This update shows increase in the amount of colorless cards for testing, and features small shifts in the mana base to support that. Other than that, the usual periodic upgrades and tinkers are also present.
White
-Oreskos Explorer, +Consul's Lieutenant
Explorer is too inconsistent and too low impact, not to mention horrible on turn two. Aggro decks don’t desire a body so weak on turn two like it did not want Blood Scrivener. Control decks want something better than a random limited Civic Wayfinder and can seldom afford to skip a land drop just to gain one extra card. Really, the difference between ramping with Knight of the White Orchid and just putting into your hand has been huge. Were it a 1W KotWO, it probably would have stayed. As is, the body and ability are conflicting and it has no home.
Lieutenant has a good body for its cost and I’ve decided since white had only one WW card it could afford one more. While there are good reasons to prefer 1W cards, having a couple WW drops is healthy too, as they keep the amount of splashes in check (and also they are more powerful). Pumping your entire team is powerful, and having a 3rd point of power with first strike allows it to bash through midrange dorks in the mid-game.
-Archangel of Thune, +Hallowed Burial
Now that midrange decks are more dominant 5cc wraths are no longer too expensive and are probably needed. I’m around the threshold – this may be the tipping point of having one too many, I am exploring here. Archangel is low powered for her cost, especially now that there are less tokens. Dying to spot removals without leaving anything behind as a five drop is a problem if you are not Baneslayer Angel.
Putting in the bottom is mostly irrelevant but does fix problems traditional wraths have, from Wurmcoil Engine through Hangarback Walker to Woodfall Primus, or just the mundane Bloodghast.
-Windbrisk Heights, +Marble Diamond
Windbrisk Heights turned out to be too inconsistent for normal aggro decks. Because of the low reliability, a normal plains is preferable in the vast majority of decks. I’m okay with low powered lands that almost always will make the maindeck (Mortuary Mire/Foundry of the Consuls), powerful lands that are great in specific decks (Gaea's Cradle/Ancient Tomb) or both (Shelldock Isle/Library of Alexandria), but Heights lacks in both accounts. It could be worth a second look if white tokens will re-explode in the future, but that scenario is highly unlikely (anything short of five new token producing cards on top of what I currently have in white will not be a reason for reconsideration).
I’ve found Azorius control decks really want the white mana rock. I’m certain it will see play there and in Esper too.
Blue
-Eldrazi Skyspawner, +Compulsive Research
Skyspawner is just low powered. It blocks twice, but usually just a chump block or a bad 1-for-1 for you tempo wise. You are never excited to have it and it will always table. Research is just a solid source of card advantage. It is unlikely that better card draw spells will be printed soon, so while it is among the weakest card draw blue spells in the cube it is unlikely to be replaced in the next year.
Research was in the cube so I know its problems well. It is sorcery speed unlike Thirst for Knowledge which is huge. However, discarding a land is basically always easier therefore getting card advantage is more reliable with Research. That said, Research, especially on the third turn, is used to dig for lands anyway, being an expensive sorcery card selection spell. But, it is good to have that option too and late game you are golden.
-Merfolk Looter, +Gitaxian Probe
The cube still has a lot of looters, with Thought Courier, Enclave Cryptologist, Deal Broker and Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy (Jace especially blew the old looters out of the water by being so much better). Looters are more powerful the slower your games are. In this cube, the games are fast. Drawing a card right now is often more important than incremental card quality over time.
Gitaxian Probe is obviously not a new Preordain, and should be compared to the weaker cantrips like Opt or Sleight of Hand. They see tremendous success. Even Anticipate enjoys popularity that I did not, well, anticipate. They virtually see play all the time, whether in a combo deck to smooth draws, control decks that often lack cheap action, a deck that lacks a 23rd playable, or decks that have synergies with cheap spells that replace themselves. Probe is arguably better than most cantrips on the first turn, for the price of being a worse topdeck. Gaining knowledge is hard to quantify, but allowing you to plan ahead is certainly strong. The synergies with delve are the same as with your Opt, however being potentially free is great for tempo decks that want to curve out, as well as with Young Pyromancer, Monastery Mentor, Snapcaster Mage, Seeker of the Way, Yawgmoth’s Will and Guttersnipe. Overall, this is the sort of card that will table, but the decks that want it will really like and all decks that played the looter will play Probe without much drawback (Except for reanimator, but Compulsive Research keeps the number of discard outlets in blue the same).
-Kiora, the Crashing Wave, +Shardless Agent Kiora, Master of the Depths is too similar and better than the older Kiora. They have the exact same cost and near identical art, which makes people confuse a lot between the two like happened with Sorin, Solemn Visitor. Also, her powerlevel is not particularly high and having two 4 cmc planeswalkers in the same guild is problematic anyway. The abilities are actually quite good, and the ultimate is both powerful and achievable, but the loyalty, oh why it has to be so humiliating. Because the loyalty is so low, the second ability lost a lot of its appeal, essentially meaning you sacrifice Kiora in many board states.
As the number of counterspells is decreasing and the power of low drops is increasing, Shardless Agent becomes better. As recent examples, hitting Sylvan Advocate or Oath of Nissa with cascade is great value. Yes, it is an artifact which means it dies to Seal of Cleansing and the like, however once the 2/2 body is in play, you don’t really care much for it – this card is all about the tempo.
Colorless
-Mimic Vat, +Crucible of Worlds
Mimic Vat is slow and doesn’t fit every deck. I’m also disappointed with Crystal Shard and Erratic Portal, they might also get cut soon (the new conspiracy set is likely to make big waves). Crucible increased in value lately with the addition of strong lands with sacrifice effects, namely Foundry of the Consuls, Gargoyle Castle, Dust Bowl and Mirrorpool. It also got a smaller boost with the printing of five new manalnds. It was close to be strong enough before, I think it will be better now.
-Thought Vessel, +Talisman of Impulse
Yes, Talismans are strictly better. The endless hand clause is flavor text. I refrained including a talisman not in the two-colored fixing section, as it can cause imbalance. Several factors led me to change that decision:
1)Talismans are just much better than Thought-Vessel. Sometimes there is just a point where the ideals need to face reality
2)This particular talisman is in a color pair that has many better two mana ramp spells that also fix, it is unlikely to be used often as fixing in that color pair (the same reason why Gruul Signet was cut). So why to bother playing it? Because it will be much better than Thought-Vessel in decks that want only one of the colors, say U/R counterburn or a W/U deck splashing a green card.
3)Relating to the last point – It is probably still a better rock than Talisman of Indulgence. Although it might also find a way in at some point in the future, if the two new ones will turn out to be successful.
4)Even if it is an imbalance, it is a minor nit-pick at best in a cube this large. The increase in playability and powerlevel will probably be worth it.
-5 cards: –Cataclysm, -Dimensional Infiltrator, -Diabolic Edict, -Bonfire of the Damned, -Collected Company
The new colorless theme gets larger for a testing period. That is done for a couple of reasons. First, it turns out producing colorless is not very difficult and doesn’t slaughter the mana base as I thought it would be, for mid to late game spells. Second, testing from other cubes had shown that many of the cards are strong enough. Third, I like the added complexity it introduces to the draft and deckbuilding, I find it exciting. Third, it will further differentiate the cube from other forms of limited as very few of them feature colorless mana.
Cuts:
Cataclysm is a fine card but has INSANE competition in the white four drop slot. There were just too many so that not all of them can see play. Yes there are decks out there where Cataclysm is the best of the options, but a card like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar will be better 9 out of 10 times and even when it is worse it will not be completely unplayable like Cataclysm is.
Dimensional Infiltrator does not have a home. It turns out that a deck that doesn’t want a Welkin Tern will not want it even if it had flash. The ability might as well be flavor text as it is not something worth altering mana bases for.
Diabolic Edict failed in its second test run. Against aggro decks this card is subpar, as having no choice at what it gets is horrendous and you will rarely even be even on the tempo. Against many midrange decks, it will just kill a mana elf in the mid game, not to mention how useless it is against tokens. Reanimator and cheating decks are not strong enough to be hated yet, and we got a great new playable edict effect with Bearer of Silence.
Bonfire has so much potential that I hung onto it much longer than I should have. I kept imagining decks splashing red and fetching it with Mystical Tutor or setting it up with Sensei's Divining Top. Alas, that never happened and in traditional red decks the card does not make the cut.
Collected Company requires a more thorough explanation to why it fails in cube, and why I think it has no chance of returning in the foreseeable future too. It is obvious why the card is good - card advantage, instant speed, tempo advantage and a lot of options to choose from, all in a color that rarely gets any of the aforementioned aspects. You can include trickery, fun uncertainty moments and even mana fixing potentially. So it turns out none of that is quite true.
Quite obviously CoCo is a card you need to build around. It turns out you absolutely MUST build with it in mind to reach any kind of consistency. The risks should be highly stated here – the worst case scenario is about as worse as it can be – do nothing at all for four mana. It is way worse than seeing five lands with Fact or Fiction and as we will see, happens far more often.
Then there is the less epic fail chance of hitting only one creature. That means you are down on mana and getting no card advantage – certainly not why you play the card. If your deck is 40% targets which can be hit with CoCo the chances of getting less than two targets is around 25%! That is a very large numbers of hoops to jump through for a lackluster upside.
Even if you do hit two creatures, hitting two mana elves will not be worth your mana. If you want to maximize CoCo’s effectiveness you will want many creatures – mostly three drops and few one and two drops – an ugly unplayable curve. Unlike constructed where you have four available copies, it is not worth basing your deck around a single card and a deck with lots of creatures and bad curve will lose hard if you do not draw CoCo. That’s also why you do not rely on it for fixing ever either.
All in all I would not say it might never come back, but it will require a minor miracle.
(I’ve drawn ideas from here)
Additions:
+Tendo Ice Bridge
This is a solid fixer for aggro decks anyway, and now will be an excellent source of colorless mana for them. Most colorless lands are control oriented, so this is refreshing. Also great with Reflecting Pool.
+Gargoyle Castle
I’ve been very impressed with Foundry of the Consuls, and Castle is basically better. It threatens planeswalkers, blocks well and can finish the game. Control decks here usually lack threats and board presence and not card advantage, that is why Blighted Cataract will probably get cut and Foundry succeeded.
So far the card I've been most impressed with from Oath is Mirrorpool. Some fun interactions I've seen so far:
Mirrorpool copying a Sun Titan, returning Mirrorpool to play (or on Greenwarden / Eternal Witness, returning it to hand).
Mirrorpool acting as a 3C counterspell in counterspell wars.
Mirrorpool acting as a 3C lightning bolt to finish off a Mother of Runes.
Mirrorpool + Crucible of Worlds + whatever.
Mirrorpool turning Ancestral into EOT 5 mana draw 6.
Mirrorpool turning Time Walk into Time Stretch.
Or the simple use Mirrorpool to cast Reality Smasher swing for 5, next turn copy Smasher swing for 10.
It's been steadily moving up our pick orders.
+Thought-Knot Seer
Selective discard is a strong effect that is underrepresented in cube. It is universally good as a curve-topper for aggro, a midrange value-beater and in control too as it snags their bomb/finisher in the mirror and is difficult to answer for aggro. This sort of effect will often be unexpected as it out of color, and will catch many off guard.
+Reality Smasher
It hits like a truck. Good for midrange decks, as an aggro curve-topper and especially great off of Mana Vault and the like in an early turn. Effective especially against control decks, the eternal nemesis of midrange, as it eats their planeswalkers through blockers and getting 2-for-1ed is especially painful for them.
Two-colored Fixing
Mostly shifts to better support colorless.
-Glacial Fortress, +Adarkar Wastes
-Drowned Catacomb, +Underground River
Painlands were very close in powerlevel to the checklands before anyway, now they are probably better. Producing colored mana on the first turn is in many cases important, and always coming untapped makes them more consistent, even if with a lower ceiling.
Appendix: What was not added
[card]
Eldrazi Obligator[/card] offers versatility for aggressive decks. However those decks are the most reliant on strong mana bases and can least afford colorless cards. Feedback around here about it was lukewarm at best so far. I’m not ruling it out however; if the new colorless theme will work out he will be tried too.
More filter lands – While having colorless sources to support the eldrazis, we are still talking about six cards currently, which is not significant in the grand scheme of things. The colorless mana will either be playable with little support or be unplayable at all, there will be no middle ground here as their mass is just too small to justify changes in a big way in evaluation.
Case in point – filter lands. Filter lands are bad on the first turn. Really terrible. They are also subpar at splashing, as any deck that ever played U/W/r and couldn’t keep a hand of Island + Rugged Prairie will tell you. You cannot split mana between phases. With any other W/B land + any Swamp/Plains you can play Thoughtseize on your turn and keep mana up for Swords to Plowshares on their turn. With Windswept Heath you can never do that.
Those problems intensify when you include multiples, boards with one basic and two filters are very restrictive for the caster. The filter lands are good when you are playing two colored decks, which have heavy colored costs on both colors. In general though I want deck design to be open and not restrictive, and less mana screws from my lands and not more, and therefore I do not want to include more filter lands for colorless mana production.
I am late posting this update, but worry not – it wasn’t for the lack of writing. This set was a bag of goodies for cube!
Since I was writing pieces that were long enough to be considered an article or two for each update in the last several years, I have just decided to make that step and just start a blog. You can see it here. I hope to write on a semi-regular basis. The blog details opinions about many cards from the new set. The next few posts here will be specific to this cube and will explain cuts and additions of older cards. This should make this post shorter.
Since writing nothing about the new cards at all would make reading too hard, a key sentence was written near each. Again, to read full analysis of SoI cards go to the blog.
Another note – the update actually happened a few weeks ago, so some testing results are already given in the analysis. That’s why in some swaps you can see me say it probably was a mistake.
White
-Eternal Dragon, +Archangel Avacyn
Eternal Dragon has been underpowered for years. Yes, he auto-discards himself, but he will never be a great reanimation target. It is nice to play Animate Dead on it on turn three, but it is not game-winning and reanimator does not want to be white. As a recurring control threat, in the age of planeswalkers you have much better ways to gain inevitability. Draw-Go decks are gone so there are almost no good situations to cycle it in the early game. A card I think no one will miss. • Avacyn is a true bomb, wonderfully designed to be interesting and fun. Major points for being a playable combat trick!
-Temporal Isolation, +Declaration in Stone
Temporal Isolation only deals with creatures that function mainly as attackers/blockers. That Dark Confidant, Oracle of Mul Daya or Jace, Vryn's Prodigy do not care much, nor do titans. It was especially bad if removed. You can attack with the shadowy creature, then after no blockers are declared, to kill the enchantment with your Qasali Pridemage to sneak in a fattie. • Declaration is more consistent, even if it didn’t kill tokens and a mischief of Pack Rats.
-Arashin Cleric, +Stasis Snare
Cleric is an okay anti-aggro card, but it will only ever be a sideboard card. White decks in general do not have a weak matchup against aggro – blue and black decks do. I think white can use another removal and Snare is the next best one out there. The double white cost is a limitation, instant speed is usually not as strong in white as in other colors and it is similar but likely worse than other effects like Oblivion Ring. On the other hand, it will pass the table to get to the white drafters, triggering prowess whenever you want is nice and it is still an effective (while not efficient) rate for creature removal. It is not exciting but is serviceable and I believe it will see play, at least until something better comes out.
-Containment Priest, +Hanweir Militia
Priest is a hate card for an archetype that doesn’t need hate. Yes, foiling Recurring Nightmare and Tinker is good, but reanimator and green super ramp decks (Natural Order, Eureka) are too weak to be hated like that. A card that might easily come back if the metagame will shift, it is simply the best at what it does but we do not want it right now.
• Militia is among the weaker white two drops but has a very high ceiling for his cost in token decks.
Blue
-Narcolepsy, +Thing in the Ice
Both cards stop aggression. Narcolepsy is about as good as a sorcery speed Temporal Isolation – not very. It is effective in defense, as a tempo card. Now we got a better play against early aggression, that is not dead when your opponent has no creatures out. • TITI is a wall first and foremost that requires a removal spell later or it will dominate the board.
-Blighted Cataract, +Academy Ruins
It was a failed experiment and it is reversed right back. Blue decks that get to 8 mana do not need more card draw it seems. Artifact decks have been more powerful lately for an unknown reason to me. I plan to add the remaining signets back in too, which will further empower said decks. Academy Ruins is narrow, as there are not many artifacts that you will want to recur, but those that you do will win the game for you, be it Wurmcoil Engine, Nevinyrral's Disk, Memory Jar or just Batterskull.
-Personal Tutor, +Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
Tutor is too narrow, and will only get narrower in all likelihood. It was narrow when first seen, but since then Wildfire as an archetype was cut and miracles were almost entirely eradicated too. Wizards keep printing ever more powerful creatures and better planeswalkers, but sorceries are not a part of that celebration and likely won’t be for years. Again, Tutor is a card to keep in mind, but it will stay out for now. • Unraveler is the clear weakest of the Jaces, but in testing so far he is still plenty good enough.
Black
-Raven's Crime, +Heir of Falkenrath
Raven’s Crime was destined to be a filler discard outlet. As a discard on the first turn it is just not disruption. It is rarely worth discarding lands to – we rarely have super grindy matchups that involve massive hands and not obscene boards with planeswalkers. This problem is further amplified by the types of decks that will play crime – they will Retrace it only at the end of their curve if they draw too many lands. Often those decks will play only 16 lands however, minus all types of moxen. * Heir serves double duty as a superb attacker and a discard outlet in a weak section of the cube.
-Despoiler of Souls, +Relentless Dead
Despoiler was really bad for us. The 3/1 body is too weak, the costs are too black heavy and recursion rarely ever happened, even in aggro decks. I really do not recommend it for any cube. • Dead is not amazing, but it is a medium powered dude in the shallow black two drop section. It rewards clever usage in a big way.
-Priest of the Blood Rite, +Asylum Visitor
Priest is just too weak in two common situations – on the defense and against removal. On the defense, it blocks two creatures but actively kills you – terrible to the point of being unplayable, rotting in your hand staring at you with empty eyes reflecting all the regret of the world. Against removal, you are left with the worst Grizzly Bears ever – the opposite of passing the Vindicate test perhaps. Do not forget that every bounce spell and Flickerwisp count as removal for this purpose as well. * If you are surprised to see Visitor here you need to familiarize yourself some more with the format. The best card in the set in all likelihood.
-Abyssal Persecutor, +Murderous Redcap
The demon is an undercosted beater, however by nature it is playable in few decks. Aggro decks will not want to slow themselves down. Ramp and reanimation decks do not want to jump through additional hoops for an effect they will get elsewhere. In control decks it does not play defense well, although it does kill planeswalkers. Overall it is good in stacks types of decks – they can use both the aggressive body and have enough ways to get rid of it. Currently they are not supported enough to merit Persecutor’s presence, but it is inevitable that the deck will become playable eventually in a large cube – Zulaport Cutthroat is a huge step in that direction.
Redcap is the opposite – it is widely playable yet much fairer. On the defense against aggro it is comfortably a two for one and often even a 3/4-for-1 as well. It is a combo piece with Muzzio's Preparations, and it plays nice with sacrifice outlets, classically Greater Gargadon. It is also an acceptable aggro curve topper as he goes for the dome, paves the way through small blockers and leaves behind some board presence after a mass removal. Pinging planeswalkers is ever more relevant as well. All of this is bolstered by the fact it is a hybrid card.
Why did it ever leave the cube? Well it didn’t, it is just moving from the multicolored section here. Black four drops leave some to be desired for sure.
-Desecration Demon, +Pale Rider of Trostad
Unlike Persecutor, this is a truly horrible card on the defense, but against many decks presents next to no offense at all on top of that as well. On an empty board it is better, that’s about it though. • Pale Rider is an evasive 3 power beater for two and another cheap discard outlet.
-Slaughter Pact, +Attrition
Slaughter Pact’s delayed payment is an asset only in aggro decks, and only some of the time. In many cases you would rather just have Dark Banishing. Not to mention people actually dying from that trigger, though I’ve got to say – the fact that it is still funny after all those years is a point in the card’s favor.
Attrition is a test. The card is also dead against black decks. It is heavier on black, and requires creatures – it is more of an engine card than a spot removal. Works well with self-recurring creatures and tokens and I heard good recommendations for it.
Red
-Scab-Clan Berserker, +Sin Prodder
Berserker has a weak body for its cost. Red has too many restrictive costs, which limits the amount of variety and archetypes red can support. Berserker’s ability was not as strong as one would hope, usually dealing between 0-2 damage per game. Prophetic Flamespeaker is probably worse, so this was a mistake. However, Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh might still be slightly better than both. • Sin Prodder is splashable, evasive, aggressive and scary. Not a bomb, but of the better red aggressive three drops.
-Sneak Attack, +Searing Blaze
Sneak Attack is a good card that is hard to support in a large cube. I believe it can be made to work, but on top of weak results, the playgroup didn’t want to build with the card in mind so off it goes. Searing Blaze is being tested again. I didn’t like it the first time and so far do not like it at all again – requiring double red, requiring a land drop and requiring a targetable creature are too many hoops and Volcanic Hammer is better. Will likely be replaced.
-Goblin Glory Chaser, +Falkenrath Gorger
Gorger is clearly a top tier red one drop. It was a toss between Chaser and Stromkirk Noble. I think noble punishes more when you can remove their blockers/fail to present any, and the evasion is surprisingly relevant so I slightly prefer it, but they are very close.
-Sudden Demise, +Geier Reach Bandit
Red needs one less mass removal. Demise is worse than both earthquakes as it cannot kill all creatures usually, and while it is sometimes selective and great it is sometimes a 1-for-1. Red also has two Earthquakes, Mizzium Mortars and not a few dividable damage spells, so Demise was pretty constantly a last pick. • Despite reading bad, Bandit is a simple splashable hasty red three drop, exactly what aggressive red decks want
-Avalanche Riders, +Goldnight Castigator
Riders are a bit of a relic of the past. Yes, hitting resources in aggressive decks is good, but in our days you can do things game winningly powerful at that cost. Some games, against a color screwed opponent for example, hitting one land can close the game. In many other situations however it can be meaningless. The 2/2 haste body is sweet, but not good on turn four and paying echo for it is a rarity. Once, when blink was heavier in the cube, it has sweet synergies with Makeshift Mannequin, and playing it with Crystal Shard once could beat games. Today blink is declining, four drops are rising, mana fixing is more common and this card will ride the bench.
I do wish wizards would print some better answers to nonbasic lands, but I doubt we will ever get that. On one hand I think small representation of land destruction is good and I’d like to have one in red. On the other hand it is an effect that creates some miserable games in general and requires little skill. • Castigator so far proved to be extremely poor, you’d better be winning by the turn you cast it, making it an unreliable Lava Axe of sorts.
-Reckless Waif, +Village Messenger
An inch here, an inch there between these two cards. They are both likely the worst red one drops, and might be replaced soon with Goblin Glory Chaser. A 2/2 menace is about equal to a 3/2. A 3/2 trades with beefier creatures and beats for more on an empty board, however a significant amount of time a 2/2 menace will be unblockable, or at least so in the context of a large attack. The haste on the frontside is the dealbreaker here – it is a better turn one play and a better topdeck if you have equipment or other ways to make the 1/1 body useful. In a lot of situations they would be equally irrelevant though.
Green
-Call of the Herd, +Tireless Tracker
Call of the Herd is a fair card, but underpowered for what it does. Honestly, I think cutting it and not Ohran Viper was a mistake I want to fix soon. In any ways Tracker is in a different league. • Tracker provides card advantage in green, grows to become a monster while having useful stats for its cost. Plenty of synergies with land based ramp, artifact based decks and things that require permanents to sacrifice.
-Utopia Sprawl, +Duskwatch Recruiter
Utopia Sprawl was quite limiting because it can only enchant a forest. Many of the nonbasic lands that produce green are not forests, making this narrow so even though it fixes it has negative synergy with your other fixers. • Duskwatch Recruiter draws gas and can flip into effective ramp and a good body for the mana cost.
-Omnath, Locus of Mana, +Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
Omnath is only playable in heavy green decks, and is not exciting in them too. It is a mana sink, but the need for those went down with the amount of man lands and lands with abilities in the cube. Hopes of it helping super ramp decks were shattered, as only stacking green mana is limiting when a lot of your ramp will produce colorless (Thran Dynamo as the prominent example). Green is really benefiting the recent decision from wizards that mana elves are too powerful – we get much better three drops. • Nissa is great in token decks and sacrifice themed decks as an effortless token producer and mass pump.
-Tooth and Nail, +Pelakka Wurm
Tooth and Nail has two main problems, one environmental and one fundamental. The environmental problem is that green does not want sorcery finishers. Green offers a lot of synergy for creatures – Eureka, Survival of the Fittest, Green Sun's Zenith, Worldly Tutor, Fauna Shaman… Not to mention synergies with other colors like Show and Tell and reanimation. Does the cube have a place for sorcery finishers? Definitely, but green is not it.
Moreover, Tooth and Nail is not the kind of card you want to play a four and five drop with. You play it to win the game, by either getting a game-winning combo or a pair of super expensive fat. Combos that are based on two creatures are non-existent in the cube as far as I know. Getting two super fatties is highly problematic because there is simply a limit on how many 7/8+ casting cards you can play in your deck. Yes, you can always play it to get a six and a five drop, but first tooth will not be worth including in your list and second, you always have the risk of drawing and playing your targets before drawing tooth.
Pelakka Wurm is a solid ramp target. It is not as good on the offense, but great on the defense, good with reanimation, passes the Terminate test and has evasion.
Multicolored
-Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim, +Anguished Unmaking
Ayli barely had a chance to be in the cube, but she was clearly the worst of the few left so she had to go. Having a sacrifice outlet and a way to gain life is neat, but alone she is not impressive, and she was usually if not exclusively played in aggressive decks that cared less about gaining life. Furthermore, one of the reasons she was valuable was the shortage in good black two drops. Now that we got four new ones, she is far less necessary. • Unmaking is currently a little overhyped for cube but is nevertheless one of the best removal spells out there.
-Huntmaster of the Fells, +Arlinn Kord
Gruul is overpacked with four drops. Besides Bloodbraid Elf they are all around the same power level, so it was hard to pick which one to cut. Huntmaster is probably weaker then Xenagos in ramp decks, but better when splashed for and offers synergies in green due to being a creature. Arlinn is also questionable, I think all those for drops will rotate a bit in the close future before the final configuration is reached. • Arlinn offers a lot of versatility for a four drop with complex accessibility, she really needs more testing time.
-Murderous Redcap, +Olivia, Mobilized for War
Redcap just moved to the black section. • Olivia has good body for her cost and an ability that can greatly increase damage output, but she might not be worth it due to the nature of black and red four drops
-Deathrite Shaman, +Sorin, Grim Nemesis
Deathrite Shaman is one of the best one drops in the game, making huge splashes in even the oldest of formats. It is a fun card to play too. However, it does not deliver in this format and likely never will. Without a high fetchland density it cannot fix and ramp you up. This is DRS’s best ability by far, the one that earned it a ban from modern. In cube you are quite lucky if your deck has three fetches and it is rare to see four fetches in a given matchup (since you can use your opponent’s lands too). Now if we factor the chance to draw the fetches with the shaman, in a turn that this is still relevant, and the fact that your opponent will not help you with his fetches if he can avoid it and we get a very low activation rate. By really low I mean that even a 50% chance to use it in an entire match might be too generous.
It doesn’t mean that it will never trigger, true. However, it means you cannot at all rely on it to generate you mana at the stages of the game where generating one mana with a 1cc card matters. The ability is like Chromatic Lantern’s ability in that regard - you cannot count on it, so it might as well almost not be there.
Now we are left with two more abilities. The black ability is by far better, and what makes the card so good in constructed – no mana elf has that sort of clock attached. In black you do get to use some spells usually. However, in many games it will be inactive until turn 4-5 or so. The lifegain is not a reason to play the card. It is gravy, definitely useful in some matchups, but inconsistent lifegain is not good enough to sideboard a Squire in from the sideboard (even for half the price). If we only have those two abilities, this becomes a late game card, not a one drop as the body is not worth a card. But then, late game drops will do its job better.
I like the card and want it to be good. It can feel like a one mana planeswalker in constructed. It is maindeckable graveyard hate that hits the sweet spot of not being too oppressive and allowing interactivity. It is iconic. I want the card to be good. However, it is not and likely will not be good even if an extra cycle of fetchlands was printed and played. I’d test it probably, but I still expect it to fail. • Grim Nemesis fills every role the control decks want out of its late game drops, besides dealing with armies of small creatures.
Colorless
-Black Vise, +Lore Seeker
This cut is a meta call. Aggro decks are a bit too strong, and anyways control decks that keep their hand count high are weak in general and weak to aggro in particular. In aggro mirrors and such it is unplayable. Certainly a good card with a high ceiling that can come back if the metagame changes.
