My pick for sleeper of the set.
No one seems to be testing it, so I think it’s being underrated.
In a spells matter deck triggering 2 oil counters should be fairly trivial and if you copy a single spell with it , you already have an above rate creature.
2/1 unblockable is a really good base rate and close to playable in its own right. Awsome at holding equipment and stealing the initiative.
Then add the possibility of it snowballing with multiple spells AND/or copying a huge spell like bribery, time warp, time walk, fiery confluence or fractured identity
This becomes a must kill 2 drop.
I dunno if it’s good enough to crack tight blue sections, but I intend to find out
Its best in powered cubes that play big sorcery/instant spells , many cantrips and support initiative.
High ceiling, decent floor as a 2/1 creature that can't be blocked. My biggest gripe with it is that it has a lot of hoops to jump through to get its payoff. Ledger Shredder / Suspicious Stowaway / Dreadhorde Arcanist play a very similar role, but have much easier hoops to jump through and are generally better role players. I predict the average case scenario for this card isn't going to be great.
I had the same initial reaction about this card, but my policy for any spells matter card is always wait and see.
But the reason I dismissed it outright is that UR Delver style decks are and historically have been very dominant and there had to be multiple bannings to reduce the archetype's power level. (I think its 7+ for legacy at this point between Wreen and Six, Probe, Dreadhorde, Oko, Deathrite, Cruise, Ragavan and Expressive/ Murktide are up for consideration).
I have a feel this was likely heavily tested by wizards with Legacy/ Vintage in mind and its ceiling is likely more difficult to utilize than we imagined.
However, I would love to be wrong about this. I feel this could serve as an excellent enabler for both spells matters/ storm without being parasitic.
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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
I've been testing it, and it's a cool creature. Great in both spells matters decks and tempo decks with a lot of cheap oil counter enablers. Unblockable is good with both Monarch and Initiative floating around.
I tested this for a while, and it was okay. The floor of being a 2/1 creature that can't be blocked is great where initiative / monarch is very relevant, but the hoops that it has to jump through for its payoff is much higher. As much as I liked the unconditional 2 power unblockable, other creatures with evasion (Faerie Mastermind / Thieving Skydiver / Ledger Shredder / Suspicious Stowaway / etc) are good enough in combat while having a much more consistent side effect. While this has a higher ceiling than its competition, I ultimately judge cards by their average case scenario, which this came up short for me compared to its peers. It's still a good card and its trigger can be very cube dependent (better in powered), I just didn't like it in my particular environment compared to other similar creatures for 1U (especially with Faerie Mastermind being printed right after this was).
From my games it hasn't even really required hoops. Just play the game naturally and you get rewarded for it with double spells. Having a cheap unlockable guy to slap equipment on has also been great too in tempo decks.
I once farted during the final match for prizes at an FNM. It was a tense moment, everything was quiet, control vs control, I was about to mana leak, thought about it.. and farted. Then mana leaked.
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My pick for sleeper of the set.
No one seems to be testing it, so I think it’s being underrated.
In a spells matter deck triggering 2 oil counters should be fairly trivial and if you copy a single spell with it , you already have an above rate creature.
2/1 unblockable is a really good base rate and close to playable in its own right. Awsome at holding equipment and stealing the initiative.
Then add the possibility of it snowballing with multiple spells AND/or copying a huge spell like bribery, time warp, time walk, fiery confluence or fractured identity
This becomes a must kill 2 drop.
I dunno if it’s good enough to crack tight blue sections, but I intend to find out
Its best in powered cubes that play big sorcery/instant spells , many cantrips and support initiative.
Last Updated 02/07/24
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But the reason I dismissed it outright is that UR Delver style decks are and historically have been very dominant and there had to be multiple bannings to reduce the archetype's power level. (I think its 7+ for legacy at this point between Wreen and Six, Probe, Dreadhorde, Oko, Deathrite, Cruise, Ragavan and Expressive/ Murktide are up for consideration).
I have a feel this was likely heavily tested by wizards with Legacy/ Vintage in mind and its ceiling is likely more difficult to utilize than we imagined.
However, I would love to be wrong about this. I feel this could serve as an excellent enabler for both spells matters/ storm without being parasitic.
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
Whether that’s true or not… I’m skeptical
Last Updated 02/07/24
Streaming Standard/Cube on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/heisenb3rg96
Strategy Twitter https://www.twitter.com/heisenb3rg
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StaffTo be clear, they do consider Legacy / Vintage when they DESIGN. They just don't play test Legacy / Vintage.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
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!
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