Just when I had almost completely lost interest in new Magic cards, they release an incredible set! I was beginning to think I was done collecting/adding to cubes. I just need to avoid a few egregiously power-crept cards.
I like a lot of the hybrids too, but I'd need to take a more careful look at those.
Best set in a long time! Actually, this set may well have the best art and aesthetics of any MtG set ever! Allows me to forgive some of their many many missteps in recent years.
Finally got a chance to cube with the ECL cards. Here are some of my initial impressions.
Kinscaer Sentry is as good as it looks. Dicey to deal with through combat, gains a bunch of life if it doesn't get removed, and cheats out the occasional 1-2 drop.
Glen Elendra Guardian is a decent addition for U tempo decks. It can be used as a flash blocker against creature decks, but it's pretty risky to tap out for while your opponent has all their mana open. Where it really excelled was against other U control decks. In those matchups, a threat that effectively draws a Negate is backbreaking if allowed to resolve, and that's not hard to do given it costs 3 mana and has flash.
Moonshadow underperformed relative to my expectations. It got played in a reanimator deck where it was pretty much just a 2/2 menace for B. I think without a dedicated discard or recursion theme, this card's a pass.
Bitterbloom Bearer is a nice upgrade to Bitterblossom. The initial 1/1 body is so important when you need to block or fight for monarch / initiative, and flash just gives you that extra resiliency to counterspells.
Figure of Fable turned into an avatar and won the game by itself. That only happened once though, generally you have ample time to remove it before it gets that far. Don't be like me and get fooled into thinking it's a card, any G deck is happy to play it.
Brigid, Clachan's Heart felt like a pretty fair card. The main problem is that it's hard to hit that sweet spot where you both have enough creatures to fuel her mana generation and have enough cards in hand to spend the mana on. Still, I think she's a very good signpost if your GW decks like going wide.
Of the three evoke elementals that I ended up testing, Wistfulness was by far the best of them. GG is the easiest double color pip to generate, and having a maindeckable Tear Asunder feels really good. And when you are able to cast it for its full 1GGUU cost, you really feel like you get your mana's worth. It does suffer if your opponent has no Naturalize targets, but even at half strength it's heads and shoulders above the other members of its cycle.
Deceit felt pretty mid. 2-MV targeted discard spell is fine and dandy, but a 2-MV targeted discard spell that I can't play until turn 3+ because I don't have BB? Blech. And that's its best mode. The bounce can save you against cheated out monsters, but it's lackluster beyond that. And the 2UUBB mode is incredibly underwhelming. Yes, you can discard the nonland permanent that you bounce so you're always getting at least a 2-for-1, but it's hardly any better than a Meteor Golem. Its one saving grace is that it pairs extremely well with Superior Spider-Man. Deceit's definitely a pass if you're not running Superior Spider-Man, and I'm not sure one extremely specific interaction is enough to warrant its inclusion even if you do.
At least Deceit felt decent when you could play it on turn 2. I can't say the same about Vibrance. Even in a deck with Strip Mine and Wasteland, the Sylvan Scrying mode did not feel good to play. Granted I never had Vibrance in hand on turn 2, but that just highlights its other major flaw: its 1RRGG mode is abysmal. A Volcanic Hammer strapped to a vanilla 4/4 isn't remotely good enough for 5-mana, and the land is not going to matter if your opponent pummels you next turn. I think Sowing Mycospawn is way better than Vibrance, and I wouldn't touch it if you're not already running that and Sylvan Scrying.
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StaffWHITE
- Kinscaer Sentry
BLUE
- Glen Elendra Guardian (maybe)
BLACK
- Moonshadow (maybe)
RED
- Boulder Dash
- Sear
GREEN
- Formidable Speaker
OTHER
- Figure of Fable
- Brigid, Clachan’s Heart
Join our Online Cube Draft Discord Group!