Lore seeker was an addition inspired by a thread here. Basically you can expect the value of a random first pick from it, meaning that in an underpowered pack it is the correct P1P1. It is even somewhat justifiably playable as a Glory Seeker if your draft went very wrong, for curve-filling purposes, tinker or a side card against aggressive decks. Bad, but more of what can be said about Cogwork Librarian.
Why didn’t I add it before? The main concern for me was that if the cube is fully drafted, another booster cannot be added making the card dysfunctional. This is not so bad however, as we already have precedence – Cogwork Librarian is not functional in sealed. I’m okay with the cube having one less effective card in that case, because of the high upside in all others. Let’s be honest too – 16 man drafts are a rarity here anyway.
The second issue is logistics of having another booster during the draft – this fear was unfounded it seems. The last issue is that it benefits some players more than others, due to pure luck – the person picking second from the booster gains immense value wasting no picks whatsoever. The last person gets far less. This will all be determined due to luck basically.
This is a real issue however everyone is excited about the card, and still everybody gets something out of it, easing the jealousy.
-Tectonic Edge, +Westvale Abbey
I am actually not sure why Edge doesn’t work. By all means, now should have been his best time to shine by far – colorless mana is a wanted commodity in some decks and there are more lands than ever. However it still saw no play and no interest. Unlike Wasteland it cannot color screw opponents which makes it a pure answer to powerful nonbasic lands. Nonbasic lands naturally have very few answers however. To be honest Wasteland doesn’t see much play here too, but that is probably misevaluation, that card is not getting cut (likely ever). • I’m not sure how good is Westvale. It gives reach and recovery for decks that go wide, and provides sacrifice fodder to decks that need that. I hope it is good as it is a very exciting and fun card.
Why were they added? A few reasons actually. First, control and midrange have appetite for some more. A few years have passed since mana rocks were cut from maindecks. Second, Colorless mana is in higher demand. No deck I have seen faced any issue producing that mana, but it will add consistency and certainly raises their necessity. Third, I am trying to figure out a new archetype for red after tokens and sneak attack have failed. Artifacts is pretty high up that list, and they will take as many mana rocks as they can (even up to six just at the 2 mana slot). So far players have played Goblin Welder even without the lack of full support.
Why weren’t they added earlier? Having uneven fixing between the colors bothers me. There is no talisman for Golgari for example. However, the talisman are not played only in their own color pair, with one of the colors usually enough. Sometimes they are playable even if you are in none of the colors – they are as good as Thought Vessel which was in the cube for a bit, a definite case for being a slave of my system.
The cuts
Erratic Portal has been too slow in recent years. For four mana you really need to do something that gives immediate value.
Scroll Rack suffer from the same problem – it offers a lot of card selection but it is painfully slow. If you have cards in hand and the mana you better have better things to spend it on.
Dust Bowl is in the same boat as Tectonic Edge above except it is weaker. Two less colorless producing lands, yet with the addition of talismans this is a net gain of colorless sources.
Star compass is unreliable. Requiring basic lands is a serious limitation, the fixing is very unreliable and it comes into play tapped. Talismans are two leagues above that.
Two colored fixing
-Dragonskull Summit, +Foreboding Ruins
Foreboding Ruins provides colored mana on the first turn, making it more valuable in this aggressive color combination.
So sad to see Sneak Attack go. It, along with Wildfire, give red stuff to do besides aggro. The rest looks good, although I still run Avalanche Riders and Erratic Portal at 450 because of the shenanigans.
This is a large update, about half of it is new cards and the rest is just shuffling around. My opinions about the new cards are covered in great detail in my blog here: https://mtgcubecrafting.wordpress.com/
The new cards will get brief explanations as a result. The new update is done with the anticipation of getting several new colorless cards in Conspiracy 2 and the upcoming block of Kaladesh. Overall the set was great for cube and while not innovative, raised the powerlevel of several archetypes in several spots.
White
-Condemn, +Thraben Inspector
As per player request, Inspector is added. I’ve heard good things about her and so far she is solid in testing. Offers early action, acceptable late. The random creature can chump block, slowly nibble at life totals, trade with aggro one drops, carry equipments, get buffed by Ajani Goldmane etc. If this is a successful experiment, Elvish Visionary will be considered too (although it is more exciting in white due to that color’s lack of card advantage, Visionary is more abusable and green wants creatures more).
Condemn seems like a fitting cut. White has gotten a whole lot of great removals lately, none of it sends to the graveyard. Condemn is limited to only defensive decks. TI also costs W and is at its best against aggressive decks.
-Karmic Guide, +Gisela, the Broken Blade
Gisela is a stat monster that slots into most decks. Karmic Guide is just too expensive and low-impact. To be up to the competition it should have lost its echo cost. It has very rare combos with Reveillark but is so weak on its lonesome. Plus, white five drops got a little crowded and white’s 4cc creatures were underrepresented.
-Soltari Champion, +Bygone Bishop
Champion has been disliked as of late. It has never been a proper bomb, but it a serviceable evasive beater, punching planeswalkers and the like. It carries equipments well too and it even mass pumps. The problem is that he is a mere Soltari Trooper alone and has zero defensive value whatsoever. It was well worth the mana in heavy token decks and was weak otherwise. Due to fear of overextending, as unlike Glorious Anthem it dies to mass removals, it did 1 extra damage with the ability on average per attack (after factoring in blocks too). Not much better than Dauthi Marauder. Bishop still has evasion and is a serviceable token holder, but it is also a decent blocker that is a mana sink when you flood or running to the later stages of the game.
The defensive value is important for white aggro decks. In the aggro mirror usually white is the slower deck in the matchup. Even if it just trades with a two drop and nets you a clue, you are ahead. Not to mention how it outright kills 2/1 and 2/2 critters or keeps them at bay.
I’ve reviewed Bishop badly before. Its issues still largely stand. Bishop is still a slow card. Most of the time you will not be able to pop a few clues in an aggro deck, you will play your lower drops before him and Bishop does not trigger off of tokens. I do not expect to be an all-star. In token decks it is definitely inferior, and in aggressive decks probably about equal.
In stacks decks Bygone Bishop is significantly better, which puts the two cards about on par with each other. However, and that is the part I misevaluated before, Bishop is much more playable outside of aggro. Not in hard control, the creature density is too low, but in midrange decks, especially W/G. Late topdecks of mana elves and the like become useful and you will have the mana to pop all the clues you accumulate. People have overall positive results with him so far in other cubes too.
In short, trading cards of similar level in aggro decks, but the new addition has other uses too.
-Nearheath Pilgrim, +Selfless Spirit
There are too many lifelinking bears now, with Soulfire Grand Master, Lone Missionary, Hidden Dragonslayer and to some extent Seeker of the Way. Nearheath is by far the weakest as it requires another creature. It can take over a game if paired with a midrange critter and not removed soon, but it seldom has lifelink on turn two and seldom participates in combat itself. Selfless Spirit is strictly better than some white cards already played and shores major weaknesses of white creature based decks.
-Hanweir Militia Captain, +Thalia, Heretic Cathar
The weakest two drop by far, it was always a placeholder. Requires serious overextending or token decks to be playable and even then leaves you vulnerable to what you were before – mass removals. Thalia is of the better three drops for aggro and against aggro. White is a little too heavy on the three drops, it will be fixed soon after some more testing with the new arrivals.
Blue
-Repeal, +Unsubstantiate
Repeal is ineffective at getting tempo, always costing more than what you bounce. The best answer to tokens, but too clunky for general use and will never save you from a cheated fattie, or when you are mana screwed. Unsubstantiate is maximal versatility at the cost of card disadvantage, it is a high risk test.
-Master of Waves, +Docent of Perfection
Master creates tokens but they all die to a single removal spell and he doesn’t combo with bounce or reanimation to create larger armies. He also often cannot attack or block himself. Docent has a solid body and very high ceiling, even if inconsistent as a control finisher.
-Crystal Shard, +Imprisoned in the Moon
Crystal Shard is a card that has aged very badly. It is very rare you have the time in actual games to durdle like that, gaining small incremental advantages. It didn’t see play in years. It was fun when it worked, but that is a relic of the distant past. Imprisoned is blue removal and will see play every draft.
-Deep Analysis, +Wharf Infiltrator
There were too many midgame blue draw spells – not all made it into decks. You cannot fill up your decks with draw cards and hope to win. There is a real problem of tempo loss with these cards – playing that on turn four when your opponent has better board presence is often suicidal. The question was whether to cut that or Treasure Cruise. Cruise has higher ceiling, but really that could be wrong. All (but one) jaces are better though and I think all draw spells costing 3 or less are more playable – they can find you lands to get you out of screws before it is too late.
Wharf Infiltrator was fantastic so far in testing – it is not easy to block and then it is a better Looter il-Kor, both because of the extra ability and because it can block itself.
Black
-Despise, +Transgress the Mind
I saw people play Transgress with success. It is the broadest spot discard and it exiles. It is a pinpoint answer to anything your deck cannot deal with otherwise. Despise is serviceable but often not better than just removal spells. Despise gets progressively worse during the game while removals are not. Black has increasingly more answers to planeswalkers too with Hero's Downfall and Ruinous Path.
-Consuming Vapors, +Diabolic Edict
Vapors underperformed as of late. It is not a one sided Barter in Blood + lifegain in a splashable package. It usually netted 1-2 life and sacrificed negligible things, slowly. When the opponent has a turn to prepare to the second edict it loses a lot of its punch. I do not like edicts in cube in general however the effect is needed. Specifically, Channel + eldrazi is problematic (which now has another titan to play with) and Simic decks, with Thrun, the Last Troll, Sphinx of Jwar Isle, Prognostic Sphinx, Ætherling and Sagu Mauler being a bit too hard to answer. It’s fine that they will not be easily answered, but some tools are needed to be there to keep them in check and give options to fight back. Probably mostly a sideboard card.
-Grim Haruspex, +Sinkhole
Grim Haruspex has a weak body for cost with an unappealing morph option. When you get a recursion chain going he is a win more, the body is bad on defense and offense as it trades with a one drop with no value added. No one will miss it. Sinkhole is retried as a boost towards aggro. Now the cube has more fixing than ever before and curves are tighter. I dislike black’s cheap cards being so heavy colored, but they are likely simply better. More manalands and utility lands than ever before also would like an increase in answers.
-Gray Merchant of Asphodel, +Necropotence
As far as monocolored payoffs go, this one is better. Gray Merchant requires very heavy black commitment and is also bad after mass removals. It is midrange chaff, in the worst sense of the word – a five drop that is incapable of winning games alone and merely stalls you towards better, more expensive fatties but does so unreliably. Necro was very narrow last time I’ve tried it, but now the cube has better fixing so it might fare better. Also black control is lacking and I want to diversify control decks and offer them an alternative to blue. Black card draw might be the answer.
-Yawgmoth's Will, +Painful Truths
Yawgmoth’s Will is a late game card that is not very efficient. It usually creates a two for one, but at a hefty price. Outside of storm decks this is not exciting and we do not play storm. PT is again more black draw. We see 3+ colored decks every draft and splashing is easy enough that I expect it to draw 3+ often. Life loss is a big issue though of course, I’m hopeful it will work out as planned.
-Attrition, +Liliana, the Last Hope
The two cards are somewhat similar – both cost the same and kill creatures. Both want you to pack sizeable amounts of men in your maindeck. Liliana is better when behind however and is better against black decks, aggro and mana elves. She is obviously unable to kill large creatures, but she can weaken them still, for no mana and no sacrifice while gaining loyalty. Overall she is less narrow and likely stronger.
-Tombstalker, +Overseer of the Damned
Tombstalker is too expensive for aggro, is not reliably enough cast for 5 for midrange, even after ramp and too fragile for control. Gurmag Angler is a bit better as it is spashable, costs merely 1 mana later and can be played on turn 4 much more easily. That said, it is also on the watchlist. Overseer will play better with reanimator and ramp and is better in tap-out control as a finisher. Not very exciting, but I hate how reanimation in black wants fatties outside the color.
Red
-Brimstone Volley, +Collective Defiance
A simple upgrade of burn spells. Volley is expensive and inconsistent, Defiance is highly versatile and can create card advantage.
-Roast, +Incendiary Flow
The truly worst burn spell in the cube as it targets only creatures, non-fliers at sorcery speed. See how much better Flame Slash is (though it is a fantastic card). Flow is a burn as efficient as Volcanic Hammer with an upside that won’t matter often, but when it will few other red cards could bail you out of the situation.
-Keldon Vandals, +Hanweir Garrison
Vandals needs to be without echo to stand up to the competition of red’s three drops. If it trades on the defense it was great, otherwise echo was seldom paid. Garrison is highly aggressive and offers a lot of synergies with mass pump and sacrifice effects.
-Hearth Kami, +Ancient Grudge
Kami is worse than Torch Fiend and Reckless Reveler. On average you need to pay much more. Grudge is better as artifact hate, both due to flashback and instant speed. I wanted more cheap answers to early brokenness like Tinker, Sol Ring etc. and Grudge seems like it will fill the job well.
-Harrow, +Search for Tomorrow
Comparable when cast for three but Search has an additional options. Let’s delve further. Harrow triggers landfall twice, is an instant and thins twice. However it is bad when countered and most importantly not playable for less than three mana. A two land hand, if one of them is a green source, is keepable with Search and not with Harrow. It is true green has many many mana elves as first turn play, however some decks do not want their mana as creatures, be it for Oath of Druids or because they pack mass removals.
-Ohran Viper, +Kessig Prowler
Viper is underpowered and unsplashable. It is still decent value, on both offense and defense, however late game it is bad and in many matchups the card draw is too slow. Prowler is highly desirable in aggressive decks. Aggro in green is non-existent. However I think it might still be plenty good in midrange. It will push aggression towards control, will trade against aggro and is acceptable later too.
-Sylvan Tutor, +Oath of Druids
Specific creature combo decks are not supported, and giving your opponent a whole turn to prepare on top of the card disadvantage is bad. Oath is more playable than ever because of planeswalkers increasing in numbers. A lot of cubes enjoy it and I want to test too. Planeswalkers are a major non-creature win condition that work well with Oath of Druids.
-Evolutionary Leap, +Eldritch Evolution
Both cards occupy the space of creature-replacement engines. Leap is fine but narrow, I do not want the cube to be full of these effects. It might be that Worldly Tutor will move for Evolutionary Leap or even this exact change reversed later.
-Avenger of Zendikar, +Craterhoof Behemoth
Avenger was not performing well. You absolutely do want to follow up with lands or the tokens will have to die in chump blocks (or you will die in a race). It is also not good in several situations. The first is when facing removal, especially instant speed. Yes, you do get a lot of blockers to buy time but that is all, you are still losing as hard as before. The second is when it is cheated early, again it is unimpressive with no land follow up. I wanted green to have a powerful “I win” card, that was even before Decimator of the Provinces was spoiled.
Multicolored
-Sphinx's Revelation, +Spell Queller
Revelation only ever went to one deck, Azorius control. In that deck it was a finisher of sorts – unplayable early, unwinnable late. There are many late game draw spells in mono blue already so this is replacable. Queller is something every Azorius deck will happily pack, it is a tremendous tempo swing.
Colorless
-Coercive Portal, +Emrakul, the Promised End
Portal is too slow and expensive, one of the consistent last picks. Also a very clunky text for the ability. Emrakul is of the better eldrazi as she is castable in control and is reanimatable. I decided not to cut an existing titan for redundancy, I want players to be able to count on seeing some of the titans each draft. It might be too many though, then Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre will move to the sidelines.
-Sword of the Animist, +Blinkmoth Nexus
Sword is a bad card I recommend no one to try. It is slow, low impact and has problems finding homes. If I already have creatures repeatedly attacking I want greater payoffs. It unreliable ramp, narrow and useless on the defense. Colorless lands have been extremely successful lately and only by a minor part due to colorless cost cards. Manlands with low opportunity costs are good, and Nexus can block fliers and carry equipment well.
Structural change – signets
I am reading the signets. I’ll start with the historic chain of events that led to this. At first the cube included all of the signets. Then some signets saw far less play than others, mostly Boros and Rakdos. After a while I’ve grouped the signets with the nonbasic lands of each guild in a compiled fixing section, that way naturally the aggressive guilds have lost their rock for more lands, and all was good for a while. However, more rocks were needed. Almost all colorless rocks were tried, even Thought Vessel. Eventually Sky Diamond was given a whirl, as blue has a lot of synergy with artifacts and needs rocks for Upheaval. It was hugely successful and saw more play than the weak signets ever did. It was so good Charcoal Diamond and Marble Diamond have been added. They all saw play.
However it was brought to my attention that an on color signet is still likely better than diamond. It still comes into play untapped, not to mention how it broadens your options during the draft. Now I’m adding all of them back instead of the nonblue diamonds and some weak rocks (nonblue because Sky Diamond sees play on top of all the blue signets and talismans still). Obviously, adding too many mana rocks is detrimental to aggro. However I anticipate that many new additions for the colorless section will be available with the new conspiracy and Kaladesh block, and Guardian Idol would be cut as well making the increase in cheap ramp minimal. That’s also the reason why the land section is a bit ugly and unbalanced – major changes are likely ahead.
About the cuts: Gitaxian Probe requires heavy synergy to be playable and even then is not exciting or something to build around. Goldnight Castigator was a huge flop – it is unplayable if it doesn’t kill as the drawback can easily kill you and your board. This is a weak Lava Axe of sorts. Skyshroud Claim is playable only in green super ramp, even there ramp costing four and boosting you by two is not always maindeckable. Sphere is of the weakest mana rocks as it both comes into play tapped and runs out of activations.
So sad to see Sneak Attack go. It, along with Wildfire, give red stuff to do besides aggro. The rest looks good, although I still run Avalanche Riders and Erratic Portal at 450 because of the shenanigans.
Cheers,
rant
Sorry for the very late reply, somehow I've never seen your response. I agree with you it is a problem and diversifying red is an issue. However decks that rely on specific cards are much more difficult to construct in a large cube - hence why Wildfire underperformed. Sneak Attack decks are less dependent on the namesake card so it might be back, but TBH reanimator is underperfoming as well at the moment. I really wanted more playable discard outlets in Innistrad. Oh well, it did not rotate from standard yet so we will likely get a few more pieces until that happens.
My hope currently lies with red artifacts. Goblin Welder and Daretti see play and with Kaladesh being just around the corner there is some reasonable chance that strategy will get bolstered.
Conspiracy 2 was not as good as Conspiracy 1. That is a high bar however and we still got plenty of interesting and powerful effects. Since conspiracies are so strong and beloved we’re going to test most of them although I expect some of them to disappoint. My full thoughts about the new cards can be found here
As before, in this thread I’ll mostly be talking about cuts.
White
-Lone Missionary, +Paliano Vanguard
There are too many life giving bears with Soulfire Grand Master, Seeker of the Way and Hidden Dragonslayer. As they are redundant, not very powerful and aggro does not need hosing currently I expect a few more of them to be cut. Theoretically Missionary is better than the others as it combos with white flicker effects, however it usually sees play in aggro as a two drop and all the rest of them are much better at attacking and/or blocking. Vanguard seems weak but probably not the weakest two drop in white as of now.
-Jazal Goldmane, +Palace Jailer
Jazal has always been a place holder. Jailer is likely much better as an aggro curve topper and offers the rare card draw in white for midrange. Jazal will not be missed.
-Parallax Wave, +Recruiter of the Guard
Wave is a very good spell, but white’s 4 drops are stacked. It also doesn’t help it has no reminder text for fading and is a wordy card in general. It was often left in the sideboard in favor of other better four drops. Recruiter is not really a three drop and so I’m more comfortable adding another three drop although that slot will need trimming soon too.
Blue
-Jace, Unraveler of Secrets, +Arcane Savant
I think Jace is a fine card, much better than people are giving it credit for. That said, blue has many 5cc planeswalkers and 6 other Jaces, all clearly better. It is hard not to cut a card nobody will miss and every player will always be sad playing as they compare him to the other versions, even if it is not the objectively worst card in the cube. Arcane Savant I’ve analyzed in length in my blog – it is a high pick but currently overrated.
Black
-Blood-Chin Rager, +Sinuous Vermin
An unexciting update. Vermin is a better card late game or when you are flooded and is usually better at breaking stalls. Rager suffers from distractive addition that made some players think Warrior tribal is a thing. This is obviously not a top black two drop, but likely not the worst one in there either. Black really needs more two drops.
-Necropotence, +Custodi Lich
Necropotence is too narrow unfortunately. It is sided out against aggro too. A shame as I like the archetype in theory but it is the second time the card fails at our cube. Lich is plenty value for the mana and is in the weak black five drop slot.
-Dance of the Dead, +Regicide
Reanimator just was not working and took a lot of real estate. It got new great fatties to recur recently with the new eldrazis but the bottleneck is as always the discard outlets. Innistrad block disappointed and did not introduce us enough new tools and therefore we are likely never getting enough to support reanimator at current numbers. Yes we will get a few good discard outlets in the next year I believe as we are in the same standard as Innistrad, but even then it is likely not enough. I am looking to cut one reanimation spell now and another later. Dance was cut now as it has by far the ugliest wording and a low play value outside of reanimator. Regicide is of the better spot removals in black, a welcomed addition.
Red
-Stromkirk Occultist, +Volatile Chimera
A high risk testing. Occultist was a placeholder, it dies to everything, is slow and the ability unwieldy. Chimera will range from broken (an attacking eldrazi turn 4, opponent annihilated) to not even having three creatures in the sideboard to activate his ability. Might be too random and/or too weak but is definitely exciting.
-Eidolon of the Great Revel, +Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
Originally it was a player request but I’m convinced now. Eidolon always hurts you more as you are an aggro deck. In the mirror it is bad, but it happened not too rarely that you locked yourself out of the game with it. Grenzo can goad defenders when you go wide and is a fun payoff for red aggro. Also not the strongest dude to have but it will get some testing.
-Guttersnipe, +Subterranean Tremors
Snipe saw play mostly in red aggro. It does damage the face but almost never the turn you play him, the body is insignificant and he dies to everything. Simply put, you either want better creatures or better burn and not a slow worse hybrid version. Storm combo is not supported here. Tremors is a cubeable Shatterstorm and an Earthquake that doesn’t hurt you.
-Generator Servant, +Pyretic Hunter
Servant is acceleration, true. But it doesn’t fix, the haste means nothing to red heavy drops as they have it naturally and you lose the body. A Goblin Piker is not good and if you need the fixing mana rocks are better as they linger and do not die to everything. Hunter is of the fattest creatures you can get with menace that so far overperformed expectations even as an 8/8.
Green
-Rattleclaw Mystic, +Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
Mystic was the worst green card by far. It can only fix some colors, does nothing the turn you play him and dies to everything. Land based ramp is more reliable and has synergies in green, while dying to a mass removal is a serious liability. Selvala should be played primarily for ramp. In those lens she should be great.
-Foe-Razer Regent, +Regal Behemoth
Regent offers things green does not usually get – a flier and removal. Thing is the removal is underwhelming quite often. Either the deck goes wide so one removal is not that hot, or it has bigger creatures than 4 toughness (not to mention planeswalkers). It just has no matchup it excels in. Behemoth is a much asked for green six drop. The potential is crazy, like all mana doublers, but she does not need setup to be good as she has a large trampling body and draws her own gas.
Multicolored
-Grenzo, Dungeon Warden, +Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast
Grenzo is a fun creature but honestly not that powerful. An Endless One that requires two colors is a terrible start and the ability, while having a high hit rate in Rakdos aggro, the deck that will play it, still has 40% chance of success in a good day. A two drop and a mana sink, a lovely combination, but by the end of the day it is weak compared to many monocolored two drops. Daretti is awesome in stacks decks and for the brave souls who will splash black in R/U artifacts. Narrow, but has a high powerlevel and the Goblin Welder deck will likely get more support once we get Kaladesh.
-Gerrard's Verdict, +Kaya, Ghost Assassin
Verdict is a constant underperformer. A bit of mystery to why really, which is probably why I refused to acknowledge that for so long. A 2-for-1 for two mana is as good as it can get (shutup Ancestral Recall). I have a few explanations for that phenomena. First, black white decks are just not built to win the card advantage game. Black has some draw, certainly, but almost all of it hurts you and it costs more than draw spells in blue and green. Cards that do not affect the board in Orzhov just have no follow up – it is not a game you can win. Even more importantly, the effect is just not strong early. Unlike Hymn to Tourach, you will never nuke your opponent’s hand of lands, nor will you foil his next turn’s play on turn 2 and usually much later than that too. It doesn’t matter it costs 2 as much as a result. Then it is also a dead topdeck most of the time. The window when it is great to play it is narrow, is unpredictable and is rarely in your control. Consider a removal or burn spell, and it is clear which is better for you. Kaya I heavily doubt will earn a spot, but as most planeswalkers is hard to evaluate correctly and is therefore tested.
Conspiracies
-Ratchet Bomb, +Emissary's Ploy
Bomb and Keg are at their second running in the cube and they failed marvelously. Never picked, never played. They are too slow at answering stuff. Ploy will always be played as it eases mana costs for your creatures and allows for a splash or two sometimes too.
-Tendo Ice Bridge, +Hymn of the Wilds
We had no difficulties supporting colorless costs and Tendo is a bad land outside of that. It has a serious drawback and the fixing is so puny. Hymn is a strong conspiracy to build around but alas will be unplayed if happens to be drawn at a later booster. The cube should have some of those cards but not too many.
-Memory Jar, +Summoner's Bond
Jar costs 5 and has no effect on the board, usually no effect whatsoever at least until next turn. Maybe it will return one day as it is very strong with Daretti and Welder, but this is not what the archetype is lacking currently and honestly is likely a win more thing anyway. Bond is the top card from this set, easy P1P1.
+5 colored conspiracies
Not all are created equal, but conspiracies have been so good so far I’m willing to test them all. Likely only the blue and green will remain, maybe the black one too. Heist is repeatbale card advantage if you can crack it, bomb with True-Name Nemesis. Unity is a combo with Persist but is an effortless way to make early game creatures relevant later. Assemble is sometimes just a free body but is more limited in where it can go and when it can be activated.
-5 colorless cards: -Powder Keg, -Guardian Idol, -Captain's Claws, -Trusty Machete, -Basalt Monolith
For Keg see Ratchet Bomb Above. Idol was marked for cutting when the signet cycle was completed. The two bad equipments were there to fill a quota for aggro and especially Relic Seeker. Now there is not enough space for this cuteness, either Seeker will fetch the equipment that is good on its own or it will leave the list. It is likely an insignificant drop in his powerlevel anyway.
I cannot recall when Monolith saw play last. It should be good at powering out titans. Problems is it is only a super ramp card. It is not playable in control, regular ramp or even tinker decks. No one here will miss it, although I am sad for the lost potential.
Final Note
The fixing lands and artifacts section have an imbalance of 4 cards. I am waiting for Kaladesh to fix this issue as we should be getting many colorless cards that will likely force reexamination anyway. It is released too soon after conspiracy! We already are getting a cycle of strong enemy lands.
I will be away for a month (going to climb mountains in Nepal) so the Kaladesh update will only be done after. My thoughts about the new cards can be seen at my blog (link in my sig).
Kaladesh was a marvelous set for cube. I was away for the last month, so this update is based on thoughts and experiences from around that time. I am sure much more feedback is available nowadays, but I am not up to date. As before, my full thoughts can be seen in my blog: https://mtgcubecrafting.wordpress.com/
White
-Seal of Cleansing, +Fragmentize
Efficiency is key, enchantment synergy in a large cube is near irrelevant. A major upgrade.
-Planar Outburst, +Fumigate
The best 5cc wrath by far, as it gains you back tempo. Outburst was never used for the awaken cost. I might still have one too many mass removals in white costing 5 mana, but there are also a touch too many white five drops at present.
-Adriana's Valor, +Angel of Invention
Adriana’s Valor does next to nothing. Not worth a pick, a cube slot or a look at all. Angel is made of greatness, among the better white 5 drops even in cube calibre. An army in a can or a Gisela, the Broken Blade impression, whatever fits the situation.
Blue
-Standstill, +Tolarian Academy
Standstill was a dead card way too often. Now we have many more manlands and planeswalkers, but on average this means your opponent will have more outs than you will have ways of abuse, as the new manlands are evenly spread among all colors. It is a fun card to build around, but narrow and often misplayed by inexperienced players. Not truly a deck archetype either, and can be completely dead late game. Academy is a broken card in the right deck, but that deck is hard to assemble. It is a juicy reward for the artifact deck that I hope will catch (especially considering the number of artifacts does increase after this set).
-Docent of Perfection, +Torrential Gearhulk
Docent is fragile and narrower. Gearhulk can be a total blowout quite consistently, I hope. Plus, artifact synergies in blue are a thing.
-Harbinger of the Tides, +Aether Theorist
Harbinger has a difficult cost and a narrow trigger. Theorist is definitely weak yet does offer early plays, slows aggro and advances your game plan. Overall a weaker Omenspeaker.
