I think these three white creatures pack a serious punch and are worth considering in even the strongest cube environments that support white aggro. In each case neither the creature, nor the adventure, is worth playing on their own but when taken together I think we (FINALLY) have some solid combat tricks that can hack it in cube.
Faerie Guidemother
Jumping one of your aggro guys is a fine value for 2 mana. Kill that Garruk on the other side of the field! Get those last couple points of damage in to close out the game! Surprise evasion is a powerful effect. A flying men in white is not Plan A for turn 1, but if you find yourself with an opening hand where this is your only one drop, you will be happy to have it. I think the average damage output of this creature is going to be about on par with more commonly played 2/1 Savannah Lion variants when you factor in the jump spell and the evasive body. It's also a mighty fine topdeck for any aggro deck in the mid/late game. This is a potent little package.
Silverflame Squire
In creature heavy matchups this will often play out like a removal spell followed by a 2/1. Surprise block, eat it! Your opponent blocks your Venerable Knight with a 3/3 thinking they are safe, eat it! Against creature light strategies like control or combo, this just speeds up your clock. The creature half of this card is not at all impressive, but in games where you need to curve out and keep the pressure on, even a lowly Piker can make the difference.
Ardenvale Tactician
Tapping down two blockers can open the path for significant damage output in aggro decks. Think of this like a white Ahn Crop Crasher. A 3 mana flying 2/3 is not great, but it is on rate. This is a Kinjalli's Sunwing that can take care of creatures already on the field. It also isn't a bad play out of the sideboard for controlling decks. Tap down two attackers to save a planeswalker or Fog for a turn, then drop a 3 toughness blocker to gum up the board.
All three of these creatures help white aggro with one of it's biggest weaknesses: reach.
The issue with combat tricks in cube is two fold. 1) Non-removal tricks are narrow. The window where you can use them is not always open. Why play a pump spell when you can just kill the blocker? 2) Temporary effects ultimately lead to card disadvantage. The adventure mechanic solves these issues handily. While the adventures may not always be relevant, playing a creature almost always is. These are modal spells. When you resolve an adventure you effectively draw a creature, thus mitigating the card disadvantage inherent in combat tricks.
I plan to test all three of these creatures and I think you should too!
I think these three white creatures pack a serious punch and are worth considering in even the strongest cube environments that support white aggro.
These still suffer the same fate as regular combat tricks where you're vulnerable to any removal. Adventure cards don't exile themselves if they get countered or fizzle. Faerie Guidemother's adventure half not being an instant means it's more of a burn spell than it is a combat trick.
Aggro works on thin margins and can't afford to play sub-par creatures that have marginal effects vulnerable to 2 for 1s.
Guidemother and Silverflame definitely open you up to a 2-for-1s against, but if you resolve them the result is effective card and tempo advantage. Also, fair point about Guidemother being more of a burn spell than a combat trick. I'll take that in white.
I'm not saying these guys are stone cold staples but I do think they have a solid shot of being good performers. The creature/spell modality and card advantage baked into the Adventure mechanic is easy to undervalue.
Also, "wah! I want interesting combat tricks" is a complaint I've seen often on these boards. These adventure creatures are likely as close as we're ever going to get
I can certainly appreciate the evaluation of cards that can give us more cube-building options. I'm one of those complainers, and I'm eager to explore the possibilities of combat tricks that aren't awful.
My problem with each of these guys is that they're each still missing something that makes them acceptable in the decks that would want them.
Faerie Guidemother is a 1/1 flyer. It's not a Stormfront Pegasus, it's not even a Healer's Hawk (which honestly, I'd consider), and it doesn't have some other ability to make the creature more stronger; it's just a 1/1 flyer. It doesn't push an archetype, it doesn't really help the creature decks. Her main feature IS the adventure mode; and while I adore creature pump (plz let me get away with buffing up my Krenko in my Boros deck), I just don't really think this is worth a card in my cube environment. Instant would be closer, but ultimately I need the creature itself to reach a basement power level, and it's just not there.
Adenvale feels a little closer; 2/3 flyer for 3 isn't a bad deal. I certainly appreciate that tap spell, too. But do my control decks want a value 2/3 flyer? Not particularly. And none of my other decks will really want it, either, because they just have stronger options. I would sooner consider Aerial Responder, which is still lacking.
Silverflame would maybe be the closest, because I love combat tricks that untap. But I don't want a 2/1 for 2 with no evasion. Alternatively, a Blade of the Sixth Pride as a creature-mode would have gotten a chance; which, incidentally, is why I'll probably be squeezing in Shepherd of the Flock, until enough people yell at me for my heretical card inclusion decisions.