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
The Old Fashioned Cube on CubeCobra
Wanderbrine Trapper
Kinscaer Sentry
Ajani, Outland Chaperone
UUU
None
BBB
Moonshadow
Bitterbloom Bearer
Iron-Shield Elf
RRR
Boulder Dash
GGG
Formidable Speaker
WUBRG
Figure of Fable
123
None
My 720 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!
Includes:
Kinscaer Sentry replaces Exalted Sunborn
Formidable Speaker replaces Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of Twilight replaces Phyrexian Revoker. It's expensive and slow, but I want to live the dream of infinite persist combo looping unexpected creatures with sweet enters triggers.
The Reaper, King No More replaces Teval, the Balanced Scale. I want to kill, then play for free, my opponents' Kytheons, Malcolms, Bowmasters, Ragavans, and Hierarchs. Most cubes don't include many 3-color cards, but The Reaper's casting cost is much more flexible than a normal 3-color card. I think of (2/B)(2/R)(2/G) as a 4-mana 2-color card that is castable in 3 different guilds, with an option to get a 1-mana discount if you happen to have the third Jund color available.
Edit: Boulder Dash replaces Pyroclasm.
Considering:
Glen Elenda Guardian
Bitterbloom Bearer
Formidable Speaker
Kinscaer Sentry
Testing
Morningtide’s Light
Bitterbloom Bearer
Figure of Fable
Sear
Boulder Dash
I think people are underestimating Morningtide’s Light. It's not as good as Parallax Wave, but it's a game ending card still.
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.
Testing: Kinscaer Sentry, Brigid, Clachan's Heart, Iron-Shield Elf, Moonshadow
Considering: Bitterbloom Bearer, Chomping Changeling
Cool set.
My 270 card Final Fantasy cube.
Kinscaer Sentry
Ajani, Outland Chaperone
Iron-Shield Elf
Boulder Dash
Figure of Fable
Testing:
Glen Elendra Guardian
Moonshadow
Bitterbloom Bearer
Sear
Formidable Speaker
Brigid, Clachan's Heart
Watching:
Twilight Diviner
Chomping Changeling
Eclipsed Kithkin
It's exciting returning to a plane that introduced so many long time cube staples, and ECL does not disappoint. Can't wait to test.
Adding:
Formidable Speaker for Courser of Kruphix
Figure of Fable for Kitchen Finks
Boulder Dash for ???
Maybe: (Cant think of anything to cut yet)
Kinscaer Sentry
Iron-Shield Elf
I'm interested in:
Bark of Doran is part of a package I'd like to get there one day
Flock Imposter I'm a fan of changelings.
Personify I'd play this if it were a creature, so I'll play it as an instant.
Protective Response is a potentially free removal spell, and I think the hoops you gotta jump through are very fair.
Pyrrhic Strike Another interesting removal spell. Sadly ugly art in such a beautiful set.
Rhys, the Evermore Just seems like a fun, cool card.
Wanderbrine Trapper I like a tapper, and I don't mind putting it in a Savannah Lions slot.
Flitterwing Nuisance feels like a fun card. Good recipient for +1/+1 counters after the first counter's gone.
Loch Mare Seems fair to me for a mythic.
Bitterbloom Bearer I like that it's easier to remove than the original
Auntie's Sentence Another interesting take on removal
Graveshifter Art upgrade!
Iron-Sheild Elf Boring, but important ability
Requiting Hex Another really interesting new type of removal spell
Taster of Wares is pretty good even if it's the only goblin in your deck. This is why we love changelings.
End-Blaze Epiphany Nobody ever respected Blaze, but this does enough extra
Goliath Daydreamer Excellent art, fun ability, reasonable balance, delightful card
Impolite Entrance Love a cantrip
Lava Leaper Probably not a card I should play, but gives me fun ideas
Sear Boring but good
Sizzling Changeling keep 'em coming
Sourbread Auntie fun new Beetleback Chief
Chomping Changeling Yep
Pitiless Fists I'm thinking is better than it looks
Virulent Emissary love a defensive 1 drop
I like a lot of the hybrids too, but I'd need to take a more careful look at those.