Black
-Transgress the Mind, +Collective Brutality
Collective brutality is a much needed discard outlet with enough utility to be playable on its own. It got good reviews by people who have tried it. Transgress is a good answer card but bad disruption and clunky. It is not great in the current metagame with little combo and a lot of aggro and midrange.
-Gurmag Angler, +Demon of Dark Schemes
Demon is a better control and reanimation card. Angler is not consistently playable for 4 or less mana, and definitely not quickly enough for the body to be exciting by the stage of the game it will see play at. Black needed a little push in said archetypes, which I hope Demon will provide.
-Overseer of the Damned, +Noxious Gearhulk
Lower on the curve, cheatable with artifacts and has higher impact immediately. A favorable trade. Black really wants lifegain, especially in reanimator and control decks.
-Silumgar Assassin, +Embraal Bruiser
Assassin is too expensive and limited, and is a 3 drop nearly all the time. Bruiser is aggressive for his cost with little drawbacks.
-Relentless Dead, +Syndicate Trafficker
Dead is too black heavy, and now we get a better recurring creature. Trafficker is splashable and aggressive if inconsistent and overall tame.
Red
-Thunderbreak Regent, +Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Regent is a serviceable red 4 drop that is playable in all theatres, like Chandra. It is weak however and never what you really wish for, it is just redundancy on playables. Red four drops is a crowded section. Chandra is very strong and what every red deck wants.
-Blistering Firecat, +Lathnu Hellion
Firecat is expensive and red intensive, or slow. Hellion is splashable and more aggressive. We will need to see how the lack of trample fares and if it nullifies the advantages of having high toughness. Hellion could be garbage, especially against tokens, it is a high risk test.
-Ash Zealot, +Speedway Fanatic
Red is too color intensive in its low drops. Zealot is forgettable and will not be missed. Fanatic will also see play but will be far more forgiving on the mana base.
-Greater Gargadon, +Through the Breach
Gargadon is a sac outlet, but as a standalone card it sees little play. Red is not the color that wants sacrifice outlets. Breach is redundancy for Sneak Attack (see below).
-Shrine of Burning Rage, +Sneak Attack
Shrine is a reward for heavy red decks. There are many such rewards already, and I want the color to be more splahable and playable in more strategies. Sneak Attack is a unique effect that got quite a boost by the new eldrazis and now from a few gearhulks. Players missed the card and I hope it will fare better now, especially as red artifact decks start to gain a foothold in the meta.
Green
-Tinder Wall, +Elvish Visionary
Wall is a great card for constructed. In limited however, mana elves beat him repeatedly. A good card for super ramp maybe, but has too much competition. Too often you have no use for the two red mana, and only ramp for one colorless. Also, when curving ramp spells, having an extra mana for 2-3 turns can be better than +2 mana for one turn. Thraben Inspector has been great, so now Visionary will be tested too. Visionary costs 2 mana always, but the card draw is cheaper and immediate. It plays better with blink/bounce/reanimation. Plus, green is a color that appreciates cheap creatures, for Gaea's Cradle, Natural Order, Survival of the Fittest, all overrun effects and more.
-Whisperwood Elemental, +Verdurous Gearhulk
Whisperwood is the weakest green 5 drop. It doesn’t pass the terminate test, has no evasion, is blocked completely by 4/4s or higher and the mass removal protection depends on you having other creatures. The manifest pat was very rarely relevant as most hits are noncreature, and many critters are unexciting without their enters the battlefield effects.
Gearhulk is all kinds of wonderful – it is evasive and huge, has immediate board impact and is abusable.
-Greenwarden of Murasa, +Nissa, Vital Force
Greenwarden is not the type of fattie you want to ramp into or cheat. It is a good curve topping value spell in midrange. Nissa has that and more. She has several interesting lines of play that all seem somewhat relevant. Not a top green planeswalker by any means, but strong enough for 720.
Multicolored
-Electrolyze, +Saheeli Rai
I’m not sure Saheeli is not too narrow for cube. She is good when you are the aggressor, but unplayable otherwise. Electrolyze does nothing wrong, and this change could very well be reversed soon.
Artifacts
-5 vivids, +4 guild fixing lands, +Filigree Familiar
4 guild-fixing lands were missing since the addition of signets, now it is remedied. The vivids lands are good, but there is a limit to how much fixing the cube can contain without the value of them all dropping and 4+ color decks being too prevalent. Plus, while vivids are great in 3+ colored decks, they are very weak fixing for 2 colored decks, especially aggressive ones.
Filigree Familiar is a great speedbump against aggro, and a good value card in general to abuse. Highly playable if not broad.
-Triskelion, +Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
Triskelion is more abusable and playable than ever, yet his impact is getting lower as well. In short, it never played for face value and not even great when reused or cheated. Skysovereign is comparable in dealing 3 damage immediately, yet serves pretty different roles. I hope that 3 power is not too much to ask.
-Sensei's Divining Top, +Smuggler's Copter
Top is an overrated card. The card quality you get is seldom worth a card. Not to mention the amount of time it adds to every given game. You absolutely need a lot of shuffle effects for the card to be good. Copter offers better card selection for most decks, in addition to evasion. It is also situated well to combat planeswalkers.
-Paliano, the High City, +Fleetwheel Cruiser
There is currently a tad too much fixing after completing the signet cycle and adding more “rainbow” conspiracies. Paliano is among the riskier and weaker lands, which does not work in non-draft formats. Cruiser is highly aggressive, dodges mass removals and has evasion.
-Blinkmoth Nexus, +Scrapheap Scrounger
There are enough colorless sources in cube so there is no need for Nexus. The density of equipment in a large cube is also low. Scrounger is a great aggro 2 drop, not to mention stacks applications.
-Mirrorpool, +Matter Reshaper
Splashing for 1 colorless mana is easy, but mirrorpool is both that narrowness on top of being slow and weak by itself until popping time. Great with Primeval Titan, weak otherwise. Reshaper has been reviewed well by people who tried it, and since cololrless cards see play consistently, I’m giving the small eldrazi a shot.
Temples are too slow for cube. While I really like their design, the drawback is too steep and the advantage is minor when not found in multiples. Fastlands are great especially for enemy colors aggressive decks. The cube is getting ever more fast and efficient which should make the cycle better in the long run. I’ve actually wanted to add the allied fastlands before the cycle was revealed for this set. As before, it might be a bad fit for the slower color combinations, but U/W and B/U tempo are now common enough that they merit retesting.
Overall, I like what you are doing here. I strongly disagree with the Gargadon cut. Gargadon is great with the newly added Sneak Attack and Through the Breach, plus it teams up well with Armageddon, Balance, token decks (which is a space red plays in a lot now), and almost any red deck. I'd probably leave out the Hellion or cut something like Pyretic Hunter, Keldon Champion, or Stoke the Flames to keep Gargadon.
While I think Top is overrated, I still think it's a great cube card and wouldn't cut it.
Recent sets had many testworthy cards for cube. With this in between sets update, I am aiming to cut a few failed experiments and test some more recent candidates that got good reviews from the community. To make it interesting, on each card I will try to explain why I might have misevaluated it and did not test it before, other than space concerns.
White
-Terminus, +Cataclysmic Gearhulk
Terminus did not even cross my eyes for a potential cut, as Rout looked worse. The removal effect of Terminus is better, and while Rout has a rare 7 mana mode, Terminus costs less. If we assume over 20% of the time it is miracled, it is cheaper than Rout on average, which is the most critical quality of mass removals. However that assumption was untrue. Control decks have draw spells which reduce the chances of you drawing Terminus naturally. Even if you do cast it on miracle cost, a significant amount of time this merely is a nice to have discount or even just unused, it is rarely game changing. In times when you have the card in hand, costing 5 and not 6 is often critical. Once you get to the later turns territory, Rout wins again. That is the last of the miracle cards to leave the cube, a mechanic rewarding luck and decreases sharply in potency as cube size goes up.
Gearhulk is alluring mainly because it is a maindeckable answer to artifact decks and superfriends that are both on the rise. It is also good card against aggro and token decks, which could be enough to make it a solid list inclusion. Also I think I have underestimated how big a 4/5 vigilance truly is. I am currently a bit heavy on white five drops, one might be cut very soon.
-Soulfire Grand Master, +Town Gossipmonger
Grandmaster is 90% of the time a 2/2 lifelink. You might think that is an acceptable thing, but all it does really is hose aggro. Most of the times as a white two drop it was played in aggro decks. The buyback ability is too color heavy and expensive for most decks and the body is too vulnerable and do-nothing to be a control finisher.
The recent rise of 2/3 bodies in cube hurts aggro decks across the scale, but white weenie the most. It relies heavily on 2/1 for W critters. Gossipmonger could be a part of the answer to that, plus it showed good results in other cubes. It is a high risk experiment as it is not a true one drop, is slow and does nothing alone.
Blue
-Spreading Seas, +Elder Deep-Fiend
Seas are too low impact. They cycle and give early action, but too often the color screw mechanism did nothing to change my opponent’s gameplan, whether because they had a solid mana base or because they play blue. Plus blue got Imprisoned in the Moon as an answer against problematic lands.
Black
-Life // Death, +Wretched Confluence
Reanimator still lacks enough good discard outlets. Currently the archetype gets more real estate than it can support. Death is the worse of the reanimation spells as it costs a lot of life and can only target your graveyard.
Confluence is mainly a plant for Arcane Savant and Torrential Gearhulk. The card seems good by itself too, but pushed over the top by these two. Black control is getting plenty new tools lately, with Languish, Kalitas, two new black six drops and now a newly spoiled mass removal.
-Painful Truths, +Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Truths is too narrow. Decks containing blue do not want it, two colored decks do not either. Gonti tested well in several places. The two facts I might’ve underestimated about him are:
1) The opponent’s deck will have better cards for the matchup on average than you. Control decks will have versatile removals and better card draw/threats, while aggro will have cheap blockers/removals.
2) It is hard to impossible to play around the card you are hiding.
Gonti looks like a solid midrange or control value creature, offering an easy 2 for 1 and high levels of excitement.
-Syndicate Trafficker, +Battle Brawler
A 3/1 does not need too much to be playable but it still needs more than Trafficker’s ability. Sacrificing an artifact is too high a cost. Brawler is a rarity in that it is an excellent blocker for black aggro decks. Rarely is black played alone in aggro anyway.
-Feldon of the Third Path, +Pia Nalaar
Feldon is a good dude I have no doubt but the archetypes he fits in are struggling at the moment, he is not the card that will save them and is playable otherwise. I am sick of seeing the card go so late for so many years and red has too many better three drops now. The double red cost is too limiting. Perhaps in the future, if Sneak Attack and/or the artifact cheat archetypes will really fly Feldon will be reintroduced.
Pia Nalaar has likely been underestimated for several reasons. First, as a splashable 2/2 + 1/1 flier is was seen as an anti-aggro card. Red has no need for those. Truth is, Pia is an aggressive card and she needs little or no artifact support to do quite a bit. Second, as seen with Goblin Heelcutter, Falter effects are often disregarded. Pia breaks open stalemates, especially if you sacrifice another artifact. It is very hard for your opponent to attack you if you have her on the table. Every artifact you topdeck is extra scary. Third, she is a proactive measure against planeswalkers. The Vindicate test is always taken into consideration but the planeswalkers test is not. With her on the table you can usually deal 3 flying damage at will should a planeswalker appear. All in all a good card with plenty of options and synergies.
Green
-Frontier Siege, +Naturalize
Frontier Siege costs 2 mana the turn you play it and provides +2 mana for every turn after while sometimes even producing four. That said, it has many inferiorities to land based ramp like Cultivate. It does not fix, thin your library or shuffle. It has only one home and that is green super ramp decks. Even there, it is not a high pick or even that desirable. Too often when you play it you play nothing else for the turn and that is near unacceptable for four mana.
I realized green needed one more disenchant effect. I wanted a cheap answer and not another Disenchant on a stick, to help combat powered starts.
-Eldritch Evolution, +Grapple with the Past
Eldritch is too narrow with the double green cost and heavy creature requirements for a mediocre reward at best. It does nothing on an empty board, costs your whole turn and barely increases board presence usually. Grapple with the Past is the hybrid child of Regrowth and Anticipate. It is a Nature’s Spiral not Regrowth, which is much worse. However, it is playable early and can get you out of screws and floods. Not Anticipate either, as it grabs less targets, but can get an even better card that got to the graveyard earlier. Green got many cards like this lately, and besides Oath of Nissa this is the best of the lot. Incidental synergies with delve, Tarmogoyf, Emrakul and reanimation are sweet as well.
-Surrak, the Hunt Caller, +Caller of the Untamed
Surrak granted things haste far less often than anticipated. As a 5/4 dork that does not pass the Vindicate test, has no evasion and little defensive value, it was just the card I wished my opponent was playing against me. It is easy to chump block forever, or be bounced/tapped/removed for value.
Caller of the Untamed is still slow but does offer green effects out of its color. If you name a four drop, with a mana elf involved you’ll be able to get the first token exactly on time. With a big butt and splashable cost, this merits testing before writing it off.
Multicolored
-Gavony Township, +Nahiri, the Harbinger
Township is by all means a fine card, just not great. It is not splash worthy. Most G/W decks do play many creatures and would play it, but it is not that powerful as it requires both a lot of mana and board presence. It break stalements and is a mana sink, but was activated far less than I’d like. It might make a comeback someday. Nahiri is a card not really fitting the Boros guild, but is still powerful and actually splashworthy. As the consensus 5th best Boros card, I want to at least try it. Plus, I’m closer than ever to actually balance the multicolored section, and this is a step in that direction.
Colorless
-Crucible of Worlds, +Ash Barrens
Crucible remains a card too narrow for a large cube and very overrated in general. You need 4+ synergies with it to actually be a worthy maindeck inclusion. Even with a fetchland, playing crucible will only pay off after 3 activations – that is at least 2 more turns, during which it does nothing. To be a worthy deck slot, you need to aim even higher. Cute with Smokestack decks but never doing anything alone and being so slow are harsh negatives. The combo with Strip Mine is great, but this is where cube size applies – you gain no new significant synergy cards as you go from 360 to 720.
Quoting myself on Ash Barrens from my blog:
The sole actually good card from Commander 2016, this is a great color fixer. The existing comparison that sees play in cubes is Terramorphic Expanse. Both cost one mana effectively, as Expanse brings the land tapped. The major difference between them is that later in the game Barrens will fix you immediately, while Expanse will not. It can also provide one colorless mana this turn if you must hit your curve. So at first, this seems vastly better.
This is not always so however. Barrens costs you mana this turn, which means that the cheaper and more color intensive your cards are the worst it becomes. If you need to keep your two islands up for a Counterspell and fetch a Plains, Terramorphic allows you to do that but Barrens will not. Equally there are times when I want to cast a Dark Confidant having BU on my second turn and a mana Drain on my third which Barrens will allow yet Evolving Wilds won’t.
There are some other drawbacks too. A one land hand with Terramorphic can be a consideration, say if you have a mana elf, but Ash never will. Expanse is vastly better with Sun Titan or Crucible of Worlds. It also allows more landfall triggers, say for Tireless Tracker. It is weaker against Thalia, Heretic Cathar. Barren is not dead when you run out of basic lands to find.
Overall this comparison is not too relevant. Point is they are of comparable power level. In small cubes I’d play Ash and one copy of Evolving Wilds for variety. In large cubes I’d play all three. I think this claim requires some backup. Expanse is one of the more widely used yet undervalued cards. Playing it always feels just okay, if not an act of desperation. In 3+ colored decks basics are rare, in 2 colored decks they are always slow and in mono colored decks unplayable.
In a regular 2 colored deck, this is akin to the Guildgate cycle in terms of pure fixing. While true, even a guildgate with all its glorious mediocrity would see play in all decks that its color form the core of. Yes, even aggro. Mana fixing is valuable. It will even be worth a draft pick. It is not worth a cube slot however, as they will generally appeal to 0-1 drafters at the table, will never be a high priority and are next to useless off-color.
Now take a look at the powerful vivid land cycle. Instead of playing 4 different gatelands, a vivid land packs them all in one card. Darkslick Shores will relatively often go unused, Vivid Marsh never did in years of play. The saving of space is tremendous and allows to fit more action into cube packs while still giving drafters the tools they need for consistency. Ashes is that same principle taken to the extreme – every deck with 6+ basics of 2+ colors will want it. Heck, even some mono decks would pack it if they want colorless mana! This cube space conservation is invisible to the drafter, which is why those lands are often disregarded as weak fixers that wheel. A playable fixer for all decks is a rare thing indeed.
In addition, Ash Barrens offers other synergy benefits. It is a shuffle effect for Brainstorm or Jace TMS, delve fodder, Eternal Witness target if you need the mana, deck thinning and more.
Aether Revolt was a nice set for cube. Not as many cards as last few small sets but we got spoiled. It has a large number of high risk test cards, but that is part of the fun! Many parts of the cube got small upgrades – a new mass removal in black, better two drops for blue, red and black and a colorless mana sink. The most innovative part of this set is the expertise cycle, which I have high hopes for. I also find the flavor of this set terrific. As last time, my detailed opinions about the new cards will appear later in my blog. Here I’ll be focusing more about what is cut and updates that are unrelated to the new set.
White
Ajani Goldmane -> Sram's Expertise
White has so many 4 drops. Ajani is a narrow planeswalker as he only slots in aggro and/or token decks. He needs at least 2-3 creatures out to be worth his mana cost. It looks like Ajani and the card replacing him will work well together but in practice there is a limit on how many 4 drops a deck wants, and the other white 4 drops are just stronger and/or less conditional. Many games have been won with Spectral Procession into Ajani Goldmane and nothing but. He had an admirable career in cube, now it is his time to retire.
Expertise is a card of low powerlevel itself but well positioned to take advantage of the free spell given its color and cost. It is an experiment that I can easily see failing.
Blue
Aether Theorist -> Baral, Chief of Compliance
Theorist is a bad card. It was only playable or even a remote consideration because blue needs that body at that casting cost. Baral does that on top of a much more powerful effect. Make no mistake – 90% of Baral’s power still comes from that body, but as the competition is so weak (Omenspeaker) it will likely stay in the cube for the foreseeable future.
Scatter to the Winds -> Disallow
Sactter’s trigger never did much. Keeping six mana open is hard and the 3/3 body is not impressive at that stage of the game. It was not uncommon to even see people intentionally not animating a land as to not expose it to spot/mass removals. Disallow is, again, mostly just Cancel. I think the card is overrated and Dissolve is better. That said the effect is unique in cube and therefore will likely at least create a few stories before (and if) it will be abandoned in the future.
Aether Adept -> Baral's Expertise
Aether Adept had a relatively long career for a card of such low power. It was never optimal as the double blue cost is a hindrance to all tempo decks but those with devotion. Now those are no longer played. Even worse, the 3 drop slot has exploded in all colors recently, and Adept has a direct competition with them when it comes to deck building. Third, there are more playable bounce effects now than before. Fourth, the 2/2 body is not as impressive nowadays when 2/3 bodies invade the cube in numbers.
Baral’s Expertise is a polar card – extremely high ceiling but a terrible floor. Time will tell if it is worth the risk. I have the feeling it will be good on average but we will have to see.
Academy Ruins -> Gitaxian Probe
Even heavy artifact decks did not want to play it. Less useful as the colorless mass removals have all been shifted out. Too narrow. Probe is the opposite of that – very playable, yet never necessary and has weaker synergies. Still good to have perfect knowledge of our opponent’s hand. Aggro decks should happily pay the 2 life for increased consistency barring the mirror match. Activating prowess/Young Pyromancer, fueling delve and baby Jace, pumping Tarmogoyf and more are all small bonuses to this extremely playable card. The recent banning should do well for his reputation and perhaps will make him be picked higher than it was before.
Black
Black got a big update this set.
Black Sun’s Zenith -> Yahenni's Expertise
No doubt Expertise is better. It is more cost effective. Zenith is mostly cast for 3-5 mana so Expertise could even see play over it without the free spell rider. With it though, it is no contest. I’d happily take a turn 4 mass removal into a mana rock/Liliana/3 drop over small perks of permanent weakening, reshuffle and being a hard mass removal if you dump a lot of mana.
The more interesting question is why not to cut a non mass-removal card. I feel that with Demon of Dark Schemes and Wretched Confluence black has enough mass removals. Black control got great many tools in recent sets and we feels it rising in power. Zenith was always more of a placeholder than anything.
Vampire Hexmage -> Gifted Aetherborn
Black got two spot planeswalker removal spells so Hexmage is less necessary. There is a limit to how many double black costing cards a cube can have. Aetherborn is a much broader card. It doesn’t kill planeswalkers, but it will punch through most blockers and trade even with the larger ones. Good against midrange, lifegain is huge against aggro and the 2/3 body can comfortably contain one drops and some utility bodies for profit.
Embraal Bruiser -> Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
Massive upgrade. Siphoner has built-in evasion and card advantage, with less power but no drawback either. As close to a strict update as cube swaps can be.
Malicious Affliction -> Fatal Push
Trying out the new card here mostly. Affilction costs the dreaded double black and using the trigger well is hard and rare. Push covers an area in black that probably does not need fulfilling, but it is at the very least a better sideboard card. Probably not a great card for this format.
Master of the Feast -> Herald of Torment
Master is too risky. If you face a Maze of Ith, Opposition or Faith's Fetters it loses you the game. Obviously instant speed removal hurts as well, but even bouncing him after your upkeep is no fun. Being an aggro-only 1BB critter is narrow so those weaknesses are less easily tolerated. If you have one job, better do it well!
Herald has less drawbacks and gives black some needed evasion. Even more than that, it gives black some reach it currently lacks. Nowadays, with black cards, you are basically alive unless you are dead on board. Herald should help change that.
Assemble the Rank and Vile -> Cryptbreaker
Assemble is too narrow to be worth the bookkeeping. Requiring the black mana to be available when the named creature dies just misses so often. Sometimes you just have better things to do with that mana than a 2/2 tapped token, even if it is free card advantage. Cryptbreaker impressed me in other formats and is being praised by other cube owners. In decks without mass removal the 2/2 body making machine that starts on turn 2 must be answered quickly. It is also a fine way to cycle late game useless cards. The zombie synergies in black are cumulative and CB works with Sarcomancy, Gravecrawler and Liliana, the Last Hope’s ultimate among other things. It is a cheap and quick discard outlet. It is a card that could potentially be keepable in a hand with all lands, or just lands and uncastable high drops. On the other hand, in board states where a 2/2 body is weak, it does little. He is also not aggressive and demands plenty resources. Worth testing at the very least.
Sinuous Vermin -> Scrapheap Scrounger
Scrapheap is moving from colorless. Now that red has all its two drops be better than it, it can be probably safely said that nonblack decks will only play it if they have to. Not a terrible place to be when it happens, but not what you aim for. Vermin is too wimp on turn 2 for aggressive decks. If it had a keyword it would probably survive in the cube for a little while longer.
Red
I’ve found that red’s curve is a bit too high, not at the creature side of things but at the spell side. Lower curves makes for stronger aggro decks and more interactive games. Also some of red’s cards that are specifically good against 2 toughness creatures are being replaced to reflect the increase in toughness.
Speedway Fanatic -> Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
Fanatic is in theory better than Borderland Marauder. Until the third time Marauder connect on an empty board, Fanatic leads with tempo. On top of that it should be a better topdeck. However Fanatic suffers on three fronts. First – it will trade down with tokens. Second, 2/3 bodies stop her. Third, when she is on board she is a smaller threat to planeswalkers than the big beaters. Overall it turns out a random 3 power 2 drop is better and even those are starting to look out of place after this update.
Kari Zev is the best red two drop in cube. Beats for 3, holds equipment well and is very hard to completely block. She has synergies with Purphoros, anthems and Hero of Oxid Ridge.
Makindi Sliderunner -> Aether Chaser
Runner punches through tokens for damage and holds swords relatively well, but it too inconsistent to be worth those small upsides. Aggro is a deck that thrives on consistency. Chaser suffers some of Speedway’s illnesses, especially when it comes to 2/3 bodies, but the first strike is still quite great. Most 1 and 2 drops cannot trade with him. The token is good with Purphoros, Hellrider, Skulcllamp, Pia Nalaar and more. Just having an extra body to carry a sword is nice. Not a huge card, but probably better than the bottom of the barrel of red’s 2 drops.
Magus of the Wheel -> Brazen Scourge
Magus was a huge letdown. The dream scenarios of beating a few times with it then cashing him for value later were rare. It is too slow and fragile for drawing cards and remarkably bad at beating. Scourge is pretty much what you always want to be doing on turn three in an aggressive deck. It is of the best three drops to cast on curve. 3 toughness is a meaningful boost over Geier Reach Bandit as it will not trade with 1 drops and most 2 drops. It really should have been included earlier, it is not a card whose power level is transparent. To my defense, Lathnu Hellion and Volatile Chimera are still in testing stages in red and Pia Nalaar was there until recently. The double red cost is no concern because as of now it is the only 1RR costing creature in the cube.
Fire Imp -> Galvanic Blast
Red’s three drops are stacked. Fire Imp is only good against specific decks. Against them, the ability to answer threats earlier is key (think Dark confidant or a mana elf). Even on turn 3 and up, the 2/1 body of imp is unimpressive enough that playing Blast + a two drop is likely a better tempo play still. Imp has a serious drawback of being unplayable on an empty board, and his enters the battlefield field is too situational to be worth reusing somehow with bounce/reanimation. Imp is a fine card, and perhaps will be reincluded if Lathnu Hellion and/or Volatile Chimera will fail us.
I was shying away from Shock variants as they felt underpowered and read bad. Recent research has showed that the curve of burn spells is comparatively high in this cube, which hampers aggro decks. It doesn’t help as much if the creature curve is low if the spell curve is not. After all, for every time you aim a Searing Spear at something with two toughness/loyalty, a Shock is theoretically better. Cheap burn spells will also help the spells matter cards – Snapcaster Mage, Young Pyromancer, Monastery Swiftspear, Abbot of Keral Keep, Monastery Mentor, Jace, Vryn's Prodigy and more. I will be looking closely at how Blast performs and might include more cards of its ilk in the future. Galvanic specifically also has the potential to be explosive in the artifact decks, although metal craft is a tall order.
Village Messenger -> Goblin Glory Chaser
This rarely got to and/or remained on its dark side. This will only get worse as the cube cards become cheaper and more streamlined and playable with time. Chaser is a worse topdeck. However, you have more influence compared to your opponent on Chaser’s performance, and I prefer the proactiveness.
Staggershock -> Kari Zev's Expertise
Staggershock is only interesting when it kills a pair of 2 toughness creatures. It is great with Iterative Analysis. Both are not very good reasons to keep the card, and again a Shock variant might still be better in both cases. Since this theory craft was not yet backed up with results I have not included another Shock and decided to test a new card instead. Expertise is the most playable Threaten effect we have ever gotten. It might still not be good enough as it is not a good turn 3 play and it is hard to use the free spell well since it can only be so cheap.
Zealous Conscripts -> Release the Gremlins
Aggressive 5 mana cards always have problems and this is conditional on top. Not worth splashing for as you never know what you will get, and pretty bad if it doesn’t deal the killing blow or has an infinite combo (which this cube does not support).
The need for artifact hate is ever growing. The artifact deck specifically is on the rise. This is a great thing to do if it nets you two bodies and kills two mana rocks. It will be a key card in some matchups. However it is too expensive to replace the cheaper answers and can be too much of a hoser card. Average case of a Manic Vandal is highly playable, even if just as a sideboard answer.
Devoted Druid -> Greenwheel Liberator
High risk testing. Druid is the weakest ramp card as it costs more than mana elves, is less durable than Rampant Growth and can only do a double ramp once. The jump of 2->5 is not as strong as the ramp of a mana elf. Liberator has abysmal floor but very high ceiling. Crazy with a turn 2 fetch land. It will probably not be worth it though.
Explore -> Decimator of the Provinces
Explore is inconsistent at ramping, which costs games. Better topdeck than Rampant Growth, but that is secondary to the card’s main function. Craterhoof Behemoth is liked here. I want to try and create an overrun archetype. Elder Deep-Fiend was, to my surprise, played more times for his full cost than emerge so far. It was sided in against control and played in decks without blue mana and too much ramp. Decimator could provide the redundancy necessary for an Overrun deck.
Kalonian Hydra -> Creeperhulk
Hydra in vacuum is a faster clock. However Creeperhulk with only one creature out beats for more damage the turn after it is played, and if it kills, who cares about any later turns? I think the much more common scenario will be to attack with 2-3 buffed bodies the turn after you play it. In other words, if you untap with it, you should win in most board states. It is also a much better topdeck, as it can overrun immediately, especially if Gaea’s Cradle and the like are involved. It is also a better card on the defense, as having 5 toughness is better than 4 and it can make your mana elves very bulky on that side of combat as well. Another key point is that you can sandbag Creeperhulk until you have the mana to immediaely pump something, making it better against removals. Hulk has no synergies with Reveillark or Recruiters, but honestly they are too rare for us to care. Creeperhulk suffers from being released in a commander product – it is less known since it was never played in limited, type 2 or modern. However, paraphrasing Nicholas West, it is “the Craterhoof Behemoth nonramp decks can play”.
