Manaform Hellkite2RR
Creature - Dragon (M)
Flying
Whenever you cast a non-creature spell, create an X/X red Dragon Illusion creature token with flying and haste, where X is the amount of mana spent to cast that spell. Exile that token at the beginning of the next end step.
4/4
Think this is pretty spicy. Wish it had haste itself. Can still provide immediate value if you have spells to follow it up with though. Love that is says non-creature and not just instant or sorcery. Also love that this can trigger on an opponents turn off of reactive spells. E.g. Counter a spell and get a blocker. Very cool spells matter role-player.
Of themanyrecent 4-mana 4/4 flying dragons, I like Manaform Hellkite the most for Cube. It synergizes with token themes in Boros, spells matter themes in Izzet, and sacrifice themes in Rakdos.
It's essentially another version of smoldering egg - we trade 2 cmc and 2 damage always for the ability to be on immediately and the potential to do more damage with higher CMC spells (it's hilarious with fireblast - if they have no blockers it's a free deal 10). I still need to get a copy of the egg to test (I love the spells matter archetype) so I'll probably snag one of these as well and pick one.
Think this is significantly better than Smoldering Egg personally. Smoldering Egg is more like Thing in the Ice. You get an early game wall that requires you to jump through hoops to get an eventual payoff. This has no hoops once cast and triggers off all non-creature spells, not just instants/sorceries. Also, want to point out this works off the amount of mana spent to cast spells. Fireblast cast by sacrificing mountains will create a 0/0 Dragon.
Manaform Hellkite is like a discount Shark Typhoon that blends both modes (fatty flyer and each-spell-creates-a-scaled-flyer) together. It’s a little worse than Shark Typhoon at each effect (the Dragons are temporary, the fatty doesn't have flash to surprise a blocker and doesn't draw a card), but being so much cheaper and getting both modes puts it in the same ballpark.
Moonveil reagent was a bit of a flop for me because it was too inconsistent at "going off" and also was a bulky sorcery speed threat a lot.
This also suffers from the bulky sorcery speed threat issue, but in the right deck, can win the game really quick if it untaps.
Thankfully triggers from non-creature spells, so artifacts and walkers also trigger it.
Might be worth a test in burn heavy red cubes.
Fireblast is a particularly nutty combo that isn't hard to assemble.
Moonveil reagent was a bit of a flop for me because it was too inconsistent at "going off" and also was a bulky sorcery speed threat a lot.
This also suffers from the bulky sorcery speed threat issue, but in the right deck, can win the game really quick if it untaps.
Thankfully triggers from non-creature spells, so artifacts and walkers also trigger it.
Might be worth a test in burn heavy red cubes.
Fireblast is a particularly nutty combo that isn't hard to assemble.
size of token depends on mana paid, not mana value. Free spells get a 0/0
I could see myself playing this as if I feel my storm decks lack another "if push comes to shove" style win con.
This just feels like another good generic 2nd to 3rd tier red 3-5 CMC card.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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
Moonveil reagent was a bit of a flop for me because it was too inconsistent at "going off" and also was a bulky sorcery speed threat a lot.
This also suffers from the bulky sorcery speed threat issue, but in the right deck, can win the game really quick if it untaps.
Thankfully triggers from non-creature spells, so artifacts and walkers also trigger it.
Might be worth a test in burn heavy red cubes.
Fireblast is a particularly nutty combo that isn't hard to assemble.
size of token depends on mana paid, not mana value. Free spells get a 0/0
Moonveil reagent was a bit of a flop for me because it was too inconsistent at "going off" and also was a bulky sorcery speed threat a lot.
This also suffers from the bulky sorcery speed threat issue, but in the right deck, can win the game really quick if it untaps.
Thankfully triggers from non-creature spells, so artifacts and walkers also trigger it.
Might be worth a test in burn heavy red cubes.
Fireblast is a particularly nutty combo that isn't hard to assemble.
size of token depends on mana paid, not mana value. Free spells get a 0/0
Creature - Dragon (M)
Flying
Whenever you cast a non-creature spell, create an X/X red Dragon Illusion creature token with flying and haste, where X is the amount of mana spent to cast that spell. Exile that token at the beginning of the next end step.
4/4
Think this is pretty spicy. Wish it had haste itself. Can still provide immediate value if you have spells to follow it up with though. Love that is says non-creature and not just instant or sorcery. Also love that this can trigger on an opponents turn off of reactive spells. E.g. Counter a spell and get a blocker. Very cool spells matter role-player.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
This also suffers from the bulky sorcery speed threat issue, but in the right deck, can win the game really quick if it untaps.
Thankfully triggers from non-creature spells, so artifacts and walkers also trigger it.
Might be worth a test in burn heavy red cubes.
Fireblast is a particularly nutty combo that isn't hard to assemble.
Last Updated 02/07/24
Streaming Standard/Cube on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/heisenb3rg96
Strategy Twitter https://www.twitter.com/heisenb3rg
size of token depends on mana paid, not mana value. Free spells get a 0/0
I could see myself playing this as if I feel my storm decks lack another "if push comes to shove" style win con.
This just feels like another good generic 2nd to 3rd tier red 3-5 CMC card.
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
ty, makes me a lot less interested in the card!
Last Updated 02/07/24
Streaming Standard/Cube on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/heisenb3rg96
Strategy Twitter https://www.twitter.com/heisenb3rg
Oh boo you're right. LAMMEEE.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588