Best set in a long time! Actually, this set may well have the best art and aesthetics of any MtG set ever! Allows me to forgive some of their many many missteps in recent years.
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
White:
- Ajani, Outland Chaperone
- Kinscaer Sentry
- Rhys, the Evermore
Blue:
- Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom
- Glen Elendra Guardian (testing)
Black:
- Bitterbloom Bearer
- Twilight Diviner (testing)
Red:
- Ashling, Rekindled
Green:
- Formidable Speaker
Multicolor:
- The Reaper, King No More
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/monnem?view=spoiler
Formidable Speaker
Vibrance
Wistfulness
Good Enough
Kinscaer Sentry
Brigid,
Figure of Fable
wanderbrine Trapper
Moonshadow
Iron-Shield Elf
Keeping and eye out as I think they are underrated and might get added later
The Reaper King
Biterbloom Bearer
Kinscaer Sentry is as good as it looks. Dicey to deal with through combat, gains a bunch of life if it doesn't get removed, and cheats out the occasional 1-2 drop.
Glen Elendra Guardian is a decent addition for U tempo decks. It can be used as a flash blocker against creature decks, but it's pretty risky to tap out for while your opponent has all their mana open. Where it really excelled was against other U control decks. In those matchups, a threat that effectively draws a Negate is backbreaking if allowed to resolve, and that's not hard to do given it costs 3 mana and has flash.
Moonshadow underperformed relative to my expectations. It got played in a reanimator deck where it was pretty much just a 2/2 menace for B. I think without a dedicated discard or recursion theme, this card's a pass.
Bitterbloom Bearer is a nice upgrade to Bitterblossom. The initial 1/1 body is so important when you need to block or fight for monarch / initiative, and flash just gives you that extra resiliency to counterspells.
Figure of Fable turned into an avatar and won the game by itself. That only happened once though, generally you have ample time to remove it before it gets that far. Don't be like me and get fooled into thinking it's a
Brigid, Clachan's Heart felt like a pretty fair card. The main problem is that it's hard to hit that sweet spot where you both have enough creatures to fuel her mana generation and have enough cards in hand to spend the mana on. Still, I think she's a very good signpost if your GW decks like going wide.
Of the three evoke elementals that I ended up testing, Wistfulness was by far the best of them. GG is the easiest double color pip to generate, and having a maindeckable Tear Asunder feels really good. And when you are able to cast it for its full 1GGUU cost, you really feel like you get your mana's worth. It does suffer if your opponent has no Naturalize targets, but even at half strength it's heads and shoulders above the other members of its cycle.
Deceit felt pretty mid. 2-MV targeted discard spell is fine and dandy, but a 2-MV targeted discard spell that I can't play until turn 3+ because I don't have BB? Blech. And that's its best mode. The bounce can save you against cheated out monsters, but it's lackluster beyond that. And the 2UUBB mode is incredibly underwhelming. Yes, you can discard the nonland permanent that you bounce so you're always getting at least a 2-for-1, but it's hardly any better than a Meteor Golem. Its one saving grace is that it pairs extremely well with Superior Spider-Man. Deceit's definitely a pass if you're not running Superior Spider-Man, and I'm not sure one extremely specific interaction is enough to warrant its inclusion even if you do.
At least Deceit felt decent when you could play it on turn 2. I can't say the same about Vibrance. Even in a deck with Strip Mine and Wasteland, the Sylvan Scrying mode did not feel good to play. Granted I never had Vibrance in hand on turn 2, but that just highlights its other major flaw: its 1RRGG mode is abysmal. A Volcanic Hammer strapped to a vanilla 4/4 isn't remotely good enough for 5-mana, and the land is not going to matter if your opponent pummels you next turn. I think Sowing Mycospawn is way better than Vibrance, and I wouldn't touch it if you're not already running that and Sylvan Scrying.