Multicolored
Three gold planeswalkers are cut in this update. This is not an agenda against them, but rather on the contrary - many planeswalkers are tested extendedly on the merit of their card type alone. Also, too many of them cost 4 mana.
Kiora, master of the Depths -> Rogue Refiner
Since Wizards stopped printing printing mana elves, we get better green three drops. Refiner is highly playable. Never was a creature printed that drew a card with having power equal to its mana cost. The two energy will mostly be flavor text, but that’s fine. A free body is good for all decks that can play the colors. Kiora is a fine card, but weaker than the monocolored planeswalkers and is not worth splashing for either. She is weak in the planeswalker deck too, requiring too many creatures to be playable there.
Saheeli Rai -> Electrolyze
Saheeli was a flop. Izzet decks are usually control around here, so she was too narrow to be worth it.
Shadowmage Infiltrator -> Dragonlord Silumgar
I do not love Silumgar but it is undeniably strong. I dislike how it punishes midrange and cheat decks hard, while being weak to unplayable against control decks. That said, it is more exciting and needed than Infiltrator. Decks today have a hard time giving up the tempo to slowly gain cards, he doesn’t work with you own mass removals and on top of that is a dead card against decks with a high black/artifact creature count. Still a fine card, but far from necessary.
Kaya, Ghost Assassin -> Renegade Rallier
Kaya is just too weak in the face aggro, or in aggro for the matter. The life loss stacks, she is not easy to defend and in general was hard including into decks. Flickering is not a good answer to may threats. Rallier is also a high risk test, but the upside is huge. Fetchlands are worth mentioning again, but also following up a trade of two drops with this is fun times.
Colorless
Scrapheap Scrounger-> Heart of Kiran
Scrapheap moved to black, see above. Heart is supremely narrow yet the planeswalker deck is drafted consistently here so I think it has a chance to be busted.
Scuttling Doom Engine -> Walking Ballista
Scuttles is too bad on the defense for a six drop. It is also not a reliable finisher. Ballista’s power is in her flexibility. Need to kill that early BoP? Done. Need to Shock that planeswalker on turn 4? Easy. It is also a mana sink for your Tolarian Academy, Channel and Mana Drain and can be fetched with Trinket Mage.
Nevinyrral's Disk -> Cultivator's Caravan
Disk is too slow and too hard to find synergy with. It wrecks your own mana rocks after all, and red decks can quite easily destroy it before it matters. Caravan it a test – vehicles have been performing well so far and he was requested as an addition.
Engineered Explosives –> Leovold's Operative
Explosives seldom saw play here. A sideboard card at heart, it has too many conditions strapped on to shine. Operative is weaker than Cogwork Librarian by far, but smoothing drafts and having more relevant picks to consider are still things I want more of. It overall makes for a better draft experience, I believe.
A small between-sets update. This update pushes the support for cheat strategies on several fronts, mostly by adding a few more fatties. Currently some cheat cards are very successful and consistently win games (Channel, Tinker, Sneak Attack) yet most are rarely played (Eureka, Show and Tell, Oath of Druids, Through the Breach, Daretti, reanimation). A few more incentives to drafts said archetypes should help diversify the metagame and introduce more “build-around” cards for the draft.
The other half of the update is regular maintenance – replacing failed tests or weak cards with new cards from Aether Revolt or cards that can shine in the current metagame.
I think Roc is a good card, but at some point even good cards do not cut it anymore. White got two new five drops with Cataclysmic Gearhulk and Angel of Invention. That meant white has 7 five drops, and for a color that is not big on midrange and has no ramp that is a bit heavy. Roc is a conflicted card. It requires having an attacker on demand yet is a five drop and is basically a self-contained win condition. Decks with few creatures cannot play it, it costs too much and is too conditional for aggro (talk about a lacking wrath followup). It is best as an aggro hoser in midrange and token decks, not a slot needs filling. It does have impressive stats for the cost when kicked and has the capacity to reverse the tide of the game sometimes, but less so than Cataclysmic Gearhulk, the current weakest white five drop. Roc is a card I like and might be back some day.
Anthem benefits from a large number of token generators printed in recent years (since it was cut) – Rabblemaster, Hanweir Garrison, Angel of Invention, Hangarback Walker, new Gideon etc.
Oblivion Ring and its ilk have been very successful. An enchantment is hard to answer in cube, making them almost drawbackless unconditional removals. However I went overboard with them. This is very visible with Cataclysmic Gearhulk, which sucks when you have two Banishing Light effects. To help diversify the color and make it less soft to disenchant, this change is made. Snare is not even good and is more of a sideboard card or a piece for very removal light decks. Condemn has been in the cube before and is a known evil. The downside of only being playable in control is real, but it is top notch in that theater and at the very least a formidable sideboard card. Works well with Snapcaster Mage and a few more cards.
Infiltrator is weak for two reasons – skulk is unreliable and the discard ability is not often useful. When your opponent has a wall, Infiltrator is of the deadest cards there are. Even worse if they have a 1/1 token. The discard ability was rarely used as almost always the creature is preferable to a 3/2 token + a land (or other irrelevant) card in hand. It was never used with other discard outlets either and blue decks are not dense with creatures in the first place.
Leviathan is mostly there for Daretti and Goblin Welder. Empowering Tinker is not desirable but unavoidable. I like what it brings to cheat archetypes in terms of matchups – it is weakest against aggro decks, that go wide or just race it, and best against control decks that depends heavily on spot removals and likely play islands. It is good not having your game plan biting you with a Control Magic, bounce or just an Oblivion Ring after all the effort you’ve put into it. Leviathan makes deathtouch creatures more relevant too which is nice.
Imprisoned in the Moon is a much better removal spell. Char has fallen off lately in power in cube as aggro decks are faster and creature are more robust. Nowadays it is not too rare to see yourself playing Psionic Blast at two drops such as Sylvan Advocate. Blast is not good on the defense and is only okay as a planeswalker removal option. In blue tempo decks, Snag should be better. Snag is a card I’ve always wanted to try, but never found the right cut or space. In tempo and/or prowess decks with the likes of Snapcaster Mage, Thing in the Ice, Edric, Monastery Mentor etc. The card might still be narrow to be worth a slot, but it is the best creature only bounce spell so it probably warrants testing.
Drone is so weak, it is only played when you are short on one drops. That may sound kind of obvious but is not. You do not want to cut one drops from your aggro decks if possible, cutting something more expensive is nearly always better. Play one less three drop, do not cut a Savannah Lions. Drone is sufficiently bad that it does get cut relatively often in BX decks, even in aggro, its sole home. Losing one life per turn is terrible in the mirror, any kind of race or on the topdeck. Other black one drops are also bad, but not as much – they have more toughness, less life loss and better creature types.
Whisper gets a second look as there are less self-life-loss cards in back now. In addition, black has more lifegain cards since Whisper was last tried – Kalitas, flip Liliana, Gifted Aetherborn, Brutal Hordechief, Collective Brutality and Noxious Gearhulk. Whisper is still bad against aggro, and might not be worth a deck slot as an aggressive card, so this is swap was pulled more by Drone being horrible than Whisper being exciting.
Dragon is a weak version of Sarkhan and Thundermaw Hellkite. Still playable, a good mana sink, reliable win condition and snipes down planeswalkers. But it was never great, never the best card for the job. Bosh is a prime Welder/Daretti tool. It benefits from recursion, wins the game reliably and most importantly, will not be snagged by nonred drafters at the table. Bosh also works reasonably well with sneak attack. Dragon is slightly broader in application, but many of the decks that will play it will also play bosh, such as R/G ramp and some U/R decks, if they have some artifact focus.
I don’t remember when the last time the 3/3 was cast, let alone was relevant. 80% or more of the time the cards will play the same. As a late topdeck, or a sideboard card, Vandalblast has the potential to do much more.
The issue here is more about cube balance than power level. Isn’t a one sided Shatterstorm too much of a hoser against artifact based decks? It is undeniably potent in that role. However artifact decks are very strong, and they get more support in this update, they need to be kept in check. I also think it is possible to fight and or recover from mass artifact removal, just as creature decks can be expected to cope with Wrath effects. It might require you to play differently, keeping a few mana rocks in hand. It might require you to be quicker than otherwise, diversify your threats, and pack targeted discard, more counterspells, resilient threats or just Daretti. It will initiate evolution of artifact based decks, but that is not a bad thing. Red does have a lot of such effects in cube currently with Fiery Confluence and Subterranean Tremors. That helps explain the next cut.
Red just got a potent anti-artifacts tool, and already has a ton of artifact spot removals. Grudge is the weakest as it does nothing if there is no target, and is only great when you will have two targets and also play green, a color already quite capable in dealing with artifacts. Still a good tool that will be kept in mind.
Hellkite is of the best mono red targets for Through the Breach and Sneak Attack. Also a fine ramp target and works well with many cheat strategies, from Show and Tell to reanimation.
Liberator is cut after a brief testing time, it is just too inconsistent at what it tries to do, drops in value quickly and awkward in green without aggro. Stampede is redundancy for Oath of Druids and Eureka, and got positive feedback from other cube owners. A large cube needs all the redundancy it can get.
The new artifacts destruction tools are answers to Daretti/Welder in green. They are also good counter measures to Wurmcoil Engine, Hangarback Walker and Sundering Titan. Shuffling the artifact back seems like a huge drawback in all other cases but is usually an advantage. It doesn’t raise the chances of drawing a business spell significantly. If they draw what they Tinkered for on turn three, chances are it is going to be a dead weight for the rest of the game in their hands. The same applies for shuffling their mana rock back, or making them draw that vehicle in a stage of the game it will be hardly relevant in.
Natural State is an efficient answer to power 9, but too narrow in scope now that Daretti is more heavily supported and the nonred gearhulks are quite secure for at least the medium length term. Fragmentize does not suffer as much for several reasons. First, white is an aggro color and green is not in this cube. Second, white has plenty of removals that do not send to the graveyard unlike green, so it has answers to the strategies and threats mentioned above. Third, it still has more targets and the instant speed is not as important on this effect.
Olivia is a fine card, but not better than the mono colored alternatives. Most red four drops have natural haste and black three drops have small bodies that do not benefit much from the haste. On average Olivia hasted less than one creature per game she touched the battlefield. Certainly a 3/3 flier is still fine for the mana but she is not a reason to splash and only good in aggro. Rakdos had more multicolored cards than other colors and Dimir too few, so that is slightly evening out the odds.
Tezzeret is a powerful card for artifact decks that get a push in this update. The major downside is cumulative narrowness due to both being bad with low artifact counts and costing two colors. Another downside that could prove significant is that the two other Tezzerets slot into exactly the same decks, yet are more powerful. Schemer is inevitability against control, somewhat likely card advantage against aggro and solid all around in some decklists, so it warrants some play time. Plus some players showed interest in playing him.
Arlinn is best described as clunky. Her best abilities cannot be used repeatedly. Many times the ability you really want is on the other face of the card, and you have to wait a full turn to get it. Arlinn is a convoluted way to do fair things in imperfect timings. Yes, incrementally she can be worth a whole lot for her mana. Each of her abilities shine in different situations, making her broader than most cards. But she is slow to react. Need to rebuild after a mass removal? Need to shoot down something? Want to give your titan haste this turn? Not with Ms. Kord.
Huntmaster is good value for mana. It seems like a bit of an aggro hoser, being two blockers and life gain for four mana, but it is solid all around, with the back face threatening to control decks and still four points of power for four mana that cannot be killed by a single spot removal. Now that green has a small overrun theme (Craterhoof, Decimator and Creeperhulk) Huntmaster gained a lot of value.
Hymn of the Wilds is a very strong card. It stand among the best first picks, even in cube. People have equated Hymn to starting each game with a free mox in play. It will almost always be better than that as you will cast multiple creatures. Going first turn, two drop and second turn, two more two drops can be made quite consistently and that is brutal.
What Hymn doesn’t have is variety. All hymn decks look the same, largely play the same and most importantly, makes the draft mindless. It just limits your options too much and becomes repetitive. Certain colors are unplayable with it. Passing powerful cards you cannot play creates feel bad moments. As a more minor issue it screws a bit with the curve and signaling for the rest of the table.
Workshop has an immensely powerful ceiling. It is balanced by being playable in one deck per draft at best, and even in said decks can screw you depending on your draw and when you get it. It is powerful enough to build around and got much more support with the gearhulks, Bosh and Leviathan so I am quite hopeful it will perform well.
Reshaper requires that colorless source quickly. If you can get the guy by turn three, it is great and likely worth playing even in (tap-out) control. That is rarely the case however. It is not a card with great synergies or a rare effect worth building around, it is just a nice to have. Assuming you can play it that is, which is not often. Harvester is a pushed vehicle. It provides presence after a mass removal, annoys planeswalkers and grants evasion to colors and decks that need that. So far vehicles have been great at the cube. It might be too punishing for aggressive decks with the high toughness and lifegain so is worth keeping an eye on.
-Kozilek, the Great Distortion, +Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Kozilek is hardcastable and Emrakul is not. However with that mana cost, being hard cast is the least common occurrence. Distortion is just a 12/12 menace when reanimated/sneak attacked. Sounds impressive, but dies to all removals/bounce and can be blocked for a while to stall. Emrakul is very narrow but is the ultimate reward to cheat strategies. It is exciting and as all the other eldrazis see play I think she will too. I am more concerned about her lack of interactivity. You can respond to ulamog with Path to Exile/ a bounce spell. Emrakul might see little play AND make games binary, but I need to test her at least once. Another note is that the cube might want to play all the eldrazis it can at this size. If the demand will still be large enough, Kozilek will return.
Small update between sets
This is mostly an update to metagame changes. There are two themes in this update – fattie cheat support and reanimation support.
Reanimation-
Cut: Nether Void, Sinkhole, Terror
Add: Exhume, Life // Death, Dance of the Dead
Reanimation did was not a successful strategy in this cube in a long time. I’m always torn between the need to dedicate slots to it and the fear that committing cube space to a failing underplayed strategy will reduce playability. Perhaps a critical mass is needed. Last draft someone was picking fatties and discard outlets yet did not see reanimation spells during the draft at all. Three spells is not a huge amount, barely enough for a single dedicated deck. But, we are all fairly sure new cubeable reanimator spells will never be printed again, this is the best we have got. If it will continue failing, it will be cut almost completely and for a long time. Reanimator should also enjoy some cross-pollination from other cheat strategies.
As for the cuts, Nether Void played more like Rule of Law than Armageddon for us (and we have been playing it for over 5 years). Also, an unpopular opinion, but in the last few years Armageddons dropped in power level (and my local increase in mana rocks count can be a big part of it).
Sinkhole is disappointing for the second time. It needs a really good mana base to shine, as the spell loses value rapidly after turn two. It faces two problems. One, there are relatively many cards that cost BB and the cube cannot support many of them. Two, it is hard to find space in decks for cards that are not threats, removal or card advantage, and that space is already quite full in black by targeted discard.
Terror is almost assuredly better than Fatal Push. But Push is new so it needs more testing. Push is certainly better for diversifying the curve and against aggro. Ultimate Price hits slightly less targets than Terror if we count manlands, but Terror has a large overlap of targets, with Shriekmaw, Doom Blade and Snuff Out.
This is a change that would happen independently of reanimator support, but nevertheless bolsters the archetype somewhat. Tutor is rarely played. It is very rare you need a specific creature that badly, you usually opt to play another threat. Plus, green has other better tutors. It is a bad topdeck for midrange decks, and even combo decks do not usually want it. It underperforms for the second time in this cube.
Wayfinder is a broadly playable filler. It fetches nonbasics lands, and is a body for Gaea's Cradle, Survival of the Fittest, Natural Order and Cratehoof Behemoth. Amonkhet added new graveyard synergies with embalm and aftermath. It is always a nice way to fuel Tarmogoyf!
Cheat strategies support –
The broad scope of strategies thst try to play giant creatures for cheap without paying their mana cost fairly with ramp is what I call cheat strategies. The main enablers are Sneak Attack, Show and Tell, Oath of Druids, Tinker, Channel, Eureka, Selvala's Stampede and Natural Order. I recently added Emrakul, the Eons Torn, several years after its release. I feared two things:
1. The card, not being reanimatable, is too narrow and will not see play often.
2. The card is uninteractive and binary – in games where you get emrakul into play you win, and there is very little your opponent can do about it.
Turns out both were wrong. Emrakul excites player, people want to break her. She is the sort of stuff decks are built around. Also, not being reanimatable was not a big deal, the other ways are more numerous even after this update. Turns out she is not as overpowering as I’ve thought. I’ve seen people survive and win more than once an Emrakul that was cheated with Through the Breach or Sneak Attack.
As such, I am less fearful of adding other powerful cheat-only fatties.
Titan has just a miserable body. A 7/10 without evasion is easy to contain, it is quite manageable to consistently stall until you get a creature or artifact removal for him. He is also a rather slow clock anyway, having no haste. Breaking the symmetry with his trigger is also hard and not that rewarding in reality against the average opponent. It usually destroys two lands per player. Clossus is a prime target for cheating, especially with Sneak Attack, but probably fair, as enough toughness in blockers renders that use of the card near meaningless. It is also by far the best Tinker target, which is somewhat of an unwanted side effect.
-Foundry of the Consuls, +Sensei's Divining Top
Foundry is a playable filler in many decks. That said, it dropped in value lately. There are less colorless costing cards now, and with amonkhet you have plenty more mana sinks with cycling, embalm and aftermath. Color intensive decks never played it, others probably will not really notice. Top is still a good card. It feels wrong to cube without him. Now that cheat strategies are on the rise, it also fills a role. It is of the few nonblue card selection outlets. It is great fodder for Daretti and Welder. I also noticed a gap at the curve of some decks with one drops, and this is a fairly widely playable one. It still has two downsides and those are time consumption and being overrated by some players. Oh well, at least Monastery Mentor got his old toy back!
-Sorin, Grim Nemesis, +Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Large Sorin is a fine card, but doesn’t compare well to six drops. It is not great when you are behind against the common diverse cube boards. If you kill something meaningful, Sorin will die to any attacker. The lifegain is nice, but still capped and arrives late to the party. Sorin is also a reliable win condition, but slower than all other six drops in that role.
Sphinx is a new toy for Daretti and Goblin Welder. It can also be reanimated. It is basically unanswerable to red and green decks, but cheat decks need some favorable matchups, especially given how much life you usually lose with Reanimate or Life // Death. Such cards already exist in cube, Elesh Norn is unanswerable for red aggro, but in small numbers it should be fine. Also unwillingly boosts Tinker.
Decimator was a failed experiment. Decimator requires board presence, and his emerge has counter synergy with his effect. He is also green intensive. A major strike against him is that he doesn’t work well when ramped into, when cheated or reanimated and he cannot even just be a big body for Green Sun's Zenith or Natural Order. Now, Avenger basically suffers from the same problems, but at least it has strong synergies going for him and more game-winning potential. Avenger is great with Recurring Nightmare, Gaea's Cradle, Opposition etc. It is still more feasible to ramp into him, and he offers better value if you are creature light.
-Renegade Rallier, +Vial Smasher, the Fierce
Revolt, like morbid, is inconsistent in cube. Vial Smasher has a high damage output ceiling, with some cards like Tasigur or Fireblast. Still, it is a 2/3 body without ability that does nothing the turn you cast him. A risky experiment.
Time for the Hour of Devastation and Commander 17 update. Some leaked cards from Ixalan have been added as well. Currently red aggressive decks are slightly underpowered. It was never a chief concern for card addition or omission in this update, but it did pull weight.
White
-Town Gossipmonger, +Adorned Pouncer
Gossipmonger was not played often. Requiring another creature to be there, and the tap, is situational and costs too much tempo. Gossipmonger is not a real one drop. A resounding fiasco. Pouncer is not amazing, but probably about midway among white two drops. It provides mass removal protection and has cute double strike synergies.
-Cataclysmic Gearhulk, +Parallax Wave
White had too many five drops, it was clear one had to go at some point. Gearhulk was too hard to break the symmetry for. It plays badly with many of the white removal spells that leave an enchantment behind. It also has negative synergy with numerous mana rocks.
Parallax Wave was played before for a long time in the cube. It was not cut for low powerlevel, it was cut due to lack of space in white four drops and we needed the space for testing something in that mana cost. Time to bring it back.
-Hidden Dragonslayer, +Stalking Leonin
Dragonslayer has two bad modes. A 2/1 lifelinker for two is cute against opposing aggro decks, but nothing more. A 2/1 first striker probably does more for you in that matchup. Against large creatures it is another removal spell, but an expensive and slow one. Leonin is a potent defensive spell. It might be cut not for powerlevel, but because a defensive play like that will not be needed if aggro continues to be somewhat weak.
-Bygone Bishop, +Kimalla's Sunwing
Bishop always had a great body, but his ability was too slow and conditional in practice. Sunwing is very impressive. She combines the good body with an active and relevant disruption ability.
-Fragmentize, +Seal of Cleansing
I still like Fragmentize in theory. In practice, it was still mostly a sideboard card and not a maindeck one. A small part of that is due to Cast Out and Forsake the Worldly being printed. Another hit against it is that more Gearhulks survived the testing period than anticipated and not answering them is a big drawback. Seal is tried and tested, and has synergies with Sun Titan and Enlightened Tutor.
Blue
-Dissolve, +Supreme Will
I think Will will see play in every permission deck. It is not busted, but it does what you want to do in blue counter heavy decks and it is easy on the mana. Having three 1UU counters proved too much. You basically never want to play two of them in the same maindeck. I still think, as a player, that Dissolve is better than Disallow. As a cube designer however, I like the possibility of countering activated abilities to be there. It will cause memorable stories, and hopefully now that it is paired with Nimble Obstructionist, will cause players to doubt their activated abilities or triggers when they see three mana open.
-Stratus Dancer, +Nimble Obstructionist
Dancer was always an odd fit, a proactive counter. It saw play, but I don’t remember it doing much more than being a way to minimize options of loss when you are ahead. Obstructionist fulfills similar roles. It is a cheap aggressive creature with evasion, but has flash. It has a reactive ability. I do think Obstructionist is currently overrated, but I do think it is a decent card that will make you feel clever sometimes.
-Serendib Efreet, +Champion of Wits
Efreet had a long career in cube. It is a victim of powerlevel. Three drops across all colors got extremely competitive, and there is little reason to play a weaker one from your splash color (blue is usually the splash in aggressive decks). Efreet is pretty much Herald of Torment. It has an easier casting cost and more toughness, but Herald of Torment is cast in its other probably a bit over 50% of the time. I am not sure a colorshifted Efreet would see play, perhaps in black but not likely in white. Efreet could be brought back if blue tempo becomes stronger in the future.
Champion of Wits is a curve filler, but a generally broad one that fits blue better. It is a discard outlet for reanimator and delve, and has synergies with Revillark.
-Hieroglyphic Illumination, +Deep Analysis
Illumination was terrible. It was cycled almost all the time, the 4 mana mode was too much of a win more as for when you can afford it. Not worth a space in decks. Deep Analysis is tried and true. It will be better today than ever before due to the higher number of discard outlets in the cube.
-Meloku the Clouded Mirror, +As Foretold
Meloku is a relic of the past, a control finisher that did not age well. It requires mana, costs you tempo and is vulnerable at all stages. It is clear As Fortold is a strong card, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into a good cube card. I consider this a high risk test. Some cube groups report great results from this card.
Black
-Plague Belcher, +Ammit Eternal
Belcher had two mediocre modes. As a 3/2 menace for 2B it was not good enough, and as a 5/4 menace that kills you another creature it opened you to a two-for-one too easily, while being weak to bounce. Eternal is harder to stop offensively due to afflict. I am not excited by the card, as it is a bad blocker, and can be shrunk to irrelevance sometimes, but it probably a fine rolefiller. Zombie count here remains the same.
-Wretched Confluence, +Bontu's Last Reckoning
This is a swap I am already starting to regret and might be shifted. I will explain the rationale however. Reckoning is the only mass removal costing three, and it still seems better than mass removals that cost five (so far it was not true). Confluence is redundant with Demon of Dark Schemes and Massacre Wurm both proving an Infest, and I wanted to slightly help red aggro.
-Ruinous Path, +Doomfall
Having three Hero’s Downfall effects is too much. They are all black heavy, and that is a major problem. The second is that you do not really want playing two such effects in the same deck, they are expensive. Doomfall was a test, that I already feel is starting to fail. It seemed like a board card, but so far it had a hard time fitting into decks.
-Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath, +Patron of the Vein
With Liliana, Death's Majesty, there are three black midrange five drops and they are not needed. Black really wants the expensive value cards to be on creatures so they are useful for reanimator decks. Patron is not amazing, but will likely see more play and be decent for the time being.
Red
-Release the Gremlins, +Abrade
Major upgrade. Abrade is a maindeckable answer to artifacts. A good card to include in most red decks. Release is a sideboard card and not a great one either.
-Thriving Grubs, +Burning-Fist Minotaur
This is an end of an era. Ever since Gore-House Chainwalker was printed, red has at least one 3/2 dude for 1R with downsides. Borderland Marauder is the most famous and cleanest creature of the bunch. Now, not so many years after, they are almost all gone (War-Name Aspirant can count or not depending on the judge). This just shows how much red two drops have advanced.
Minotaur has a useful base body against most early game creatures and the threat of activation will let it connect more often than it should. It is of the few red card able to trade with midrange creatures. It is also a discard outlet.
-Mizzium Mortars, +Insult // Injury
We got a new creature-only red burn spell in Abrade. Mortars is not terrible, but also not great and quite narrow, as it is not a good fit for aggressive decks. I heard great things about Insult from other cube owners and I want to try it out. It represents a lot of damage for the mana, and is described as a red Overrun.
-Geier Reach Bandit, +Firebrand Archer
Geier was redundant with Lathnu Hellion and Brazen Scourge, but especially felt bad after Ahn-Crop Crasher. I think the extra toughness is worth the harder cost of Brazen Scourge, as otherwise Bandit trades with most one drops and all two drops. Archer adds some reach, and doesn’t require more than 2-3 triggers to be worth her mana cost. So far however, she did not test well at all.
-Goblin Dark-Dwellers, +Ramunap Ruins
Dark Dwellers are a five drop red value creature. Red is not a big midrange color, and Dwellers depend on having useful spells in your graveyard. Not that hard to do, but it makes GDD not a good ramp card. Glorybringer really puts this card to shame. The only times I remember Dark-Dwellers being great was with Time Walk, and that is no good measure of the card. Ramunap Ruins is a free include for red aggressive decks. No other deck will touch it, so it will table, they will always play it.
-Hellspark Elemental, +Earthshaker Khenra
Similar cards here. I’m not sure which of the two is actually stronger. Hellspark was not a solid performer however.
-Grenzo, Havoc Raiser, +Shrine of Burning Rage
Grenzo is a bit of a win more. Not only is the casting cost difficult, the body is wimp. His ability requires creatures, preferably multiple creatures, attacking. I also dislike the Goad having no reminder text, with it being still a rather obscure ability. I wanted to keep this spot for red-heavy support. Usually that means an RR creature, but honestly we’ve tried them all and none were impressive. The closest was Eidolon of the Great Revel. I still like that card somewhat, so he might be back someday. Anyway Shrine also fills similar roles. It gives a lot of reach to the red deck, and a sort of inevitability. It is also one of the few ways of red decks to kill a Baneslayer Angel if things go dire.
-Bosh, Iron Golem, +Combustible Gearhulk
Bosh played poorly. Paying 4 mana to sacrifice proved really expensive. It never did something the turn it was played. It provides poor defense. Even in the artifact decks he was not great. Combustible reads poorly, but fills a similar slot – a heavy red artifact for Goblin Welder and Daretti decks. So far it was better than anticipated. In the types of decks where you play him, the average converted mana cost is high, especially if you hit another reanimation target. Sending cards to your graveyard is also a benefit in those decks. A 6/6 first striker will be better on the defense than a 6/7, and it is much cheaper. Still far from a stable include though.
-Stoke the Flames, +Territorial Hellkite
Hellkite seems very powerful, I am excited for that card. The cut should be a red four drop creature, likely one of Hero of Oxid Ridge and Hazoret the Fervent. As Hazoret had little time under the sun, I am going to delay that decision for now and currently play both. Stoke was unimpressive. Many burn spells deal 4 damage, and most cost less and are more splashable. Convoking creatures to pay for Stoke was rare, as it was far too much tempo to lose to be worth it.
Green
-Grapple with the Past, +Ramunap Excavator
No one was interested in Grapple. It is a fine card selection card but low impact and always feels excessive. I want my mana ramp and creature threats more. Not being able to get back spells is a big downside compared to Regrowth. Excavator will be cool for a while with Strip Mine. Unless it proves itself as a fine value creature without the combo, it will also get cut.
