s it add more than 3 damage on further turns. Also can be key to sniping or at least effectively contesting loyalty on PWs that hit the board early seemingly well defended (opp deployed it with sufficient ground blockers vs no flying visible). But if you’re vs aggro (or the right board vs nonaggro decks tbf) the lifelink can also be really critical. Pretty much what it says on the tin, just great effects at a great rate.
Vigilance option, 6 mana option, artifact synergies, and getting a better body from blink/cheat/reanimate are better than if they weren’t there of course, but relatively fringe so far, not really part of the core gameplay but relevant icing when taken together.
edit: To be clear, W 3s are *really* stacked (and I personally feel like cubes are often slightly bloated on 3 already). So I don’t necessarily expect it to keep a place in all environments. But it is among the A tier of W 3s for me so I do recommend getting some direct reps and seeing how you like it vs the other A W 3s.
Interested in Custom Card Creation.
My Cube:Cardinal Custom Cube
A custom version of a third modern masters: MM2019
(filter->rarity to see in set rarity).