I totally agree with you about the creature stats. They are at average common stat lines for their mana costs, which definitely keeps them out of cube on the basis of their combat prowess. In each case I feel like you want to be casting the adventure mode first as often as possible. That said, I think the ability to drop a creature only in the rare cases where a creature is needed is extremely valuable. The modality of being a creature, or a spell, or both, and having full control over when you cast each half elevates these cards above their base stats significantly.
I think Shepherd is cool, i’ll Be curious to hear how he does for you. I’m all about having a fluid list where you can try new things on a whim. It’s how we learn
I think these three white creatures pack a serious punch and are worth considering in even the strongest cube environments that support white aggro. In each case neither the creature, nor the adventure, is worth playing on their own but when taken together I think we (FINALLY) have some solid combat tricks that can hack it in cube.
Faerie Guidemother
Jumping one of your aggro guys is a fine value for 2 mana. Kill that Garruk on the other side of the field! Get those last couple points of damage in to close out the game! Surprise evasion is a powerful effect. A flying men in white is not Plan A for turn 1, but if you find yourself with an opening hand where this is your only one drop, you will be happy to have it. I think the average damage output of this creature is going to be about on par with more commonly played 2/1 Savannah Lion variants when you factor in the jump spell and the evasive body. It's also a mighty fine topdeck for any aggro deck in the mid/late game. This is a potent little package.
Silverflame Squire
In creature heavy matchups this will often play out like a removal spell followed by a 2/1. Surprise block, eat it! Your opponent blocks your Venerable Knight with a 3/3 thinking they are safe, eat it! Against creature light strategies like control or combo, this just speeds up your clock. The creature half of this card is not at all impressive, but in games where you need to curve out and keep the pressure on, even a lowly Piker can make the difference.
Ardenvale Tactician
Tapping down two blockers can open the path for significant damage output in aggro decks. Think of this like a white Ahn Crop Crasher. A 3 mana flying 2/3 is not great, but it is on rate. This is a Kinjalli's Sunwing that can take care of creatures already on the field. It also isn't a bad play out of the sideboard for controlling decks. Tap down two attackers to save a planeswalker or Fog for a turn, then drop a 3 toughness blocker to gum up the board.
All three of these creatures help white aggro with one of it's biggest weaknesses: reach.
The issue with combat tricks in cube is two fold. 1) Non-removal tricks are narrow. The window where you can use them is not always open. Why play a pump spell when you can just kill the blocker? 2) Temporary effects ultimately lead to card disadvantage. The adventure mechanic solves these issues handily. While the adventures may not always be relevant, playing a creature almost always is. These are modal spells. When you resolve an adventure you effectively draw a creature, thus mitigating the card disadvantage inherent in combat tricks.
I plan to test all three of these creatures and I think you should too!
These still suffer the same fate as regular combat tricks where you're vulnerable to any removal. Adventure cards don't exile themselves if they get countered or fizzle. Faerie Guidemother's adventure half not being an instant means it's more of a burn spell than it is a combat trick.
Aggro works on thin margins and can't afford to play sub-par creatures that have marginal effects vulnerable to 2 for 1s.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
I'm not saying these guys are stone cold staples but I do think they have a solid shot of being good performers. The creature/spell modality and card advantage baked into the Adventure mechanic is easy to undervalue.
Also, "wah! I want interesting combat tricks" is a complaint I've seen often on these boards. These adventure creatures are likely as close as we're ever going to get
My problem with each of these guys is that they're each still missing something that makes them acceptable in the decks that would want them.
Faerie Guidemother is a 1/1 flyer. It's not a Stormfront Pegasus, it's not even a Healer's Hawk (which honestly, I'd consider), and it doesn't have some other ability to make the creature more stronger; it's just a 1/1 flyer. It doesn't push an archetype, it doesn't really help the creature decks. Her main feature IS the adventure mode; and while I adore creature pump (plz let me get away with buffing up my Krenko in my Boros deck), I just don't really think this is worth a card in my cube environment. Instant would be closer, but ultimately I need the creature itself to reach a basement power level, and it's just not there.
Adenvale feels a little closer; 2/3 flyer for 3 isn't a bad deal. I certainly appreciate that tap spell, too. But do my control decks want a value 2/3 flyer? Not particularly. And none of my other decks will really want it, either, because they just have stronger options. I would sooner consider Aerial Responder, which is still lacking.
Silverflame would maybe be the closest, because I love combat tricks that untap. But I don't want a 2/1 for 2 with no evasion. Alternatively, a Blade of the Sixth Pride as a creature-mode would have gotten a chance; which, incidentally, is why I'll probably be squeezing in Shepherd of the Flock, until enough people yell at me for my heretical card inclusion decisions.
I think Shepherd is cool, i’ll Be curious to hear how he does for you. I’m all about having a fluid list where you can try new things on a whim. It’s how we learn