-Nissa, Vital Force, +Champion of Rhonas
Nissa is a very fine card, but there are too many Nissas. One of the drafts a player had 5 Nissas in his deck! One had to go, and Vital Force is the least powerful card in the most contested part of the curve. Champion is another test – I can see him being great in the great cheat decks with all the eldrazi.
-Creeperhulk, +Carnage Tyrant
Super upgrade. Tyrant makes Sagu Mauler look bad. It is what green lacked – a beatstick costing six mana. It fills a vital role in the weak matchup of green ramp decks against blue control decks.
Multicolored
-Tezzeret the Schemer, +The Scarab God
This tezzeret is not amazing It does see play in the specific Dimir artifact deck, but that deck has two more tezzerets, that do the same sort of stuff but better. The Scarab god fills a weak spot in the curve of both blue and black and is rather high powered. It is slow, it is expensive, but it also grants inevitability, with the scry, life drain and ever increasing army.
-Spell Queller, +Fractured Identity
Queller is a good card, is fun, but a victim of space. Geist of Saint Traft and Reflector Mage cost exactly the same, and are best in the same places, in this small guild. White and blue are not lacking in three drops. Identity is a busted card, and could be the most powerful in its guild.
Colorless
-Filigree Familiar, +Crystalline Crawler
Familiar is weak against decks that are not aggressive. If your opponent’s deck does not have to attack with small dudes, this card is thoroughly unimpressive. Also, as stated above red decks do not need the hate currently. Crawler has a high potential. It on average will be a 4/4 for 4 the turn you play him, reasonable defense. Next turn it can ramp you by four mana, of any color. That is a lot of burst. It is dirty with Upheaval. It means you can play and always have counter backup. You can play it turn four and immediately cast a Tinker. Worst case, it will be a decently size beater.
-Blightsteel Colossus, +Cursed Scroll
I’ve changed my mind on Blightsteel. I do think it will make Tinker decks too powerful and in general is not an interesting card to add to the environment. It did not even see play, it is that narrow. Perhaps Sundering Titan will make a comeback soon. Scroll was there to fill a curve gap of artifacts at 1 CMC. Daretti decks want cheap artifacts. It is also a recurring source of removal for control decks, and nowadays pinging planeswalkers is good.
-Westvale Abbey, +Sorcerous Spyglass
I did not see abbey flip even once. Her ability was seldom used. In general the value of the colorless lands dropped significantly and I’ll cut Gargoyle Castle soon as well. There are several reasons for that. First, there are less cards with colorless costs now in the cube. Second, we have got more mana sinks in later sets. The full manland cycle, clues, and now all the cycling cards from Amonkhet. There are more useful ways to use excess mana late game.
Spyglass is better than Pithing Needle in this format. I card I am more likely to maindeck and is less likely to entirely miss.
About the Nissa change - keep in mind that the rule change will permit running as many nissas as you please in your deck, so long as they don't have the same name. That probably makes PWs even more powerful, and maybe even justifies the change, but still should be looked at.
I thought Captain Lannery Storm was an interesting 3 drop, though the only 3 drop I'd consider removing for him would be Manic Vandal (even then I assume there would be better options).
Damn, do I miss the cube, though...
EDIT: Speaking of PW rules change, Thalia's Lancers has become much more precious than it previously was. It's probably too slow for the cube, but definitely considerable in my opinion.
EDIT 2: Looking forward to more inclusions from Ixalan, like Wanted Scoundrels
About the Nissa change - keep in mind that the rule change will permit running as many nissas as you please in your deck, so long as they don't have the same name. That probably makes PWs even more powerful, and maybe even justifies the change, but still should be looked at.
I thought Captain Lannery Storm was an interesting 3 drop, though the only 3 drop I'd consider removing for him would be Manic Vandal (even then I assume there would be better options).
Damn, do I miss the cube, though...
EDIT: Speaking of PW rules change, Thalia's Lancers has become much more precious than it previously was. It's probably too slow for the cube, but definitely considerable in my opinion.
EDIT 2: Looking forward to more inclusions from Ixalan, like Wanted Scoundrels
Hey, thanks for the corrections! Unlike cubetutor, managing cards in text accumulates errors with time. If you see any more, please report so I can fix them.
The new Nissa might return with the new rules change, that change was done before the rules change was announced. Thalia's Lancers are likely good enough now to be in the cube, the number of targets for them has doubled. I think every deck will now have at least two targets. Fetching big Elspeth is great, as an on-curve example. Lancers are also great defense for that future planeswalker. They will replace Angel of Sanctions.
Another card that got a little better is Karakas - now it can bounce Gideons and Sarkhan when they become creatures.
Lannery Storm is a fine card, but I think Ferocidon is better. It is still probably just on the edge of making it, it can replace Brazen Scourge.
It enables some pretty explosive early plays, primarily for aggro. Dropping Liliana of the Veil or Ophiomancer on turn 1 are strong plays. Also, with a good hand, you can do something like hit the opponent with Hymn to Tourach and lay down Gravecrawler. I admit it is better in constructed, but it plays well in my cube.
White
-Oreskos Explorer, +Consul's Lieutenant
Explorer is too inconsistent and too low impact, not to mention horrible on turn two. Aggro decks don’t desire a body so weak on turn two like it did not want Blood Scrivener. Control decks want something better than a random limited Civic Wayfinder and can seldom afford to skip a land drop just to gain one extra card. Really, the difference between ramping with Knight of the White Orchid and just putting into your hand has been huge. Were it a 1W KotWO, it probably would have stayed. As is, the body and ability are conflicting and it has no home.
Lieutenant has a good body for its cost and I’ve decided since white had only one WW card it could afford one more. While there are good reasons to prefer 1W cards, having a couple WW drops is healthy too, as they keep the amount of splashes in check (and also they are more powerful). Pumping your entire team is powerful, and having a 3rd point of power with first strike allows it to bash through midrange dorks in the mid-game.
-Archangel of Thune, +Hallowed Burial
Now that midrange decks are more dominant 5cc wraths are no longer too expensive and are probably needed. I’m around the threshold – this may be the tipping point of having one too many, I am exploring here. Archangel is low powered for her cost, especially now that there are less tokens. Dying to spot removals without leaving anything behind as a five drop is a problem if you are not Baneslayer Angel.
Putting in the bottom is mostly irrelevant but does fix problems traditional wraths have, from Wurmcoil Engine through Hangarback Walker to Woodfall Primus, or just the mundane Bloodghast.
-Windbrisk Heights, +Marble Diamond
Windbrisk Heights turned out to be too inconsistent for normal aggro decks. Because of the low reliability, a normal plains is preferable in the vast majority of decks. I’m okay with low powered lands that almost always will make the maindeck (Mortuary Mire/Foundry of the Consuls), powerful lands that are great in specific decks (Gaea's Cradle/Ancient Tomb) or both (Shelldock Isle/Library of Alexandria), but Heights lacks in both accounts. It could be worth a second look if white tokens will re-explode in the future, but that scenario is highly unlikely (anything short of five new token producing cards on top of what I currently have in white will not be a reason for reconsideration).
I’ve found Azorius control decks really want the white mana rock. I’m certain it will see play there and in Esper too.
Blue
-Eldrazi Skyspawner, +Compulsive Research
Skyspawner is just low powered. It blocks twice, but usually just a chump block or a bad 1-for-1 for you tempo wise. You are never excited to have it and it will always table. Research is just a solid source of card advantage. It is unlikely that better card draw spells will be printed soon, so while it is among the weakest card draw blue spells in the cube it is unlikely to be replaced in the next year.
Research was in the cube so I know its problems well. It is sorcery speed unlike Thirst for Knowledge which is huge. However, discarding a land is basically always easier therefore getting card advantage is more reliable with Research. That said, Research, especially on the third turn, is used to dig for lands anyway, being an expensive sorcery card selection spell. But, it is good to have that option too and late game you are golden.
-Merfolk Looter, +Gitaxian Probe
The cube still has a lot of looters, with Thought Courier, Enclave Cryptologist, Deal Broker and Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy (Jace especially blew the old looters out of the water by being so much better). Looters are more powerful the slower your games are. In this cube, the games are fast. Drawing a card right now is often more important than incremental card quality over time.
Gitaxian Probe is obviously not a new Preordain, and should be compared to the weaker cantrips like Opt or Sleight of Hand. They see tremendous success. Even Anticipate enjoys popularity that I did not, well, anticipate. They virtually see play all the time, whether in a combo deck to smooth draws, control decks that often lack cheap action, a deck that lacks a 23rd playable, or decks that have synergies with cheap spells that replace themselves. Probe is arguably better than most cantrips on the first turn, for the price of being a worse topdeck. Gaining knowledge is hard to quantify, but allowing you to plan ahead is certainly strong. The synergies with delve are the same as with your Opt, however being potentially free is great for tempo decks that want to curve out, as well as with Young Pyromancer, Monastery Mentor, Snapcaster Mage, Seeker of the Way, Yawgmoth’s Will and Guttersnipe. Overall, this is the sort of card that will table, but the decks that want it will really like and all decks that played the looter will play Probe without much drawback (Except for reanimator, but Compulsive Research keeps the number of discard outlets in blue the same).
Green
-Search for Tomorrow, +Wood Elves
Search is a weak ramp card. It has a suspend option, but in the color of mana elves that is rarely used (13 total one mana ramp spells is a lot), and I’ve never, in 7 years, seen it getting suspended after the first turn of the game. Search also fixes your mana. However, it will never be able to generate card advantage like Wood Elves do.
Especially in green, being a creature is an upside. It can be tutored for with Green Sun’s Zenith or Sylvan/Worldly Tutor, can be sacrificed for Evolutionary Leap or Natural Order, discarded for Survival of the Fittest or Fauna Shaman and dumped with Eureka. It boosts your Gaea’s Cradle, can be fetched with Oath of Nissa, be paired with Wolfir Silverheart, be manifested with Whisperwood Elemental and get you closer to formidable with Surrak. It will even once in a great while produce mana with Joraga Treespeaker. That’s all of course beyond the obvious functions of chump blocking and carrying equipment.
In other colors you have other great reasons to prefer your ramp on a creature, randomly popping into my head right now are Recurring Nightmare, Smokestack, Opposition, Crystal Shard, Reveillark and Skullclamp. Just in green guilds you have Xenagos the Reveler, Voice of Resurgence, Kessig Wolf Run, Gavony Township, Mirari's Wake, Meren of Clan Nel Toth and Edric, Spymaster of Trest. Convinced?
The card even rose in powerlevel recently with the printing of the new battle lands. SfT can fetch a Wastes, however green already has many ways to get it currently and the number of colorless sources overall in the cube vastly increased with this update as you will see below.
Multicolored
-Kiora, the Crashing Wave, +Shardless Agent
Kiora, Master of the Depths is too similar and better than the older Kiora. They have the exact same cost and near identical art, which makes people confuse a lot between the two like happened with Sorin, Solemn Visitor. Also, her powerlevel is not particularly high and having two 4 cmc planeswalkers in the same guild is problematic anyway. The abilities are actually quite good, and the ultimate is both powerful and achievable, but the loyalty, oh why it has to be so humiliating. Because the loyalty is so low, the second ability lost a lot of its appeal, essentially meaning you sacrifice Kiora in many board states.
As the number of counterspells is decreasing and the power of low drops is increasing, Shardless Agent becomes better. As recent examples, hitting Sylvan Advocate or Oath of Nissa with cascade is great value. Yes, it is an artifact which means it dies to Seal of Cleansing and the like, however once the 2/2 body is in play, you don’t really care much for it – this card is all about the tempo.
Colorless
-Mimic Vat, +Crucible of Worlds
Mimic Vat is slow and doesn’t fit every deck. I’m also disappointed with Crystal Shard and Erratic Portal, they might also get cut soon (the new conspiracy set is likely to make big waves). Crucible increased in value lately with the addition of strong lands with sacrifice effects, namely Foundry of the Consuls, Gargoyle Castle, Dust Bowl and Mirrorpool. It also got a smaller boost with the printing of five new manalnds. It was close to be strong enough before, I think it will be better now.
-Thought Vessel, +Talisman of Impulse
Yes, Talismans are strictly better. The endless hand clause is flavor text. I refrained including a talisman not in the two-colored fixing section, as it can cause imbalance. Several factors led me to change that decision:
1)Talismans are just much better than Thought-Vessel. Sometimes there is just a point where the ideals need to face reality
2)This particular talisman is in a color pair that has many better two mana ramp spells that also fix, it is unlikely to be used often as fixing in that color pair (the same reason why Gruul Signet was cut). So why to bother playing it? Because it will be much better than Thought-Vessel in decks that want only one of the colors, say U/R counterburn or a W/U deck splashing a green card.
3)Relating to the last point – It is probably still a better rock than Talisman of Indulgence. Although it might also find a way in at some point in the future, if the two new ones will turn out to be successful.
4)Even if it is an imbalance, it is a minor nit-pick at best in a cube this large. The increase in playability and powerlevel will probably be worth it.
-5 cards: –Cataclysm, -Dimensional Infiltrator, -Diabolic Edict, -Bonfire of the Damned, -Collected Company
The new colorless theme gets larger for a testing period. That is done for a couple of reasons. First, it turns out producing colorless is not very difficult and doesn’t slaughter the mana base as I thought it would be, for mid to late game spells. Second, testing from other cubes had shown that many of the cards are strong enough. Third, I like the added complexity it introduces to the draft and deckbuilding, I find it exciting. Third, it will further differentiate the cube from other forms of limited as very few of them feature colorless mana.
Cuts:
Cataclysm is a fine card but has INSANE competition in the white four drop slot. There were just too many so that not all of them can see play. Yes there are decks out there where Cataclysm is the best of the options, but a card like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar will be better 9 out of 10 times and even when it is worse it will not be completely unplayable like Cataclysm is.
Dimensional Infiltrator does not have a home. It turns out that a deck that doesn’t want a Welkin Tern will not want it even if it had flash. The ability might as well be flavor text as it is not something worth altering mana bases for.
Diabolic Edict failed in its second test run. Against aggro decks this card is subpar, as having no choice at what it gets is horrendous and you will rarely even be even on the tempo. Against many midrange decks, it will just kill a mana elf in the mid game, not to mention how useless it is against tokens. Reanimator and cheating decks are not strong enough to be hated yet, and we got a great new playable edict effect with Bearer of Silence.
Bonfire has so much potential that I hung onto it much longer than I should have. I kept imagining decks splashing red and fetching it with Mystical Tutor or setting it up with Sensei's Divining Top. Alas, that never happened and in traditional red decks the card does not make the cut.
Collected Company requires a more thorough explanation to why it fails in cube, and why I think it has no chance of returning in the foreseeable future too. It is obvious why the card is good - card advantage, instant speed, tempo advantage and a lot of options to choose from, all in a color that rarely gets any of the aforementioned aspects. You can include trickery, fun uncertainty moments and even mana fixing potentially. So it turns out none of that is quite true.
Quite obviously CoCo is a card you need to build around. It turns out you absolutely MUST build with it in mind to reach any kind of consistency. The risks should be highly stated here – the worst case scenario is about as worse as it can be – do nothing at all for four mana. It is way worse than seeing five lands with Fact or Fiction and as we will see, happens far more often.
Then there is the less epic fail chance of hitting only one creature. That means you are down on mana and getting no card advantage – certainly not why you play the card. If your deck is 40% targets which can be hit with CoCo the chances of getting less than two targets is around 25%! That is a very large numbers of hoops to jump through for a lackluster upside.
Even if you do hit two creatures, hitting two mana elves will not be worth your mana. If you want to maximize CoCo’s effectiveness you will want many creatures – mostly three drops and few one and two drops – an ugly unplayable curve. Unlike constructed where you have four available copies, it is not worth basing your deck around a single card and a deck with lots of creatures and bad curve will lose hard if you do not draw CoCo. That’s also why you do not rely on it for fixing ever either.
All in all I would not say it might never come back, but it will require a minor miracle.
(I’ve drawn ideas from here)
Additions:
+Tendo Ice Bridge
This is a solid fixer for aggro decks anyway, and now will be an excellent source of colorless mana for them. Most colorless lands are control oriented, so this is refreshing. Also great with Reflecting Pool.
+Gargoyle Castle
I’ve been very impressed with Foundry of the Consuls, and Castle is basically better. It threatens planeswalkers, blocks well and can finish the game. Control decks here usually lack threats and board presence and not card advantage, that is why Blighted Cataract will probably get cut and Foundry succeeded.
+Mirrorpool
I’ll quote daneelius:
+Thought-Knot Seer
Selective discard is a strong effect that is underrepresented in cube. It is universally good as a curve-topper for aggro, a midrange value-beater and in control too as it snags their bomb/finisher in the mirror and is difficult to answer for aggro. This sort of effect will often be unexpected as it out of color, and will catch many off guard.
+Reality Smasher
It hits like a truck. Good for midrange decks, as an aggro curve-topper and especially great off of Mana Vault and the like in an early turn. Effective especially against control decks, the eternal nemesis of midrange, as it eats their planeswalkers through blockers and getting 2-for-1ed is especially painful for them.
Two-colored Fixing
Mostly shifts to better support colorless.
-Glacial Fortress, +Adarkar Wastes
-Drowned Catacomb, +Underground River
Painlands were very close in powerlevel to the checklands before anyway, now they are probably better. Producing colored mana on the first turn is in many cases important, and always coming untapped makes them more consistent, even if with a lower ceiling.
Appendix: What was not added
[card]
Eldrazi Obligator[/card] offers versatility for aggressive decks. However those decks are the most reliant on strong mana bases and can least afford colorless cards. Feedback around here about it was lukewarm at best so far. I’m not ruling it out however; if the new colorless theme will work out he will be tried too.
More filter lands – While having colorless sources to support the eldrazis, we are still talking about six cards currently, which is not significant in the grand scheme of things. The colorless mana will either be playable with little support or be unplayable at all, there will be no middle ground here as their mass is just too small to justify changes in a big way in evaluation.
Case in point – filter lands. Filter lands are bad on the first turn. Really terrible. They are also subpar at splashing, as any deck that ever played U/W/r and couldn’t keep a hand of Island + Rugged Prairie will tell you. You cannot split mana between phases. With any other W/B land + any Swamp/Plains you can play Thoughtseize on your turn and keep mana up for Swords to Plowshares on their turn. With Windswept Heath you can never do that.
Those problems intensify when you include multiples, boards with one basic and two filters are very restrictive for the caster. The filter lands are good when you are playing two colored decks, which have heavy colored costs on both colors. In general though I want deck design to be open and not restrictive, and less mana screws from my lands and not more, and therefore I do not want to include more filter lands for colorless mana production.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
I am late posting this update, but worry not – it wasn’t for the lack of writing. This set was a bag of goodies for cube!
Since I was writing pieces that were long enough to be considered an article or two for each update in the last several years, I have just decided to make that step and just start a blog. You can see it here. I hope to write on a semi-regular basis. The blog details opinions about many cards from the new set. The next few posts here will be specific to this cube and will explain cuts and additions of older cards. This should make this post shorter.
Since writing nothing about the new cards at all would make reading too hard, a key sentence was written near each. Again, to read full analysis of SoI cards go to the blog.
Another note – the update actually happened a few weeks ago, so some testing results are already given in the analysis. That’s why in some swaps you can see me say it probably was a mistake.
White
-Eternal Dragon, +Archangel Avacyn
Eternal Dragon has been underpowered for years. Yes, he auto-discards himself, but he will never be a great reanimation target. It is nice to play Animate Dead on it on turn three, but it is not game-winning and reanimator does not want to be white. As a recurring control threat, in the age of planeswalkers you have much better ways to gain inevitability. Draw-Go decks are gone so there are almost no good situations to cycle it in the early game. A card I think no one will miss.
• Avacyn is a true bomb, wonderfully designed to be interesting and fun. Major points for being a playable combat trick!
-Temporal Isolation, +Declaration in Stone
Temporal Isolation only deals with creatures that function mainly as attackers/blockers. That Dark Confidant, Oracle of Mul Daya or Jace, Vryn's Prodigy do not care much, nor do titans. It was especially bad if removed. You can attack with the shadowy creature, then after no blockers are declared, to kill the enchantment with your Qasali Pridemage to sneak in a fattie.
• Declaration is more consistent, even if it didn’t kill tokens and a mischief of Pack Rats.
-Arashin Cleric, +Stasis Snare
Cleric is an okay anti-aggro card, but it will only ever be a sideboard card. White decks in general do not have a weak matchup against aggro – blue and black decks do. I think white can use another removal and Snare is the next best one out there. The double white cost is a limitation, instant speed is usually not as strong in white as in other colors and it is similar but likely worse than other effects like Oblivion Ring. On the other hand, it will pass the table to get to the white drafters, triggering prowess whenever you want is nice and it is still an effective (while not efficient) rate for creature removal. It is not exciting but is serviceable and I believe it will see play, at least until something better comes out.
-Containment Priest, +Hanweir Militia
Priest is a hate card for an archetype that doesn’t need hate. Yes, foiling Recurring Nightmare and Tinker is good, but reanimator and green super ramp decks (Natural Order, Eureka) are too weak to be hated like that. A card that might easily come back if the metagame will shift, it is simply the best at what it does but we do not want it right now.
• Militia is among the weaker white two drops but has a very high ceiling for his cost in token decks.
Blue
-Narcolepsy, +Thing in the Ice
Both cards stop aggression. Narcolepsy is about as good as a sorcery speed Temporal Isolation – not very. It is effective in defense, as a tempo card. Now we got a better play against early aggression, that is not dead when your opponent has no creatures out.
• TITI is a wall first and foremost that requires a removal spell later or it will dominate the board.
-Blighted Cataract, +Academy Ruins
It was a failed experiment and it is reversed right back. Blue decks that get to 8 mana do not need more card draw it seems. Artifact decks have been more powerful lately for an unknown reason to me. I plan to add the remaining signets back in too, which will further empower said decks. Academy Ruins is narrow, as there are not many artifacts that you will want to recur, but those that you do will win the game for you, be it Wurmcoil Engine, Nevinyrral's Disk, Memory Jar or just Batterskull.
-Personal Tutor, +Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
Tutor is too narrow, and will only get narrower in all likelihood. It was narrow when first seen, but since then Wildfire as an archetype was cut and miracles were almost entirely eradicated too. Wizards keep printing ever more powerful creatures and better planeswalkers, but sorceries are not a part of that celebration and likely won’t be for years. Again, Tutor is a card to keep in mind, but it will stay out for now.
• Unraveler is the clear weakest of the Jaces, but in testing so far he is still plenty good enough.
Black
-Raven's Crime, +Heir of Falkenrath
Raven’s Crime was destined to be a filler discard outlet. As a discard on the first turn it is just not disruption. It is rarely worth discarding lands to – we rarely have super grindy matchups that involve massive hands and not obscene boards with planeswalkers. This problem is further amplified by the types of decks that will play crime – they will Retrace it only at the end of their curve if they draw too many lands. Often those decks will play only 16 lands however, minus all types of moxen.
* Heir serves double duty as a superb attacker and a discard outlet in a weak section of the cube.
-Despoiler of Souls, +Relentless Dead
Despoiler was really bad for us. The 3/1 body is too weak, the costs are too black heavy and recursion rarely ever happened, even in aggro decks. I really do not recommend it for any cube.
• Dead is not amazing, but it is a medium powered dude in the shallow black two drop section. It rewards clever usage in a big way.
-Priest of the Blood Rite, +Asylum Visitor
Priest is just too weak in two common situations – on the defense and against removal. On the defense, it blocks two creatures but actively kills you – terrible to the point of being unplayable, rotting in your hand staring at you with empty eyes reflecting all the regret of the world. Against removal, you are left with the worst Grizzly Bears ever – the opposite of passing the Vindicate test perhaps. Do not forget that every bounce spell and Flickerwisp count as removal for this purpose as well.
* If you are surprised to see Visitor here you need to familiarize yourself some more with the format. The best card in the set in all likelihood.
-Abyssal Persecutor, +Murderous Redcap
The demon is an undercosted beater, however by nature it is playable in few decks. Aggro decks will not want to slow themselves down. Ramp and reanimation decks do not want to jump through additional hoops for an effect they will get elsewhere. In control decks it does not play defense well, although it does kill planeswalkers. Overall it is good in stacks types of decks – they can use both the aggressive body and have enough ways to get rid of it. Currently they are not supported enough to merit Persecutor’s presence, but it is inevitable that the deck will become playable eventually in a large cube – Zulaport Cutthroat is a huge step in that direction.
Redcap is the opposite – it is widely playable yet much fairer. On the defense against aggro it is comfortably a two for one and often even a 3/4-for-1 as well. It is a combo piece with Muzzio's Preparations, and it plays nice with sacrifice outlets, classically Greater Gargadon. It is also an acceptable aggro curve topper as he goes for the dome, paves the way through small blockers and leaves behind some board presence after a mass removal. Pinging planeswalkers is ever more relevant as well. All of this is bolstered by the fact it is a hybrid card.
Why did it ever leave the cube? Well it didn’t, it is just moving from the multicolored section here. Black four drops leave some to be desired for sure.
-Desecration Demon, +Pale Rider of Trostad
Unlike Persecutor, this is a truly horrible card on the defense, but against many decks presents next to no offense at all on top of that as well. On an empty board it is better, that’s about it though.
• Pale Rider is an evasive 3 power beater for two and another cheap discard outlet.
-Slaughter Pact, +Attrition
Slaughter Pact’s delayed payment is an asset only in aggro decks, and only some of the time. In many cases you would rather just have Dark Banishing. Not to mention people actually dying from that trigger, though I’ve got to say – the fact that it is still funny after all those years is a point in the card’s favor.
Attrition is a test. The card is also dead against black decks. It is heavier on black, and requires creatures – it is more of an engine card than a spot removal. Works well with self-recurring creatures and tokens and I heard good recommendations for it.
Red
-Scab-Clan Berserker, +Sin Prodder
Berserker has a weak body for its cost. Red has too many restrictive costs, which limits the amount of variety and archetypes red can support. Berserker’s ability was not as strong as one would hope, usually dealing between 0-2 damage per game. Prophetic Flamespeaker is probably worse, so this was a mistake. However, Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh might still be slightly better than both.
• Sin Prodder is splashable, evasive, aggressive and scary. Not a bomb, but of the better red aggressive three drops.
-Sneak Attack, +Searing Blaze
Sneak Attack is a good card that is hard to support in a large cube. I believe it can be made to work, but on top of weak results, the playgroup didn’t want to build with the card in mind so off it goes. Searing Blaze is being tested again. I didn’t like it the first time and so far do not like it at all again – requiring double red, requiring a land drop and requiring a targetable creature are too many hoops and Volcanic Hammer is better. Will likely be replaced.
-Goblin Glory Chaser, +Falkenrath Gorger
Gorger is clearly a top tier red one drop. It was a toss between Chaser and Stromkirk Noble. I think noble punishes more when you can remove their blockers/fail to present any, and the evasion is surprisingly relevant so I slightly prefer it, but they are very close.
-Sudden Demise, +Geier Reach Bandit
Red needs one less mass removal. Demise is worse than both earthquakes as it cannot kill all creatures usually, and while it is sometimes selective and great it is sometimes a 1-for-1. Red also has two Earthquakes, Mizzium Mortars and not a few dividable damage spells, so Demise was pretty constantly a last pick.
• Despite reading bad, Bandit is a simple splashable hasty red three drop, exactly what aggressive red decks want
-Avalanche Riders, +Goldnight Castigator
Riders are a bit of a relic of the past. Yes, hitting resources in aggressive decks is good, but in our days you can do things game winningly powerful at that cost. Some games, against a color screwed opponent for example, hitting one land can close the game. In many other situations however it can be meaningless. The 2/2 haste body is sweet, but not good on turn four and paying echo for it is a rarity. Once, when blink was heavier in the cube, it has sweet synergies with Makeshift Mannequin, and playing it with Crystal Shard once could beat games. Today blink is declining, four drops are rising, mana fixing is more common and this card will ride the bench.
I do wish wizards would print some better answers to nonbasic lands, but I doubt we will ever get that. On one hand I think small representation of land destruction is good and I’d like to have one in red. On the other hand it is an effect that creates some miserable games in general and requires little skill.
• Castigator so far proved to be extremely poor, you’d better be winning by the turn you cast it, making it an unreliable Lava Axe of sorts.
-Reckless Waif, +Village Messenger
An inch here, an inch there between these two cards. They are both likely the worst red one drops, and might be replaced soon with Goblin Glory Chaser. A 2/2 menace is about equal to a 3/2. A 3/2 trades with beefier creatures and beats for more on an empty board, however a significant amount of time a 2/2 menace will be unblockable, or at least so in the context of a large attack. The haste on the frontside is the dealbreaker here – it is a better turn one play and a better topdeck if you have equipment or other ways to make the 1/1 body useful. In a lot of situations they would be equally irrelevant though.
Green
-Call of the Herd, +Tireless Tracker
Call of the Herd is a fair card, but underpowered for what it does. Honestly, I think cutting it and not Ohran Viper was a mistake I want to fix soon. In any ways Tracker is in a different league.
• Tracker provides card advantage in green, grows to become a monster while having useful stats for its cost. Plenty of synergies with land based ramp, artifact based decks and things that require permanents to sacrifice.
-Utopia Sprawl, +Duskwatch Recruiter
Utopia Sprawl was quite limiting because it can only enchant a forest. Many of the nonbasic lands that produce green are not forests, making this narrow so even though it fixes it has negative synergy with your other fixers.
• Duskwatch Recruiter draws gas and can flip into effective ramp and a good body for the mana cost.
-Omnath, Locus of Mana, +Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
Omnath is only playable in heavy green decks, and is not exciting in them too. It is a mana sink, but the need for those went down with the amount of man lands and lands with abilities in the cube. Hopes of it helping super ramp decks were shattered, as only stacking green mana is limiting when a lot of your ramp will produce colorless (Thran Dynamo as the prominent example). Green is really benefiting the recent decision from wizards that mana elves are too powerful – we get much better three drops.
• Nissa is great in token decks and sacrifice themed decks as an effortless token producer and mass pump.
-Tooth and Nail, +Pelakka Wurm
Tooth and Nail has two main problems, one environmental and one fundamental. The environmental problem is that green does not want sorcery finishers. Green offers a lot of synergy for creatures – Eureka, Survival of the Fittest, Green Sun's Zenith, Worldly Tutor, Fauna Shaman… Not to mention synergies with other colors like Show and Tell and reanimation. Does the cube have a place for sorcery finishers? Definitely, but green is not it.
Moreover, Tooth and Nail is not the kind of card you want to play a four and five drop with. You play it to win the game, by either getting a game-winning combo or a pair of super expensive fat. Combos that are based on two creatures are non-existent in the cube as far as I know. Getting two super fatties is highly problematic because there is simply a limit on how many 7/8+ casting cards you can play in your deck. Yes, you can always play it to get a six and a five drop, but first tooth will not be worth including in your list and second, you always have the risk of drawing and playing your targets before drawing tooth.
Pelakka Wurm is a solid ramp target. It is not as good on the offense, but great on the defense, good with reanimation, passes the Terminate test and has evasion.
Multicolored
-Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim, +Anguished Unmaking
Ayli barely had a chance to be in the cube, but she was clearly the worst of the few left so she had to go. Having a sacrifice outlet and a way to gain life is neat, but alone she is not impressive, and she was usually if not exclusively played in aggressive decks that cared less about gaining life. Furthermore, one of the reasons she was valuable was the shortage in good black two drops. Now that we got four new ones, she is far less necessary.
• Unmaking is currently a little overhyped for cube but is nevertheless one of the best removal spells out there.
-Huntmaster of the Fells, +Arlinn Kord
Gruul is overpacked with four drops. Besides Bloodbraid Elf they are all around the same power level, so it was hard to pick which one to cut. Huntmaster is probably weaker then Xenagos in ramp decks, but better when splashed for and offers synergies in green due to being a creature. Arlinn is also questionable, I think all those for drops will rotate a bit in the close future before the final configuration is reached.
• Arlinn offers a lot of versatility for a four drop with complex accessibility, she really needs more testing time.
-Murderous Redcap, +Olivia, Mobilized for War
Redcap just moved to the black section.
• Olivia has good body for her cost and an ability that can greatly increase damage output, but she might not be worth it due to the nature of black and red four drops
-Deathrite Shaman, +Sorin, Grim Nemesis
Deathrite Shaman is one of the best one drops in the game, making huge splashes in even the oldest of formats. It is a fun card to play too. However, it does not deliver in this format and likely never will. Without a high fetchland density it cannot fix and ramp you up. This is DRS’s best ability by far, the one that earned it a ban from modern. In cube you are quite lucky if your deck has three fetches and it is rare to see four fetches in a given matchup (since you can use your opponent’s lands too). Now if we factor the chance to draw the fetches with the shaman, in a turn that this is still relevant, and the fact that your opponent will not help you with his fetches if he can avoid it and we get a very low activation rate. By really low I mean that even a 50% chance to use it in an entire match might be too generous.
It doesn’t mean that it will never trigger, true. However, it means you cannot at all rely on it to generate you mana at the stages of the game where generating one mana with a 1cc card matters. The ability is like Chromatic Lantern’s ability in that regard - you cannot count on it, so it might as well almost not be there.
Now we are left with two more abilities. The black ability is by far better, and what makes the card so good in constructed – no mana elf has that sort of clock attached. In black you do get to use some spells usually. However, in many games it will be inactive until turn 4-5 or so. The lifegain is not a reason to play the card. It is gravy, definitely useful in some matchups, but inconsistent lifegain is not good enough to sideboard a Squire in from the sideboard (even for half the price). If we only have those two abilities, this becomes a late game card, not a one drop as the body is not worth a card. But then, late game drops will do its job better.
I like the card and want it to be good. It can feel like a one mana planeswalker in constructed. It is maindeckable graveyard hate that hits the sweet spot of not being too oppressive and allowing interactivity. It is iconic. I want the card to be good. However, it is not and likely will not be good even if an extra cycle of fetchlands was printed and played. I’d test it probably, but I still expect it to fail.
• Grim Nemesis fills every role the control decks want out of its late game drops, besides dealing with armies of small creatures.
Colorless
-Black Vise, +Lore Seeker
This cut is a meta call. Aggro decks are a bit too strong, and anyways control decks that keep their hand count high are weak in general and weak to aggro in particular. In aggro mirrors and such it is unplayable. Certainly a good card with a high ceiling that can come back if the metagame changes.
Lore seeker was an addition inspired by a thread here. Basically you can expect the value of a random first pick from it, meaning that in an underpowered pack it is the correct P1P1. It is even somewhat justifiably playable as a Glory Seeker if your draft went very wrong, for curve-filling purposes, tinker or a side card against aggressive decks. Bad, but more of what can be said about Cogwork Librarian.
Why didn’t I add it before? The main concern for me was that if the cube is fully drafted, another booster cannot be added making the card dysfunctional. This is not so bad however, as we already have precedence – Cogwork Librarian is not functional in sealed. I’m okay with the cube having one less effective card in that case, because of the high upside in all others. Let’s be honest too – 16 man drafts are a rarity here anyway.
The second issue is logistics of having another booster during the draft – this fear was unfounded it seems. The last issue is that it benefits some players more than others, due to pure luck – the person picking second from the booster gains immense value wasting no picks whatsoever. The last person gets far less. This will all be determined due to luck basically.
This is a real issue however everyone is excited about the card, and still everybody gets something out of it, easing the jealousy.
-Tectonic Edge, +Westvale Abbey
I am actually not sure why Edge doesn’t work. By all means, now should have been his best time to shine by far – colorless mana is a wanted commodity in some decks and there are more lands than ever. However it still saw no play and no interest. Unlike Wasteland it cannot color screw opponents which makes it a pure answer to powerful nonbasic lands. Nonbasic lands naturally have very few answers however. To be honest Wasteland doesn’t see much play here too, but that is probably misevaluation, that card is not getting cut (likely ever).
• I’m not sure how good is Westvale. It gives reach and recovery for decks that go wide, and provides sacrifice fodder to decks that need that. I hope it is good as it is a very exciting and fun card.
-Erratic Portal, +Talisman of Dominance
-Scroll Rack, +Talisman of Indulgence
-Dust Bowl, +Talisman of Progress
-Star Compass, +Talisman of Unity
The talisman cycle was completed and moved to the colorless section. This will likely raise a few questions:
Why were they added? A few reasons actually. First, control and midrange have appetite for some more. A few years have passed since mana rocks were cut from maindecks. Second, Colorless mana is in higher demand. No deck I have seen faced any issue producing that mana, but it will add consistency and certainly raises their necessity. Third, I am trying to figure out a new archetype for red after tokens and sneak attack have failed. Artifacts is pretty high up that list, and they will take as many mana rocks as they can (even up to six just at the 2 mana slot). So far players have played Goblin Welder even without the lack of full support.
Why weren’t they added earlier? Having uneven fixing between the colors bothers me. There is no talisman for Golgari for example. However, the talisman are not played only in their own color pair, with one of the colors usually enough. Sometimes they are playable even if you are in none of the colors – they are as good as Thought Vessel which was in the cube for a bit, a definite case for being a slave of my system.
The cuts
Erratic Portal has been too slow in recent years. For four mana you really need to do something that gives immediate value.
Scroll Rack suffer from the same problem – it offers a lot of card selection but it is painfully slow. If you have cards in hand and the mana you better have better things to spend it on.
Dust Bowl is in the same boat as Tectonic Edge above except it is weaker. Two less colorless producing lands, yet with the addition of talismans this is a net gain of colorless sources.
Star compass is unreliable. Requiring basic lands is a serious limitation, the fixing is very unreliable and it comes into play tapped. Talismans are two leagues above that.
Two colored fixing
-Dragonskull Summit, +Foreboding Ruins
Foreboding Ruins provides colored mana on the first turn, making it more valuable in this aggressive color combination.
-Talisman of Progress, +Glacial Fortress
-Talisman of Dominance, +Drowned Catacomb
The talismans just moved to the colorless section because their cycle was completed (see above for why). The lands are the next best ones in their guild that were not already in the cube.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
This is a large update, about half of it is new cards and the rest is just shuffling around. My opinions about the new cards are covered in great detail in my blog here: https://mtgcubecrafting.wordpress.com/
The new cards will get brief explanations as a result. The new update is done with the anticipation of getting several new colorless cards in Conspiracy 2 and the upcoming block of Kaladesh. Overall the set was great for cube and while not innovative, raised the powerlevel of several archetypes in several spots.
White
-Condemn, +Thraben Inspector
As per player request, Inspector is added. I’ve heard good things about her and so far she is solid in testing. Offers early action, acceptable late. The random creature can chump block, slowly nibble at life totals, trade with aggro one drops, carry equipments, get buffed by Ajani Goldmane etc. If this is a successful experiment, Elvish Visionary will be considered too (although it is more exciting in white due to that color’s lack of card advantage, Visionary is more abusable and green wants creatures more).
Condemn seems like a fitting cut. White has gotten a whole lot of great removals lately, none of it sends to the graveyard. Condemn is limited to only defensive decks. TI also costs W and is at its best against aggressive decks.
-Karmic Guide, +Gisela, the Broken Blade
Gisela is a stat monster that slots into most decks. Karmic Guide is just too expensive and low-impact. To be up to the competition it should have lost its echo cost. It has very rare combos with Reveillark but is so weak on its lonesome. Plus, white five drops got a little crowded and white’s 4cc creatures were underrepresented.
-Soltari Champion, +Bygone Bishop
Champion has been disliked as of late. It has never been a proper bomb, but it a serviceable evasive beater, punching planeswalkers and the like. It carries equipments well too and it even mass pumps. The problem is that he is a mere Soltari Trooper alone and has zero defensive value whatsoever. It was well worth the mana in heavy token decks and was weak otherwise. Due to fear of overextending, as unlike Glorious Anthem it dies to mass removals, it did 1 extra damage with the ability on average per attack (after factoring in blocks too). Not much better than Dauthi Marauder. Bishop still has evasion and is a serviceable token holder, but it is also a decent blocker that is a mana sink when you flood or running to the later stages of the game.
The defensive value is important for white aggro decks. In the aggro mirror usually white is the slower deck in the matchup. Even if it just trades with a two drop and nets you a clue, you are ahead. Not to mention how it outright kills 2/1 and 2/2 critters or keeps them at bay.
I’ve reviewed Bishop badly before. Its issues still largely stand. Bishop is still a slow card. Most of the time you will not be able to pop a few clues in an aggro deck, you will play your lower drops before him and Bishop does not trigger off of tokens. I do not expect to be an all-star. In token decks it is definitely inferior, and in aggressive decks probably about equal.
In stacks decks Bygone Bishop is significantly better, which puts the two cards about on par with each other. However, and that is the part I misevaluated before, Bishop is much more playable outside of aggro. Not in hard control, the creature density is too low, but in midrange decks, especially W/G. Late topdecks of mana elves and the like become useful and you will have the mana to pop all the clues you accumulate. People have overall positive results with him so far in other cubes too.
In short, trading cards of similar level in aggro decks, but the new addition has other uses too.
-Nearheath Pilgrim, +Selfless Spirit
There are too many lifelinking bears now, with Soulfire Grand Master, Lone Missionary, Hidden Dragonslayer and to some extent Seeker of the Way. Nearheath is by far the weakest as it requires another creature. It can take over a game if paired with a midrange critter and not removed soon, but it seldom has lifelink on turn two and seldom participates in combat itself. Selfless Spirit is strictly better than some white cards already played and shores major weaknesses of white creature based decks.
-Hanweir Militia Captain, +Thalia, Heretic Cathar
The weakest two drop by far, it was always a placeholder. Requires serious overextending or token decks to be playable and even then leaves you vulnerable to what you were before – mass removals. Thalia is of the better three drops for aggro and against aggro. White is a little too heavy on the three drops, it will be fixed soon after some more testing with the new arrivals.
Blue
-Repeal, +Unsubstantiate
Repeal is ineffective at getting tempo, always costing more than what you bounce. The best answer to tokens, but too clunky for general use and will never save you from a cheated fattie, or when you are mana screwed. Unsubstantiate is maximal versatility at the cost of card disadvantage, it is a high risk test.
-Master of Waves, +Docent of Perfection
Master creates tokens but they all die to a single removal spell and he doesn’t combo with bounce or reanimation to create larger armies. He also often cannot attack or block himself. Docent has a solid body and very high ceiling, even if inconsistent as a control finisher.
-Crystal Shard, +Imprisoned in the Moon
Crystal Shard is a card that has aged very badly. It is very rare you have the time in actual games to durdle like that, gaining small incremental advantages. It didn’t see play in years. It was fun when it worked, but that is a relic of the distant past. Imprisoned is blue removal and will see play every draft.
-Deep Analysis, +Wharf Infiltrator
There were too many midgame blue draw spells – not all made it into decks. You cannot fill up your decks with draw cards and hope to win. There is a real problem of tempo loss with these cards – playing that on turn four when your opponent has better board presence is often suicidal. The question was whether to cut that or Treasure Cruise. Cruise has higher ceiling, but really that could be wrong. All (but one) jaces are better though and I think all draw spells costing 3 or less are more playable – they can find you lands to get you out of screws before it is too late.
Wharf Infiltrator was fantastic so far in testing – it is not easy to block and then it is a better Looter il-Kor, both because of the extra ability and because it can block itself.
Black
-Despise, +Transgress the Mind
I saw people play Transgress with success. It is the broadest spot discard and it exiles. It is a pinpoint answer to anything your deck cannot deal with otherwise. Despise is serviceable but often not better than just removal spells. Despise gets progressively worse during the game while removals are not. Black has increasingly more answers to planeswalkers too with Hero's Downfall and Ruinous Path.
-Consuming Vapors, +Diabolic Edict
Vapors underperformed as of late. It is not a one sided Barter in Blood + lifegain in a splashable package. It usually netted 1-2 life and sacrificed negligible things, slowly. When the opponent has a turn to prepare to the second edict it loses a lot of its punch. I do not like edicts in cube in general however the effect is needed. Specifically, Channel + eldrazi is problematic (which now has another titan to play with) and Simic decks, with Thrun, the Last Troll, Sphinx of Jwar Isle, Prognostic Sphinx, Ætherling and Sagu Mauler being a bit too hard to answer. It’s fine that they will not be easily answered, but some tools are needed to be there to keep them in check and give options to fight back. Probably mostly a sideboard card.
-Grim Haruspex, +Sinkhole
Grim Haruspex has a weak body for cost with an unappealing morph option. When you get a recursion chain going he is a win more, the body is bad on defense and offense as it trades with a one drop with no value added. No one will miss it. Sinkhole is retried as a boost towards aggro. Now the cube has more fixing than ever before and curves are tighter. I dislike black’s cheap cards being so heavy colored, but they are likely simply better. More manalands and utility lands than ever before also would like an increase in answers.
-Gray Merchant of Asphodel, +Necropotence
As far as monocolored payoffs go, this one is better. Gray Merchant requires very heavy black commitment and is also bad after mass removals. It is midrange chaff, in the worst sense of the word – a five drop that is incapable of winning games alone and merely stalls you towards better, more expensive fatties but does so unreliably. Necro was very narrow last time I’ve tried it, but now the cube has better fixing so it might fare better. Also black control is lacking and I want to diversify control decks and offer them an alternative to blue. Black card draw might be the answer.
-Yawgmoth's Will, +Painful Truths
Yawgmoth’s Will is a late game card that is not very efficient. It usually creates a two for one, but at a hefty price. Outside of storm decks this is not exciting and we do not play storm. PT is again more black draw. We see 3+ colored decks every draft and splashing is easy enough that I expect it to draw 3+ often. Life loss is a big issue though of course, I’m hopeful it will work out as planned.
-Attrition, +Liliana, the Last Hope
The two cards are somewhat similar – both cost the same and kill creatures. Both want you to pack sizeable amounts of men in your maindeck. Liliana is better when behind however and is better against black decks, aggro and mana elves. She is obviously unable to kill large creatures, but she can weaken them still, for no mana and no sacrifice while gaining loyalty. Overall she is less narrow and likely stronger.
-Tombstalker, +Overseer of the Damned
Tombstalker is too expensive for aggro, is not reliably enough cast for 5 for midrange, even after ramp and too fragile for control. Gurmag Angler is a bit better as it is spashable, costs merely 1 mana later and can be played on turn 4 much more easily. That said, it is also on the watchlist. Overseer will play better with reanimator and ramp and is better in tap-out control as a finisher. Not very exciting, but I hate how reanimation in black wants fatties outside the color.
Red
-Brimstone Volley, +Collective Defiance
A simple upgrade of burn spells. Volley is expensive and inconsistent, Defiance is highly versatile and can create card advantage.
-Roast, +Incendiary Flow
The truly worst burn spell in the cube as it targets only creatures, non-fliers at sorcery speed. See how much better Flame Slash is (though it is a fantastic card). Flow is a burn as efficient as Volcanic Hammer with an upside that won’t matter often, but when it will few other red cards could bail you out of the situation.
-Keldon Vandals, +Hanweir Garrison
Vandals needs to be without echo to stand up to the competition of red’s three drops. If it trades on the defense it was great, otherwise echo was seldom paid. Garrison is highly aggressive and offers a lot of synergies with mass pump and sacrifice effects.
-Hearth Kami, +Ancient Grudge
Kami is worse than Torch Fiend and Reckless Reveler. On average you need to pay much more. Grudge is better as artifact hate, both due to flashback and instant speed. I wanted more cheap answers to early brokenness like Tinker, Sol Ring etc. and Grudge seems like it will fill the job well.
-Prophetic Flamespeaker, +Stromkirk Occultist
While an upgrade due to splashability and higher power, which equates to higher chance of triggering, I now think Brazen Wolves might be better than both.
Green
-Harrow, +Search for Tomorrow
Comparable when cast for three but Search has an additional options. Let’s delve further. Harrow triggers landfall twice, is an instant and thins twice. However it is bad when countered and most importantly not playable for less than three mana. A two land hand, if one of them is a green source, is keepable with Search and not with Harrow. It is true green has many many mana elves as first turn play, however some decks do not want their mana as creatures, be it for Oath of Druids or because they pack mass removals.
-Ohran Viper, +Kessig Prowler
Viper is underpowered and unsplashable. It is still decent value, on both offense and defense, however late game it is bad and in many matchups the card draw is too slow. Prowler is highly desirable in aggressive decks. Aggro in green is non-existent. However I think it might still be plenty good in midrange. It will push aggression towards control, will trade against aggro and is acceptable later too.
-Sylvan Tutor, +Oath of Druids
Specific creature combo decks are not supported, and giving your opponent a whole turn to prepare on top of the card disadvantage is bad. Oath is more playable than ever because of planeswalkers increasing in numbers. A lot of cubes enjoy it and I want to test too. Planeswalkers are a major non-creature win condition that work well with Oath of Druids.
-Evolutionary Leap, +Eldritch Evolution
Both cards occupy the space of creature-replacement engines. Leap is fine but narrow, I do not want the cube to be full of these effects. It might be that Worldly Tutor will move for Evolutionary Leap or even this exact change reversed later.
-Avenger of Zendikar, +Craterhoof Behemoth
Avenger was not performing well. You absolutely do want to follow up with lands or the tokens will have to die in chump blocks (or you will die in a race). It is also not good in several situations. The first is when facing removal, especially instant speed. Yes, you do get a lot of blockers to buy time but that is all, you are still losing as hard as before. The second is when it is cheated early, again it is unimpressive with no land follow up. I wanted green to have a powerful “I win” card, that was even before Decimator of the Provinces was spoiled.
Multicolored
-Sphinx's Revelation, +Spell Queller
Revelation only ever went to one deck, Azorius control. In that deck it was a finisher of sorts – unplayable early, unwinnable late. There are many late game draw spells in mono blue already so this is replacable. Queller is something every Azorius deck will happily pack, it is a tremendous tempo swing.
Colorless
-Coercive Portal, +Emrakul, the Promised End
Portal is too slow and expensive, one of the consistent last picks. Also a very clunky text for the ability. Emrakul is of the better eldrazi as she is castable in control and is reanimatable. I decided not to cut an existing titan for redundancy, I want players to be able to count on seeing some of the titans each draft. It might be too many though, then Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre will move to the sidelines.
-Sword of the Animist, +Blinkmoth Nexus
Sword is a bad card I recommend no one to try. It is slow, low impact and has problems finding homes. If I already have creatures repeatedly attacking I want greater payoffs. It unreliable ramp, narrow and useless on the defense. Colorless lands have been extremely successful lately and only by a minor part due to colorless cost cards. Manlands with low opportunity costs are good, and Nexus can block fliers and carry equipment well.
Structural change – signets
I am reading the signets. I’ll start with the historic chain of events that led to this. At first the cube included all of the signets. Then some signets saw far less play than others, mostly Boros and Rakdos. After a while I’ve grouped the signets with the nonbasic lands of each guild in a compiled fixing section, that way naturally the aggressive guilds have lost their rock for more lands, and all was good for a while. However, more rocks were needed. Almost all colorless rocks were tried, even Thought Vessel. Eventually Sky Diamond was given a whirl, as blue has a lot of synergy with artifacts and needs rocks for Upheaval. It was hugely successful and saw more play than the weak signets ever did. It was so good Charcoal Diamond and Marble Diamond have been added. They all saw play.
However it was brought to my attention that an on color signet is still likely better than diamond. It still comes into play untapped, not to mention how it broadens your options during the draft. Now I’m adding all of them back instead of the nonblue diamonds and some weak rocks (nonblue because Sky Diamond sees play on top of all the blue signets and talismans still). Obviously, adding too many mana rocks is detrimental to aggro. However I anticipate that many new additions for the colorless section will be available with the new conspiracy and Kaladesh block, and Guardian Idol would be cut as well making the increase in cheap ramp minimal. That’s also the reason why the land section is a bit ugly and unbalanced – major changes are likely ahead.
About the cuts: Gitaxian Probe requires heavy synergy to be playable and even then is not exciting or something to build around. Goldnight Castigator was a huge flop – it is unplayable if it doesn’t kill as the drawback can easily kill you and your board. This is a weak Lava Axe of sorts. Skyshroud Claim is playable only in green super ramp, even there ramp costing four and boosting you by two is not always maindeckable. Sphere is of the weakest mana rocks as it both comes into play tapped and runs out of activations.
-Marble Diamond, -Charcoal Diamond, -Gitaxian Probe, -Goldnight Castigator, -Skyshroud Claim, -Sphere of the Suns
+Golgari Signet, +Orzhov Signet, +Gruul Signet, +Boros Signet, +Rakdos Signet, +Boros Signet, +Selesnya Signet
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Sorry for the very late reply, somehow I've never seen your response. I agree with you it is a problem and diversifying red is an issue. However decks that rely on specific cards are much more difficult to construct in a large cube - hence why Wildfire underperformed. Sneak Attack decks are less dependent on the namesake card so it might be back, but TBH reanimator is underperfoming as well at the moment. I really wanted more playable discard outlets in Innistrad. Oh well, it did not rotate from standard yet so we will likely get a few more pieces until that happens.
My hope currently lies with red artifacts. Goblin Welder and Daretti see play and with Kaladesh being just around the corner there is some reasonable chance that strategy will get bolstered.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
As before, in this thread I’ll mostly be talking about cuts.
White
-Lone Missionary, +Paliano Vanguard
There are too many life giving bears with Soulfire Grand Master, Seeker of the Way and Hidden Dragonslayer. As they are redundant, not very powerful and aggro does not need hosing currently I expect a few more of them to be cut. Theoretically Missionary is better than the others as it combos with white flicker effects, however it usually sees play in aggro as a two drop and all the rest of them are much better at attacking and/or blocking. Vanguard seems weak but probably not the weakest two drop in white as of now.
-Jazal Goldmane, +Palace Jailer
Jazal has always been a place holder. Jailer is likely much better as an aggro curve topper and offers the rare card draw in white for midrange. Jazal will not be missed.
-Parallax Wave, +Recruiter of the Guard
Wave is a very good spell, but white’s 4 drops are stacked. It also doesn’t help it has no reminder text for fading and is a wordy card in general. It was often left in the sideboard in favor of other better four drops. Recruiter is not really a three drop and so I’m more comfortable adding another three drop although that slot will need trimming soon too.
Blue
-Jace, Unraveler of Secrets, +Arcane Savant
I think Jace is a fine card, much better than people are giving it credit for. That said, blue has many 5cc planeswalkers and 6 other Jaces, all clearly better. It is hard not to cut a card nobody will miss and every player will always be sad playing as they compare him to the other versions, even if it is not the objectively worst card in the cube. Arcane Savant I’ve analyzed in length in my blog – it is a high pick but currently overrated.
Black
-Blood-Chin Rager, +Sinuous Vermin
An unexciting update. Vermin is a better card late game or when you are flooded and is usually better at breaking stalls. Rager suffers from distractive addition that made some players think Warrior tribal is a thing. This is obviously not a top black two drop, but likely not the worst one in there either. Black really needs more two drops.
-Necropotence, +Custodi Lich
Necropotence is too narrow unfortunately. It is sided out against aggro too. A shame as I like the archetype in theory but it is the second time the card fails at our cube. Lich is plenty value for the mana and is in the weak black five drop slot.
-Dance of the Dead, +Regicide
Reanimator just was not working and took a lot of real estate. It got new great fatties to recur recently with the new eldrazis but the bottleneck is as always the discard outlets. Innistrad block disappointed and did not introduce us enough new tools and therefore we are likely never getting enough to support reanimator at current numbers. Yes we will get a few good discard outlets in the next year I believe as we are in the same standard as Innistrad, but even then it is likely not enough. I am looking to cut one reanimation spell now and another later. Dance was cut now as it has by far the ugliest wording and a low play value outside of reanimator. Regicide is of the better spot removals in black, a welcomed addition.
Red
-Stromkirk Occultist, +Volatile Chimera
A high risk testing. Occultist was a placeholder, it dies to everything, is slow and the ability unwieldy. Chimera will range from broken (an attacking eldrazi turn 4, opponent annihilated) to not even having three creatures in the sideboard to activate his ability. Might be too random and/or too weak but is definitely exciting.
-Eidolon of the Great Revel, +Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
Originally it was a player request but I’m convinced now. Eidolon always hurts you more as you are an aggro deck. In the mirror it is bad, but it happened not too rarely that you locked yourself out of the game with it. Grenzo can goad defenders when you go wide and is a fun payoff for red aggro. Also not the strongest dude to have but it will get some testing.
-Guttersnipe, +Subterranean Tremors
Snipe saw play mostly in red aggro. It does damage the face but almost never the turn you play him, the body is insignificant and he dies to everything. Simply put, you either want better creatures or better burn and not a slow worse hybrid version. Storm combo is not supported here. Tremors is a cubeable Shatterstorm and an Earthquake that doesn’t hurt you.
-Generator Servant, +Pyretic Hunter
Servant is acceleration, true. But it doesn’t fix, the haste means nothing to red heavy drops as they have it naturally and you lose the body. A Goblin Piker is not good and if you need the fixing mana rocks are better as they linger and do not die to everything. Hunter is of the fattest creatures you can get with menace that so far overperformed expectations even as an 8/8.
Green
-Rattleclaw Mystic, +Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
Mystic was the worst green card by far. It can only fix some colors, does nothing the turn you play him and dies to everything. Land based ramp is more reliable and has synergies in green, while dying to a mass removal is a serious liability. Selvala should be played primarily for ramp. In those lens she should be great.
-Foe-Razer Regent, +Regal Behemoth
Regent offers things green does not usually get – a flier and removal. Thing is the removal is underwhelming quite often. Either the deck goes wide so one removal is not that hot, or it has bigger creatures than 4 toughness (not to mention planeswalkers). It just has no matchup it excels in. Behemoth is a much asked for green six drop. The potential is crazy, like all mana doublers, but she does not need setup to be good as she has a large trampling body and draws her own gas.
Multicolored
-Grenzo, Dungeon Warden, +Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast
Grenzo is a fun creature but honestly not that powerful. An Endless One that requires two colors is a terrible start and the ability, while having a high hit rate in Rakdos aggro, the deck that will play it, still has 40% chance of success in a good day. A two drop and a mana sink, a lovely combination, but by the end of the day it is weak compared to many monocolored two drops. Daretti is awesome in stacks decks and for the brave souls who will splash black in R/U artifacts. Narrow, but has a high powerlevel and the Goblin Welder deck will likely get more support once we get Kaladesh.
-Gerrard's Verdict, +Kaya, Ghost Assassin
Verdict is a constant underperformer. A bit of mystery to why really, which is probably why I refused to acknowledge that for so long. A 2-for-1 for two mana is as good as it can get (shutup Ancestral Recall). I have a few explanations for that phenomena. First, black white decks are just not built to win the card advantage game. Black has some draw, certainly, but almost all of it hurts you and it costs more than draw spells in blue and green. Cards that do not affect the board in Orzhov just have no follow up – it is not a game you can win. Even more importantly, the effect is just not strong early. Unlike Hymn to Tourach, you will never nuke your opponent’s hand of lands, nor will you foil his next turn’s play on turn 2 and usually much later than that too. It doesn’t matter it costs 2 as much as a result. Then it is also a dead topdeck most of the time. The window when it is great to play it is narrow, is unpredictable and is rarely in your control. Consider a removal or burn spell, and it is clear which is better for you. Kaya I heavily doubt will earn a spot, but as most planeswalkers is hard to evaluate correctly and is therefore tested.
Conspiracies
-Ratchet Bomb, +Emissary's Ploy
Bomb and Keg are at their second running in the cube and they failed marvelously. Never picked, never played. They are too slow at answering stuff. Ploy will always be played as it eases mana costs for your creatures and allows for a splash or two sometimes too.
-Tendo Ice Bridge, +Hymn of the Wilds
We had no difficulties supporting colorless costs and Tendo is a bad land outside of that. It has a serious drawback and the fixing is so puny. Hymn is a strong conspiracy to build around but alas will be unplayed if happens to be drawn at a later booster. The cube should have some of those cards but not too many.
-Memory Jar, +Summoner's Bond
Jar costs 5 and has no effect on the board, usually no effect whatsoever at least until next turn. Maybe it will return one day as it is very strong with Daretti and Welder, but this is not what the archetype is lacking currently and honestly is likely a win more thing anyway. Bond is the top card from this set, easy P1P1.
+5 colored conspiracies
Not all are created equal, but conspiracies have been so good so far I’m willing to test them all. Likely only the blue and green will remain, maybe the black one too. Heist is repeatbale card advantage if you can crack it, bomb with True-Name Nemesis. Unity is a combo with Persist but is an effortless way to make early game creatures relevant later. Assemble is sometimes just a free body but is more limited in where it can go and when it can be activated.
-5 colorless cards: -Powder Keg, -Guardian Idol, -Captain's Claws, -Trusty Machete, -Basalt Monolith
For Keg see Ratchet Bomb Above. Idol was marked for cutting when the signet cycle was completed. The two bad equipments were there to fill a quota for aggro and especially Relic Seeker. Now there is not enough space for this cuteness, either Seeker will fetch the equipment that is good on its own or it will leave the list. It is likely an insignificant drop in his powerlevel anyway.
I cannot recall when Monolith saw play last. It should be good at powering out titans. Problems is it is only a super ramp card. It is not playable in control, regular ramp or even tinker decks. No one here will miss it, although I am sad for the lost potential.
Final Note
The fixing lands and artifacts section have an imbalance of 4 cards. I am waiting for Kaladesh to fix this issue as we should be getting many colorless cards that will likely force reexamination anyway. It is released too soon after conspiracy! We already are getting a cycle of strong enemy lands.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
White
-Seal of Cleansing, +Fragmentize
Efficiency is key, enchantment synergy in a large cube is near irrelevant. A major upgrade.
-Planar Outburst, +Fumigate
The best 5cc wrath by far, as it gains you back tempo. Outburst was never used for the awaken cost. I might still have one too many mass removals in white costing 5 mana, but there are also a touch too many white five drops at present.
-Adriana's Valor, +Angel of Invention
Adriana’s Valor does next to nothing. Not worth a pick, a cube slot or a look at all. Angel is made of greatness, among the better white 5 drops even in cube calibre. An army in a can or a Gisela, the Broken Blade impression, whatever fits the situation.
Blue
-Standstill, +Tolarian Academy
Standstill was a dead card way too often. Now we have many more manlands and planeswalkers, but on average this means your opponent will have more outs than you will have ways of abuse, as the new manlands are evenly spread among all colors. It is a fun card to build around, but narrow and often misplayed by inexperienced players. Not truly a deck archetype either, and can be completely dead late game. Academy is a broken card in the right deck, but that deck is hard to assemble. It is a juicy reward for the artifact deck that I hope will catch (especially considering the number of artifacts does increase after this set).
-Docent of Perfection, +Torrential Gearhulk
Docent is fragile and narrower. Gearhulk can be a total blowout quite consistently, I hope. Plus, artifact synergies in blue are a thing.
-Harbinger of the Tides, +Aether Theorist
Harbinger has a difficult cost and a narrow trigger. Theorist is definitely weak yet does offer early plays, slows aggro and advances your game plan. Overall a weaker Omenspeaker.
Black
-Transgress the Mind, +Collective Brutality
Collective brutality is a much needed discard outlet with enough utility to be playable on its own. It got good reviews by people who have tried it. Transgress is a good answer card but bad disruption and clunky. It is not great in the current metagame with little combo and a lot of aggro and midrange.
-Gurmag Angler, +Demon of Dark Schemes
Demon is a better control and reanimation card. Angler is not consistently playable for 4 or less mana, and definitely not quickly enough for the body to be exciting by the stage of the game it will see play at. Black needed a little push in said archetypes, which I hope Demon will provide.
-Overseer of the Damned, +Noxious Gearhulk
Lower on the curve, cheatable with artifacts and has higher impact immediately. A favorable trade. Black really wants lifegain, especially in reanimator and control decks.
-Silumgar Assassin, +Embraal Bruiser
Assassin is too expensive and limited, and is a 3 drop nearly all the time. Bruiser is aggressive for his cost with little drawbacks.
-Relentless Dead, +Syndicate Trafficker
Dead is too black heavy, and now we get a better recurring creature. Trafficker is splashable and aggressive if inconsistent and overall tame.
Red
-Thunderbreak Regent, +Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Regent is a serviceable red 4 drop that is playable in all theatres, like Chandra. It is weak however and never what you really wish for, it is just redundancy on playables. Red four drops is a crowded section. Chandra is very strong and what every red deck wants.
-Blistering Firecat, +Lathnu Hellion
Firecat is expensive and red intensive, or slow. Hellion is splashable and more aggressive. We will need to see how the lack of trample fares and if it nullifies the advantages of having high toughness. Hellion could be garbage, especially against tokens, it is a high risk test.
-Ash Zealot, +Speedway Fanatic
Red is too color intensive in its low drops. Zealot is forgettable and will not be missed. Fanatic will also see play but will be far more forgiving on the mana base.
-Gore-House Chainwalker, +Thriving Grubs
A near strict upgrade. Grubs can attack for 3 and block later.
-Greater Gargadon, +Through the Breach
Gargadon is a sac outlet, but as a standalone card it sees little play. Red is not the color that wants sacrifice outlets. Breach is redundancy for Sneak Attack (see below).
-Shrine of Burning Rage, +Sneak Attack
Shrine is a reward for heavy red decks. There are many such rewards already, and I want the color to be more splahable and playable in more strategies. Sneak Attack is a unique effect that got quite a boost by the new eldrazis and now from a few gearhulks. Players missed the card and I hope it will fare better now, especially as red artifact decks start to gain a foothold in the meta.
Green
-Tinder Wall, +Elvish Visionary
Wall is a great card for constructed. In limited however, mana elves beat him repeatedly. A good card for super ramp maybe, but has too much competition. Too often you have no use for the two red mana, and only ramp for one colorless. Also, when curving ramp spells, having an extra mana for 2-3 turns can be better than +2 mana for one turn.
Thraben Inspector has been great, so now Visionary will be tested too. Visionary costs 2 mana always, but the card draw is cheaper and immediate. It plays better with blink/bounce/reanimation. Plus, green is a color that appreciates cheap creatures, for Gaea's Cradle, Natural Order, Survival of the Fittest, all overrun effects and more.
-Whisperwood Elemental, +Verdurous Gearhulk
Whisperwood is the weakest green 5 drop. It doesn’t pass the terminate test, has no evasion, is blocked completely by 4/4s or higher and the mass removal protection depends on you having other creatures. The manifest pat was very rarely relevant as most hits are noncreature, and many critters are unexciting without their enters the battlefield effects.
Gearhulk is all kinds of wonderful – it is evasive and huge, has immediate board impact and is abusable.
-Greenwarden of Murasa, +Nissa, Vital Force
Greenwarden is not the type of fattie you want to ramp into or cheat. It is a good curve topping value spell in midrange. Nissa has that and more. She has several interesting lines of play that all seem somewhat relevant. Not a top green planeswalker by any means, but strong enough for 720.
Multicolored
-Electrolyze, +Saheeli Rai
I’m not sure Saheeli is not too narrow for cube. She is good when you are the aggressor, but unplayable otherwise. Electrolyze does nothing wrong, and this change could very well be reversed soon.
Artifacts
-5 vivids, +4 guild fixing lands, +Filigree Familiar
4 guild-fixing lands were missing since the addition of signets, now it is remedied. The vivids lands are good, but there is a limit to how much fixing the cube can contain without the value of them all dropping and 4+ color decks being too prevalent. Plus, while vivids are great in 3+ colored decks, they are very weak fixing for 2 colored decks, especially aggressive ones.
Filigree Familiar is a great speedbump against aggro, and a good value card in general to abuse. Highly playable if not broad.
-Triskelion, +Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
Triskelion is more abusable and playable than ever, yet his impact is getting lower as well. In short, it never played for face value and not even great when reused or cheated. Skysovereign is comparable in dealing 3 damage immediately, yet serves pretty different roles. I hope that 3 power is not too much to ask.
-Sensei's Divining Top, +Smuggler's Copter
Top is an overrated card. The card quality you get is seldom worth a card. Not to mention the amount of time it adds to every given game. You absolutely need a lot of shuffle effects for the card to be good. Copter offers better card selection for most decks, in addition to evasion. It is also situated well to combat planeswalkers.
-Paliano, the High City, +Fleetwheel Cruiser
There is currently a tad too much fixing after completing the signet cycle and adding more “rainbow” conspiracies. Paliano is among the riskier and weaker lands, which does not work in non-draft formats. Cruiser is highly aggressive, dodges mass removals and has evasion.
-Blinkmoth Nexus, +Scrapheap Scrounger
There are enough colorless sources in cube so there is no need for Nexus. The density of equipment in a large cube is also low. Scrounger is a great aggro 2 drop, not to mention stacks applications.
-Mirrorpool, +Matter Reshaper
Splashing for 1 colorless mana is easy, but mirrorpool is both that narrowness on top of being slow and weak by itself until popping time. Great with Primeval Titan, weak otherwise. Reshaper has been reviewed well by people who tried it, and since cololrless cards see play consistently, I’m giving the small eldrazi a shot.
Guild Fixing
+Darkslick Shores, +Seachrome Coast, +Botanical Sanctum, +Spirebluff Canal
-Temple of Triumph, +Inspiring Vantage
-Temple of Malady, +Blooming Marsh
-Temple of Silence, +Concealed Courtyard
Temples are too slow for cube. While I really like their design, the drawback is too steep and the advantage is minor when not found in multiples. Fastlands are great especially for enemy colors aggressive decks. The cube is getting ever more fast and efficient which should make the cycle better in the long run. I’ve actually wanted to add the allied fastlands before the cycle was revealed for this set. As before, it might be a bad fit for the slower color combinations, but U/W and B/U tempo are now common enough that they merit retesting.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
While I think Top is overrated, I still think it's a great cube card and wouldn't cut it.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
White
-Terminus, +Cataclysmic Gearhulk
Terminus did not even cross my eyes for a potential cut, as Rout looked worse. The removal effect of Terminus is better, and while Rout has a rare 7 mana mode, Terminus costs less. If we assume over 20% of the time it is miracled, it is cheaper than Rout on average, which is the most critical quality of mass removals. However that assumption was untrue. Control decks have draw spells which reduce the chances of you drawing Terminus naturally. Even if you do cast it on miracle cost, a significant amount of time this merely is a nice to have discount or even just unused, it is rarely game changing. In times when you have the card in hand, costing 5 and not 6 is often critical. Once you get to the later turns territory, Rout wins again. That is the last of the miracle cards to leave the cube, a mechanic rewarding luck and decreases sharply in potency as cube size goes up.
Gearhulk is alluring mainly because it is a maindeckable answer to artifact decks and superfriends that are both on the rise. It is also good card against aggro and token decks, which could be enough to make it a solid list inclusion. Also I think I have underestimated how big a 4/5 vigilance truly is. I am currently a bit heavy on white five drops, one might be cut very soon.
-Soulfire Grand Master, +Town Gossipmonger
Grandmaster is 90% of the time a 2/2 lifelink. You might think that is an acceptable thing, but all it does really is hose aggro. Most of the times as a white two drop it was played in aggro decks. The buyback ability is too color heavy and expensive for most decks and the body is too vulnerable and do-nothing to be a control finisher.
The recent rise of 2/3 bodies in cube hurts aggro decks across the scale, but white weenie the most. It relies heavily on 2/1 for W critters. Gossipmonger could be a part of the answer to that, plus it showed good results in other cubes. It is a high risk experiment as it is not a true one drop, is slow and does nothing alone.
Blue
-Spreading Seas, +Elder Deep-Fiend
Seas are too low impact. They cycle and give early action, but too often the color screw mechanism did nothing to change my opponent’s gameplan, whether because they had a solid mana base or because they play blue. Plus blue got Imprisoned in the Moon as an answer against problematic lands.
Black
-Life // Death, +Wretched Confluence
Reanimator still lacks enough good discard outlets. Currently the archetype gets more real estate than it can support. Death is the worse of the reanimation spells as it costs a lot of life and can only target your graveyard.
Confluence is mainly a plant for Arcane Savant and Torrential Gearhulk. The card seems good by itself too, but pushed over the top by these two. Black control is getting plenty new tools lately, with Languish, Kalitas, two new black six drops and now a newly spoiled mass removal.
-Painful Truths, +Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Truths is too narrow. Decks containing blue do not want it, two colored decks do not either. Gonti tested well in several places. The two facts I might’ve underestimated about him are:
1) The opponent’s deck will have better cards for the matchup on average than you. Control decks will have versatile removals and better card draw/threats, while aggro will have cheap blockers/removals.
2) It is hard to impossible to play around the card you are hiding.
Gonti looks like a solid midrange or control value creature, offering an easy 2 for 1 and high levels of excitement.
-Syndicate Trafficker, +Battle Brawler
A 3/1 does not need too much to be playable but it still needs more than Trafficker’s ability. Sacrificing an artifact is too high a cost. Brawler is a rarity in that it is an excellent blocker for black aggro decks. Rarely is black played alone in aggro anyway.
Red
-Incendiary Dissent, +Purphoros, God of the Forge
Dissent is too low impact for the slot. Far too often the named creature is trading/killed anyway, and it is restricted to red heavy decks. It will do 2-3 extra damage in a whole draft, maybe.
Purphoros has been tried and cut before but now has got several new great synergies: Hanweir Garrison, Pia Nalaar, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Angel of Invention, Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast, Nissa, Voice of Zendikar and more.
-Feldon of the Third Path, +Pia Nalaar
Feldon is a good dude I have no doubt but the archetypes he fits in are struggling at the moment, he is not the card that will save them and is playable otherwise. I am sick of seeing the card go so late for so many years and red has too many better three drops now. The double red cost is too limiting. Perhaps in the future, if Sneak Attack and/or the artifact cheat archetypes will really fly Feldon will be reintroduced.
Pia Nalaar has likely been underestimated for several reasons. First, as a splashable 2/2 + 1/1 flier is was seen as an anti-aggro card. Red has no need for those. Truth is, Pia is an aggressive card and she needs little or no artifact support to do quite a bit. Second, as seen with Goblin Heelcutter, Falter effects are often disregarded. Pia breaks open stalemates, especially if you sacrifice another artifact. It is very hard for your opponent to attack you if you have her on the table. Every artifact you topdeck is extra scary. Third, she is a proactive measure against planeswalkers. The Vindicate test is always taken into consideration but the planeswalkers test is not. With her on the table you can usually deal 3 flying damage at will should a planeswalker appear. All in all a good card with plenty of options and synergies.
Green
-Frontier Siege, +Naturalize
Frontier Siege costs 2 mana the turn you play it and provides +2 mana for every turn after while sometimes even producing four. That said, it has many inferiorities to land based ramp like Cultivate. It does not fix, thin your library or shuffle. It has only one home and that is green super ramp decks. Even there, it is not a high pick or even that desirable. Too often when you play it you play nothing else for the turn and that is near unacceptable for four mana.
I realized green needed one more disenchant effect. I wanted a cheap answer and not another Disenchant on a stick, to help combat powered starts.
-Eldritch Evolution, +Grapple with the Past
Eldritch is too narrow with the double green cost and heavy creature requirements for a mediocre reward at best. It does nothing on an empty board, costs your whole turn and barely increases board presence usually. Grapple with the Past is the hybrid child of Regrowth and Anticipate. It is a Nature’s Spiral not Regrowth, which is much worse. However, it is playable early and can get you out of screws and floods. Not Anticipate either, as it grabs less targets, but can get an even better card that got to the graveyard earlier. Green got many cards like this lately, and besides Oath of Nissa this is the best of the lot. Incidental synergies with delve, Tarmogoyf, Emrakul and reanimation are sweet as well.
-Surrak, the Hunt Caller, +Caller of the Untamed
Surrak granted things haste far less often than anticipated. As a 5/4 dork that does not pass the Vindicate test, has no evasion and little defensive value, it was just the card I wished my opponent was playing against me. It is easy to chump block forever, or be bounced/tapped/removed for value.
Caller of the Untamed is still slow but does offer green effects out of its color. If you name a four drop, with a mana elf involved you’ll be able to get the first token exactly on time. With a big butt and splashable cost, this merits testing before writing it off.
Multicolored
-Gavony Township, +Nahiri, the Harbinger
Township is by all means a fine card, just not great. It is not splash worthy. Most G/W decks do play many creatures and would play it, but it is not that powerful as it requires both a lot of mana and board presence. It break stalements and is a mana sink, but was activated far less than I’d like. It might make a comeback someday. Nahiri is a card not really fitting the Boros guild, but is still powerful and actually splashworthy. As the consensus 5th best Boros card, I want to at least try it. Plus, I’m closer than ever to actually balance the multicolored section, and this is a step in that direction.
Colorless
-Crucible of Worlds, +Ash Barrens
Crucible remains a card too narrow for a large cube and very overrated in general. You need 4+ synergies with it to actually be a worthy maindeck inclusion. Even with a fetchland, playing crucible will only pay off after 3 activations – that is at least 2 more turns, during which it does nothing. To be a worthy deck slot, you need to aim even higher. Cute with Smokestack decks but never doing anything alone and being so slow are harsh negatives. The combo with Strip Mine is great, but this is where cube size applies – you gain no new significant synergy cards as you go from 360 to 720.
Quoting myself on Ash Barrens from my blog:
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
White
Ajani Goldmane -> Sram's Expertise
White has so many 4 drops. Ajani is a narrow planeswalker as he only slots in aggro and/or token decks. He needs at least 2-3 creatures out to be worth his mana cost. It looks like Ajani and the card replacing him will work well together but in practice there is a limit on how many 4 drops a deck wants, and the other white 4 drops are just stronger and/or less conditional. Many games have been won with Spectral Procession into Ajani Goldmane and nothing but. He had an admirable career in cube, now it is his time to retire.
Expertise is a card of low powerlevel itself but well positioned to take advantage of the free spell given its color and cost. It is an experiment that I can easily see failing.
Blue
Aether Theorist -> Baral, Chief of Compliance
Theorist is a bad card. It was only playable or even a remote consideration because blue needs that body at that casting cost. Baral does that on top of a much more powerful effect. Make no mistake – 90% of Baral’s power still comes from that body, but as the competition is so weak (Omenspeaker) it will likely stay in the cube for the foreseeable future.
Scatter to the Winds -> Disallow
Sactter’s trigger never did much. Keeping six mana open is hard and the 3/3 body is not impressive at that stage of the game. It was not uncommon to even see people intentionally not animating a land as to not expose it to spot/mass removals. Disallow is, again, mostly just Cancel. I think the card is overrated and Dissolve is better. That said the effect is unique in cube and therefore will likely at least create a few stories before (and if) it will be abandoned in the future.
Aether Adept -> Baral's Expertise
Aether Adept had a relatively long career for a card of such low power. It was never optimal as the double blue cost is a hindrance to all tempo decks but those with devotion. Now those are no longer played. Even worse, the 3 drop slot has exploded in all colors recently, and Adept has a direct competition with them when it comes to deck building. Third, there are more playable bounce effects now than before. Fourth, the 2/2 body is not as impressive nowadays when 2/3 bodies invade the cube in numbers.
Baral’s Expertise is a polar card – extremely high ceiling but a terrible floor. Time will tell if it is worth the risk. I have the feeling it will be good on average but we will have to see.
Academy Ruins -> Gitaxian Probe
Even heavy artifact decks did not want to play it. Less useful as the colorless mass removals have all been shifted out. Too narrow. Probe is the opposite of that – very playable, yet never necessary and has weaker synergies. Still good to have perfect knowledge of our opponent’s hand. Aggro decks should happily pay the 2 life for increased consistency barring the mirror match. Activating prowess/Young Pyromancer, fueling delve and baby Jace, pumping Tarmogoyf and more are all small bonuses to this extremely playable card. The recent banning should do well for his reputation and perhaps will make him be picked higher than it was before.
Black
Black got a big update this set.
Black Sun’s Zenith -> Yahenni's Expertise
No doubt Expertise is better. It is more cost effective. Zenith is mostly cast for 3-5 mana so Expertise could even see play over it without the free spell rider. With it though, it is no contest. I’d happily take a turn 4 mass removal into a mana rock/Liliana/3 drop over small perks of permanent weakening, reshuffle and being a hard mass removal if you dump a lot of mana.
The more interesting question is why not to cut a non mass-removal card. I feel that with Demon of Dark Schemes and Wretched Confluence black has enough mass removals. Black control got great many tools in recent sets and we feels it rising in power. Zenith was always more of a placeholder than anything.
Vampire Hexmage -> Gifted Aetherborn
Black got two spot planeswalker removal spells so Hexmage is less necessary. There is a limit to how many double black costing cards a cube can have. Aetherborn is a much broader card. It doesn’t kill planeswalkers, but it will punch through most blockers and trade even with the larger ones. Good against midrange, lifegain is huge against aggro and the 2/3 body can comfortably contain one drops and some utility bodies for profit.
Embraal Bruiser -> Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
Massive upgrade. Siphoner has built-in evasion and card advantage, with less power but no drawback either. As close to a strict update as cube swaps can be.
Malicious Affliction -> Fatal Push
Trying out the new card here mostly. Affilction costs the dreaded double black and using the trigger well is hard and rare. Push covers an area in black that probably does not need fulfilling, but it is at the very least a better sideboard card. Probably not a great card for this format.
Master of the Feast -> Herald of Torment
Master is too risky. If you face a Maze of Ith, Opposition or Faith's Fetters it loses you the game. Obviously instant speed removal hurts as well, but even bouncing him after your upkeep is no fun. Being an aggro-only 1BB critter is narrow so those weaknesses are less easily tolerated. If you have one job, better do it well!
Herald has less drawbacks and gives black some needed evasion. Even more than that, it gives black some reach it currently lacks. Nowadays, with black cards, you are basically alive unless you are dead on board. Herald should help change that.
Assemble the Rank and Vile -> Cryptbreaker
Assemble is too narrow to be worth the bookkeeping. Requiring the black mana to be available when the named creature dies just misses so often. Sometimes you just have better things to do with that mana than a 2/2 tapped token, even if it is free card advantage. Cryptbreaker impressed me in other formats and is being praised by other cube owners. In decks without mass removal the 2/2 body making machine that starts on turn 2 must be answered quickly. It is also a fine way to cycle late game useless cards. The zombie synergies in black are cumulative and CB works with Sarcomancy, Gravecrawler and Liliana, the Last Hope’s ultimate among other things. It is a cheap and quick discard outlet. It is a card that could potentially be keepable in a hand with all lands, or just lands and uncastable high drops. On the other hand, in board states where a 2/2 body is weak, it does little. He is also not aggressive and demands plenty resources. Worth testing at the very least.
Sinuous Vermin -> Scrapheap Scrounger
Scrapheap is moving from colorless. Now that red has all its two drops be better than it, it can be probably safely said that nonblack decks will only play it if they have to. Not a terrible place to be when it happens, but not what you aim for. Vermin is too wimp on turn 2 for aggressive decks. If it had a keyword it would probably survive in the cube for a little while longer.
Red
I’ve found that red’s curve is a bit too high, not at the creature side of things but at the spell side. Lower curves makes for stronger aggro decks and more interactive games. Also some of red’s cards that are specifically good against 2 toughness creatures are being replaced to reflect the increase in toughness.
Speedway Fanatic -> Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
Fanatic is in theory better than Borderland Marauder. Until the third time Marauder connect on an empty board, Fanatic leads with tempo. On top of that it should be a better topdeck. However Fanatic suffers on three fronts. First – it will trade down with tokens. Second, 2/3 bodies stop her. Third, when she is on board she is a smaller threat to planeswalkers than the big beaters. Overall it turns out a random 3 power 2 drop is better and even those are starting to look out of place after this update.
Kari Zev is the best red two drop in cube. Beats for 3, holds equipment well and is very hard to completely block. She has synergies with Purphoros, anthems and Hero of Oxid Ridge.
Makindi Sliderunner -> Aether Chaser
Runner punches through tokens for damage and holds swords relatively well, but it too inconsistent to be worth those small upsides. Aggro is a deck that thrives on consistency. Chaser suffers some of Speedway’s illnesses, especially when it comes to 2/3 bodies, but the first strike is still quite great. Most 1 and 2 drops cannot trade with him. The token is good with Purphoros, Hellrider, Skulcllamp, Pia Nalaar and more. Just having an extra body to carry a sword is nice. Not a huge card, but probably better than the bottom of the barrel of red’s 2 drops.
Magus of the Wheel -> Brazen Scourge
Magus was a huge letdown. The dream scenarios of beating a few times with it then cashing him for value later were rare. It is too slow and fragile for drawing cards and remarkably bad at beating. Scourge is pretty much what you always want to be doing on turn three in an aggressive deck. It is of the best three drops to cast on curve. 3 toughness is a meaningful boost over Geier Reach Bandit as it will not trade with 1 drops and most 2 drops. It really should have been included earlier, it is not a card whose power level is transparent. To my defense, Lathnu Hellion and Volatile Chimera are still in testing stages in red and Pia Nalaar was there until recently. The double red cost is no concern because as of now it is the only 1RR costing creature in the cube.
Fire Imp -> Galvanic Blast
Red’s three drops are stacked. Fire Imp is only good against specific decks. Against them, the ability to answer threats earlier is key (think Dark confidant or a mana elf). Even on turn 3 and up, the 2/1 body of imp is unimpressive enough that playing Blast + a two drop is likely a better tempo play still. Imp has a serious drawback of being unplayable on an empty board, and his enters the battlefield field is too situational to be worth reusing somehow with bounce/reanimation. Imp is a fine card, and perhaps will be reincluded if Lathnu Hellion and/or Volatile Chimera will fail us.
I was shying away from Shock variants as they felt underpowered and read bad. Recent research has showed that the curve of burn spells is comparatively high in this cube, which hampers aggro decks. It doesn’t help as much if the creature curve is low if the spell curve is not. After all, for every time you aim a Searing Spear at something with two toughness/loyalty, a Shock is theoretically better. Cheap burn spells will also help the spells matter cards – Snapcaster Mage, Young Pyromancer, Monastery Swiftspear, Abbot of Keral Keep, Monastery Mentor, Jace, Vryn's Prodigy and more. I will be looking closely at how Blast performs and might include more cards of its ilk in the future. Galvanic specifically also has the potential to be explosive in the artifact decks, although metal craft is a tall order.
Village Messenger -> Goblin Glory Chaser
This rarely got to and/or remained on its dark side. This will only get worse as the cube cards become cheaper and more streamlined and playable with time. Chaser is a worse topdeck. However, you have more influence compared to your opponent on Chaser’s performance, and I prefer the proactiveness.
Staggershock -> Kari Zev's Expertise
Staggershock is only interesting when it kills a pair of 2 toughness creatures. It is great with Iterative Analysis. Both are not very good reasons to keep the card, and again a Shock variant might still be better in both cases. Since this theory craft was not yet backed up with results I have not included another Shock and decided to test a new card instead. Expertise is the most playable Threaten effect we have ever gotten. It might still not be good enough as it is not a good turn 3 play and it is hard to use the free spell well since it can only be so cheap.
Zealous Conscripts -> Release the Gremlins
Aggressive 5 mana cards always have problems and this is conditional on top. Not worth splashing for as you never know what you will get, and pretty bad if it doesn’t deal the killing blow or has an infinite combo (which this cube does not support).
The need for artifact hate is ever growing. The artifact deck specifically is on the rise. This is a great thing to do if it nets you two bodies and kills two mana rocks. It will be a key card in some matchups. However it is too expensive to replace the cheaper answers and can be too much of a hoser card. Average case of a Manic Vandal is highly playable, even if just as a sideboard answer.
Green
Obstinate Baloth -> Peema, Rishkar Renegade
Green midrange decks do not need the help against aggro. They now have Thragtusk, Courser of Kruphix, Sylvan Advocate and other better tools anyway. Peema has two roles. It is double pump, and it is mana ramp, with quite a high floor. An incentive to support green aggro.
Devoted Druid -> Greenwheel Liberator
High risk testing. Druid is the weakest ramp card as it costs more than mana elves, is less durable than Rampant Growth and can only do a double ramp once. The jump of 2->5 is not as strong as the ramp of a mana elf. Liberator has abysmal floor but very high ceiling. Crazy with a turn 2 fetch land. It will probably not be worth it though.
Explore -> Decimator of the Provinces
Explore is inconsistent at ramping, which costs games. Better topdeck than Rampant Growth, but that is secondary to the card’s main function. Craterhoof Behemoth is liked here. I want to try and create an overrun archetype. Elder Deep-Fiend was, to my surprise, played more times for his full cost than emerge so far. It was sided in against control and played in decks without blue mana and too much ramp. Decimator could provide the redundancy necessary for an Overrun deck.
Kalonian Hydra -> Creeperhulk
Hydra in vacuum is a faster clock. However Creeperhulk with only one creature out beats for more damage the turn after it is played, and if it kills, who cares about any later turns? I think the much more common scenario will be to attack with 2-3 buffed bodies the turn after you play it. In other words, if you untap with it, you should win in most board states. It is also a much better topdeck, as it can overrun immediately, especially if Gaea’s Cradle and the like are involved. It is also a better card on the defense, as having 5 toughness is better than 4 and it can make your mana elves very bulky on that side of combat as well. Another key point is that you can sandbag Creeperhulk until you have the mana to immediaely pump something, making it better against removals. Hulk has no synergies with Reveillark or Recruiters, but honestly they are too rare for us to care. Creeperhulk suffers from being released in a commander product – it is less known since it was never played in limited, type 2 or modern. However, paraphrasing Nicholas West, it is “the Craterhoof Behemoth nonramp decks can play”.
Multicolored
Three gold planeswalkers are cut in this update. This is not an agenda against them, but rather on the contrary - many planeswalkers are tested extendedly on the merit of their card type alone. Also, too many of them cost 4 mana.
Kiora, master of the Depths -> Rogue Refiner
Since Wizards stopped printing printing mana elves, we get better green three drops. Refiner is highly playable. Never was a creature printed that drew a card with having power equal to its mana cost. The two energy will mostly be flavor text, but that’s fine. A free body is good for all decks that can play the colors. Kiora is a fine card, but weaker than the monocolored planeswalkers and is not worth splashing for either. She is weak in the planeswalker deck too, requiring too many creatures to be playable there.
Saheeli Rai -> Electrolyze
Saheeli was a flop. Izzet decks are usually control around here, so she was too narrow to be worth it.
Shadowmage Infiltrator -> Dragonlord Silumgar
I do not love Silumgar but it is undeniably strong. I dislike how it punishes midrange and cheat decks hard, while being weak to unplayable against control decks. That said, it is more exciting and needed than Infiltrator. Decks today have a hard time giving up the tempo to slowly gain cards, he doesn’t work with you own mass removals and on top of that is a dead card against decks with a high black/artifact creature count. Still a fine card, but far from necessary.
Kaya, Ghost Assassin -> Renegade Rallier
Kaya is just too weak in the face aggro, or in aggro for the matter. The life loss stacks, she is not easy to defend and in general was hard including into decks. Flickering is not a good answer to may threats. Rallier is also a high risk test, but the upside is huge. Fetchlands are worth mentioning again, but also following up a trade of two drops with this is fun times.
Colorless
Scrapheap Scrounger-> Heart of Kiran
Scrapheap moved to black, see above. Heart is supremely narrow yet the planeswalker deck is drafted consistently here so I think it has a chance to be busted.
Scuttling Doom Engine -> Walking Ballista
Scuttles is too bad on the defense for a six drop. It is also not a reliable finisher. Ballista’s power is in her flexibility. Need to kill that early BoP? Done. Need to Shock that planeswalker on turn 4? Easy. It is also a mana sink for your Tolarian Academy, Channel and Mana Drain and can be fetched with Trinket Mage.
Nevinyrral's Disk -> Cultivator's Caravan
Disk is too slow and too hard to find synergy with. It wrecks your own mana rocks after all, and red decks can quite easily destroy it before it matters. Caravan it a test – vehicles have been performing well so far and he was requested as an addition.
Engineered Explosives –> Leovold's Operative
Explosives seldom saw play here. A sideboard card at heart, it has too many conditions strapped on to shine. Operative is weaker than Cogwork Librarian by far, but smoothing drafts and having more relevant picks to consider are still things I want more of. It overall makes for a better draft experience, I believe.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
The other half of the update is regular maintenance – replacing failed tests or weak cards with new cards from Aether Revolt or cards that can shine in the current metagame.
White
-Wingmate Roc, +Glorious Anthem
I think Roc is a good card, but at some point even good cards do not cut it anymore. White got two new five drops with Cataclysmic Gearhulk and Angel of Invention. That meant white has 7 five drops, and for a color that is not big on midrange and has no ramp that is a bit heavy. Roc is a conflicted card. It requires having an attacker on demand yet is a five drop and is basically a self-contained win condition. Decks with few creatures cannot play it, it costs too much and is too conditional for aggro (talk about a lacking wrath followup). It is best as an aggro hoser in midrange and token decks, not a slot needs filling. It does have impressive stats for the cost when kicked and has the capacity to reverse the tide of the game sometimes, but less so than Cataclysmic Gearhulk, the current weakest white five drop. Roc is a card I like and might be back some day.
Anthem benefits from a large number of token generators printed in recent years (since it was cut) – Rabblemaster, Hanweir Garrison, Angel of Invention, Hangarback Walker, new Gideon etc.
-Stasis Snare, +Condemn
Oblivion Ring and its ilk have been very successful. An enchantment is hard to answer in cube, making them almost drawbackless unconditional removals. However I went overboard with them. This is very visible with Cataclysmic Gearhulk, which sucks when you have two Banishing Light effects. To help diversify the color and make it less soft to disenchant, this change is made. Snare is not even good and is more of a sideboard card or a piece for very removal light decks. Condemn has been in the cube before and is a known evil. The downside of only being playable in control is real, but it is top notch in that theater and at the very least a formidable sideboard card. Works well with Snapcaster Mage and a few more cards.
Blue
-Wharf Infiltrator, +Inkwell Leviathan
Infiltrator is weak for two reasons – skulk is unreliable and the discard ability is not often useful. When your opponent has a wall, Infiltrator is of the deadest cards there are. Even worse if they have a 1/1 token. The discard ability was rarely used as almost always the creature is preferable to a 3/2 token + a land (or other irrelevant) card in hand. It was never used with other discard outlets either and blue decks are not dense with creatures in the first place.
Leviathan is mostly there for Daretti and Goblin Welder. Empowering Tinker is not desirable but unavoidable. I like what it brings to cheat archetypes in terms of matchups – it is weakest against aggro decks, that go wide or just race it, and best against control decks that depends heavily on spot removals and likely play islands. It is good not having your game plan biting you with a Control Magic, bounce or just an Oblivion Ring after all the effort you’ve put into it. Leviathan makes deathtouch creatures more relevant too which is nice.
-Psionic Blast, +Vapor Snag
Imprisoned in the Moon is a much better removal spell. Char has fallen off lately in power in cube as aggro decks are faster and creature are more robust. Nowadays it is not too rare to see yourself playing Psionic Blast at two drops such as Sylvan Advocate. Blast is not good on the defense and is only okay as a planeswalker removal option. In blue tempo decks, Snag should be better. Snag is a card I’ve always wanted to try, but never found the right cut or space. In tempo and/or prowess decks with the likes of Snapcaster Mage, Thing in the Ice, Edric, Monastery Mentor etc. The card might still be narrow to be worth a slot, but it is the best creature only bounce spell so it probably warrants testing.
Black
-Reaver Drone, +Night's Whisper
Drone is so weak, it is only played when you are short on one drops. That may sound kind of obvious but is not. You do not want to cut one drops from your aggro decks if possible, cutting something more expensive is nearly always better. Play one less three drop, do not cut a Savannah Lions. Drone is sufficiently bad that it does get cut relatively often in BX decks, even in aggro, its sole home. Losing one life per turn is terrible in the mirror, any kind of race or on the topdeck. Other black one drops are also bad, but not as much – they have more toughness, less life loss and better creature types.
Whisper gets a second look as there are less self-life-loss cards in back now. In addition, black has more lifegain cards since Whisper was last tried – Kalitas, flip Liliana, Gifted Aetherborn, Brutal Hordechief, Collective Brutality and Noxious Gearhulk. Whisper is still bad against aggro, and might not be worth a deck slot as an aggressive card, so this is swap was pulled more by Drone being horrible than Whisper being exciting.
Red
-Stormbreath Dragon, +Bosh, Iron Golem
Dragon is a weak version of Sarkhan and Thundermaw Hellkite. Still playable, a good mana sink, reliable win condition and snipes down planeswalkers. But it was never great, never the best card for the job. Bosh is a prime Welder/Daretti tool. It benefits from recursion, wins the game reliably and most importantly, will not be snagged by nonred drafters at the table. Bosh also works reasonably well with sneak attack. Dragon is slightly broader in application, but many of the decks that will play it will also play bosh, such as R/G ramp and some U/R decks, if they have some artifact focus.
-Ingot Chewer, +Vandalblast
I don’t remember when the last time the 3/3 was cast, let alone was relevant. 80% or more of the time the cards will play the same. As a late topdeck, or a sideboard card, Vandalblast has the potential to do much more.
The issue here is more about cube balance than power level. Isn’t a one sided Shatterstorm too much of a hoser against artifact based decks? It is undeniably potent in that role. However artifact decks are very strong, and they get more support in this update, they need to be kept in check. I also think it is possible to fight and or recover from mass artifact removal, just as creature decks can be expected to cope with Wrath effects. It might require you to play differently, keeping a few mana rocks in hand. It might require you to be quicker than otherwise, diversify your threats, and pack targeted discard, more counterspells, resilient threats or just Daretti. It will initiate evolution of artifact based decks, but that is not a bad thing. Red does have a lot of such effects in cube currently with Fiery Confluence and Subterranean Tremors. That helps explain the next cut.
-Ancient Grudge, +Bogardan Hellkite
Red just got a potent anti-artifacts tool, and already has a ton of artifact spot removals. Grudge is the weakest as it does nothing if there is no target, and is only great when you will have two targets and also play green, a color already quite capable in dealing with artifacts. Still a good tool that will be kept in mind.
Hellkite is of the best mono red targets for Through the Breach and Sneak Attack. Also a fine ramp target and works well with many cheat strategies, from Show and Tell to reanimation.
Green
-Greenwheel Liberator, +Selvala's Stampede
Liberator is cut after a brief testing time, it is just too inconsistent at what it tries to do, drops in value quickly and awkward in green without aggro. Stampede is redundancy for Oath of Druids and Eureka, and got positive feedback from other cube owners. A large cube needs all the redundancy it can get.
-Naturalize, -Natural State, +Unravel the Æther, +Deglamer
The new artifacts destruction tools are answers to Daretti/Welder in green. They are also good counter measures to Wurmcoil Engine, Hangarback Walker and Sundering Titan. Shuffling the artifact back seems like a huge drawback in all other cases but is usually an advantage. It doesn’t raise the chances of drawing a business spell significantly. If they draw what they Tinkered for on turn three, chances are it is going to be a dead weight for the rest of the game in their hands. The same applies for shuffling their mana rock back, or making them draw that vehicle in a stage of the game it will be hardly relevant in.
Natural State is an efficient answer to power 9, but too narrow in scope now that Daretti is more heavily supported and the nonred gearhulks are quite secure for at least the medium length term. Fragmentize does not suffer as much for several reasons. First, white is an aggro color and green is not in this cube. Second, white has plenty of removals that do not send to the graveyard unlike green, so it has answers to the strategies and threats mentioned above. Third, it still has more targets and the instant speed is not as important on this effect.
Multicolored
-Olivia, Mobilized for War, +Tezzeret the Schemer
Olivia is a fine card, but not better than the mono colored alternatives. Most red four drops have natural haste and black three drops have small bodies that do not benefit much from the haste. On average Olivia hasted less than one creature per game she touched the battlefield. Certainly a 3/3 flier is still fine for the mana but she is not a reason to splash and only good in aggro. Rakdos had more multicolored cards than other colors and Dimir too few, so that is slightly evening out the odds.
Tezzeret is a powerful card for artifact decks that get a push in this update. The major downside is cumulative narrowness due to both being bad with low artifact counts and costing two colors. Another downside that could prove significant is that the two other Tezzerets slot into exactly the same decks, yet are more powerful. Schemer is inevitability against control, somewhat likely card advantage against aggro and solid all around in some decklists, so it warrants some play time. Plus some players showed interest in playing him.
-Arlinn Kord, +Huntmaster of the Fells
Arlinn is best described as clunky. Her best abilities cannot be used repeatedly. Many times the ability you really want is on the other face of the card, and you have to wait a full turn to get it. Arlinn is a convoluted way to do fair things in imperfect timings. Yes, incrementally she can be worth a whole lot for her mana. Each of her abilities shine in different situations, making her broader than most cards. But she is slow to react. Need to rebuild after a mass removal? Need to shoot down something? Want to give your titan haste this turn? Not with Ms. Kord.
Huntmaster is good value for mana. It seems like a bit of an aggro hoser, being two blockers and life gain for four mana, but it is solid all around, with the back face threatening to control decks and still four points of power for four mana that cannot be killed by a single spot removal. Now that green has a small overrun theme (Craterhoof, Decimator and Creeperhulk) Huntmaster gained a lot of value.
Colorless
-Hymn of the Wilds, +Mishra's Workshop
Hymn of the Wilds is a very strong card. It stand among the best first picks, even in cube. People have equated Hymn to starting each game with a free mox in play. It will almost always be better than that as you will cast multiple creatures. Going first turn, two drop and second turn, two more two drops can be made quite consistently and that is brutal.
What Hymn doesn’t have is variety. All hymn decks look the same, largely play the same and most importantly, makes the draft mindless. It just limits your options too much and becomes repetitive. Certain colors are unplayable with it. Passing powerful cards you cannot play creates feel bad moments. As a more minor issue it screws a bit with the curve and signaling for the rest of the table.
Workshop has an immensely powerful ceiling. It is balanced by being playable in one deck per draft at best, and even in said decks can screw you depending on your draw and when you get it. It is powerful enough to build around and got much more support with the gearhulks, Bosh and Leviathan so I am quite hopeful it will perform well.
-Matter Reshaper, +Aethersphere Harvester
Reshaper requires that colorless source quickly. If you can get the guy by turn three, it is great and likely worth playing even in (tap-out) control. That is rarely the case however. It is not a card with great synergies or a rare effect worth building around, it is just a nice to have. Assuming you can play it that is, which is not often. Harvester is a pushed vehicle. It provides presence after a mass removal, annoys planeswalkers and grants evasion to colors and decks that need that. So far vehicles have been great at the cube. It might be too punishing for aggressive decks with the high toughness and lifegain so is worth keeping an eye on.
-Kozilek, the Great Distortion, +Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Kozilek is hardcastable and Emrakul is not. However with that mana cost, being hard cast is the least common occurrence. Distortion is just a 12/12 menace when reanimated/sneak attacked. Sounds impressive, but dies to all removals/bounce and can be blocked for a while to stall. Emrakul is very narrow but is the ultimate reward to cheat strategies. It is exciting and as all the other eldrazis see play I think she will too. I am more concerned about her lack of interactivity. You can respond to ulamog with Path to Exile/ a bounce spell. Emrakul might see little play AND make games binary, but I need to test her at least once. Another note is that the cube might want to play all the eldrazis it can at this size. If the demand will still be large enough, Kozilek will return.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
This is mostly an update to metagame changes. There are two themes in this update – fattie cheat support and reanimation support.
Reanimation-
Cut: Nether Void, Sinkhole, Terror
Add: Exhume, Life // Death, Dance of the Dead
Reanimation did was not a successful strategy in this cube in a long time. I’m always torn between the need to dedicate slots to it and the fear that committing cube space to a failing underplayed strategy will reduce playability. Perhaps a critical mass is needed. Last draft someone was picking fatties and discard outlets yet did not see reanimation spells during the draft at all. Three spells is not a huge amount, barely enough for a single dedicated deck. But, we are all fairly sure new cubeable reanimator spells will never be printed again, this is the best we have got. If it will continue failing, it will be cut almost completely and for a long time. Reanimator should also enjoy some cross-pollination from other cheat strategies.
As for the cuts, Nether Void played more like Rule of Law than Armageddon for us (and we have been playing it for over 5 years). Also, an unpopular opinion, but in the last few years Armageddons dropped in power level (and my local increase in mana rocks count can be a big part of it).
Sinkhole is disappointing for the second time. It needs a really good mana base to shine, as the spell loses value rapidly after turn two. It faces two problems. One, there are relatively many cards that cost BB and the cube cannot support many of them. Two, it is hard to find space in decks for cards that are not threats, removal or card advantage, and that space is already quite full in black by targeted discard.
Terror is almost assuredly better than Fatal Push. But Push is new so it needs more testing. Push is certainly better for diversifying the curve and against aggro. Ultimate Price hits slightly less targets than Terror if we count manlands, but Terror has a large overlap of targets, with Shriekmaw, Doom Blade and Snuff Out.
-Worldly Tutor, +Satyr Wayfinder
This is a change that would happen independently of reanimator support, but nevertheless bolsters the archetype somewhat. Tutor is rarely played. It is very rare you need a specific creature that badly, you usually opt to play another threat. Plus, green has other better tutors. It is a bad topdeck for midrange decks, and even combo decks do not usually want it. It underperforms for the second time in this cube.
Wayfinder is a broadly playable filler. It fetches nonbasics lands, and is a body for Gaea's Cradle, Survival of the Fittest, Natural Order and Cratehoof Behemoth. Amonkhet added new graveyard synergies with embalm and aftermath. It is always a nice way to fuel Tarmogoyf!
Cheat strategies support –
The broad scope of strategies thst try to play giant creatures for cheap without paying their mana cost fairly with ramp is what I call cheat strategies. The main enablers are Sneak Attack, Show and Tell, Oath of Druids, Tinker, Channel, Eureka, Selvala's Stampede and Natural Order. I recently added Emrakul, the Eons Torn, several years after its release. I feared two things:
1. The card, not being reanimatable, is too narrow and will not see play often.
2. The card is uninteractive and binary – in games where you get emrakul into play you win, and there is very little your opponent can do about it.
Turns out both were wrong. Emrakul excites player, people want to break her. She is the sort of stuff decks are built around. Also, not being reanimatable was not a big deal, the other ways are more numerous even after this update. Turns out she is not as overpowering as I’ve thought. I’ve seen people survive and win more than once an Emrakul that was cheated with Through the Breach or Sneak Attack.
As such, I am less fearful of adding other powerful cheat-only fatties.
-Sundering Titan, +Blightsteel Colossus
Titan has just a miserable body. A 7/10 without evasion is easy to contain, it is quite manageable to consistently stall until you get a creature or artifact removal for him. He is also a rather slow clock anyway, having no haste. Breaking the symmetry with his trigger is also hard and not that rewarding in reality against the average opponent. It usually destroys two lands per player. Clossus is a prime target for cheating, especially with Sneak Attack, but probably fair, as enough toughness in blockers renders that use of the card near meaningless. It is also by far the best Tinker target, which is somewhat of an unwanted side effect.
-Foundry of the Consuls, +Sensei's Divining Top
Foundry is a playable filler in many decks. That said, it dropped in value lately. There are less colorless costing cards now, and with amonkhet you have plenty more mana sinks with cycling, embalm and aftermath. Color intensive decks never played it, others probably will not really notice. Top is still a good card. It feels wrong to cube without him. Now that cheat strategies are on the rise, it also fills a role. It is of the few nonblue card selection outlets. It is great fodder for Daretti and Welder. I also noticed a gap at the curve of some decks with one drops, and this is a fairly widely playable one. It still has two downsides and those are time consumption and being overrated by some players. Oh well, at least Monastery Mentor got his old toy back!
-Sorin, Grim Nemesis, +Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Large Sorin is a fine card, but doesn’t compare well to six drops. It is not great when you are behind against the common diverse cube boards. If you kill something meaningful, Sorin will die to any attacker. The lifegain is nice, but still capped and arrives late to the party. Sorin is also a reliable win condition, but slower than all other six drops in that role.
Sphinx is a new toy for Daretti and Goblin Welder. It can also be reanimated. It is basically unanswerable to red and green decks, but cheat decks need some favorable matchups, especially given how much life you usually lose with Reanimate or Life // Death. Such cards already exist in cube, Elesh Norn is unanswerable for red aggro, but in small numbers it should be fine. Also unwillingly boosts Tinker.
-Decimator of the Provinces, +Avenger of Zendikar
Decimator was a failed experiment. Decimator requires board presence, and his emerge has counter synergy with his effect. He is also green intensive. A major strike against him is that he doesn’t work well when ramped into, when cheated or reanimated and he cannot even just be a big body for Green Sun's Zenith or Natural Order. Now, Avenger basically suffers from the same problems, but at least it has strong synergies going for him and more game-winning potential. Avenger is great with Recurring Nightmare, Gaea's Cradle, Opposition etc. It is still more feasible to ramp into him, and he offers better value if you are creature light.
-Renegade Rallier, +Vial Smasher, the Fierce
Revolt, like morbid, is inconsistent in cube. Vial Smasher has a high damage output ceiling, with some cards like Tasigur or Fireblast. Still, it is a 2/3 body without ability that does nothing the turn you cast him. A risky experiment.
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White
-Town Gossipmonger, +Adorned Pouncer
Gossipmonger was not played often. Requiring another creature to be there, and the tap, is situational and costs too much tempo. Gossipmonger is not a real one drop. A resounding fiasco. Pouncer is not amazing, but probably about midway among white two drops. It provides mass removal protection and has cute double strike synergies.
-Cataclysmic Gearhulk, +Parallax Wave
White had too many five drops, it was clear one had to go at some point. Gearhulk was too hard to break the symmetry for. It plays badly with many of the white removal spells that leave an enchantment behind. It also has negative synergy with numerous mana rocks.
Parallax Wave was played before for a long time in the cube. It was not cut for low powerlevel, it was cut due to lack of space in white four drops and we needed the space for testing something in that mana cost. Time to bring it back.
-Hidden Dragonslayer, +Stalking Leonin
Dragonslayer has two bad modes. A 2/1 lifelinker for two is cute against opposing aggro decks, but nothing more. A 2/1 first striker probably does more for you in that matchup. Against large creatures it is another removal spell, but an expensive and slow one. Leonin is a potent defensive spell. It might be cut not for powerlevel, but because a defensive play like that will not be needed if aggro continues to be somewhat weak.
-Bygone Bishop, +Kimalla's Sunwing
Bishop always had a great body, but his ability was too slow and conditional in practice. Sunwing is very impressive. She combines the good body with an active and relevant disruption ability.
-Fragmentize, +Seal of Cleansing
I still like Fragmentize in theory. In practice, it was still mostly a sideboard card and not a maindeck one. A small part of that is due to Cast Out and Forsake the Worldly being printed. Another hit against it is that more Gearhulks survived the testing period than anticipated and not answering them is a big drawback. Seal is tried and tested, and has synergies with Sun Titan and Enlightened Tutor.
Blue
-Dissolve, +Supreme Will
I think Will will see play in every permission deck. It is not busted, but it does what you want to do in blue counter heavy decks and it is easy on the mana. Having three 1UU counters proved too much. You basically never want to play two of them in the same maindeck. I still think, as a player, that Dissolve is better than Disallow. As a cube designer however, I like the possibility of countering activated abilities to be there. It will cause memorable stories, and hopefully now that it is paired with Nimble Obstructionist, will cause players to doubt their activated abilities or triggers when they see three mana open.
-Stratus Dancer, +Nimble Obstructionist
Dancer was always an odd fit, a proactive counter. It saw play, but I don’t remember it doing much more than being a way to minimize options of loss when you are ahead. Obstructionist fulfills similar roles. It is a cheap aggressive creature with evasion, but has flash. It has a reactive ability. I do think Obstructionist is currently overrated, but I do think it is a decent card that will make you feel clever sometimes.
-Serendib Efreet, +Champion of Wits
Efreet had a long career in cube. It is a victim of powerlevel. Three drops across all colors got extremely competitive, and there is little reason to play a weaker one from your splash color (blue is usually the splash in aggressive decks). Efreet is pretty much Herald of Torment. It has an easier casting cost and more toughness, but Herald of Torment is cast in its other probably a bit over 50% of the time. I am not sure a colorshifted Efreet would see play, perhaps in black but not likely in white. Efreet could be brought back if blue tempo becomes stronger in the future.
Champion of Wits is a curve filler, but a generally broad one that fits blue better. It is a discard outlet for reanimator and delve, and has synergies with Revillark.
-Hieroglyphic Illumination, +Deep Analysis
Illumination was terrible. It was cycled almost all the time, the 4 mana mode was too much of a win more as for when you can afford it. Not worth a space in decks. Deep Analysis is tried and true. It will be better today than ever before due to the higher number of discard outlets in the cube.
-Meloku the Clouded Mirror, +As Foretold
Meloku is a relic of the past, a control finisher that did not age well. It requires mana, costs you tempo and is vulnerable at all stages. It is clear As Fortold is a strong card, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into a good cube card. I consider this a high risk test. Some cube groups report great results from this card.
Black
-Plague Belcher, +Ammit Eternal
Belcher had two mediocre modes. As a 3/2 menace for 2B it was not good enough, and as a 5/4 menace that kills you another creature it opened you to a two-for-one too easily, while being weak to bounce. Eternal is harder to stop offensively due to afflict. I am not excited by the card, as it is a bad blocker, and can be shrunk to irrelevance sometimes, but it probably a fine rolefiller. Zombie count here remains the same.
-Wretched Confluence, +Bontu's Last Reckoning
This is a swap I am already starting to regret and might be shifted. I will explain the rationale however. Reckoning is the only mass removal costing three, and it still seems better than mass removals that cost five (so far it was not true). Confluence is redundant with Demon of Dark Schemes and Massacre Wurm both proving an Infest, and I wanted to slightly help red aggro.
-Battle Brawler, +Wasp of the Bitter End
Just a slight upgrade, nothing exciting here.
-Ruinous Path, +Doomfall
Having three Hero’s Downfall effects is too much. They are all black heavy, and that is a major problem. The second is that you do not really want playing two such effects in the same deck, they are expensive. Doomfall was a test, that I already feel is starting to fail. It seemed like a board card, but so far it had a hard time fitting into decks.
-Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath, +Patron of the Vein
With Liliana, Death's Majesty, there are three black midrange five drops and they are not needed. Black really wants the expensive value cards to be on creatures so they are useful for reanimator decks. Patron is not amazing, but will likely see more play and be decent for the time being.
Red
-Release the Gremlins, +Abrade
Major upgrade. Abrade is a maindeckable answer to artifacts. A good card to include in most red decks. Release is a sideboard card and not a great one either.
-Thriving Grubs, +Burning-Fist Minotaur
This is an end of an era. Ever since Gore-House Chainwalker was printed, red has at least one 3/2 dude for 1R with downsides. Borderland Marauder is the most famous and cleanest creature of the bunch. Now, not so many years after, they are almost all gone (War-Name Aspirant can count or not depending on the judge). This just shows how much red two drops have advanced.
Minotaur has a useful base body against most early game creatures and the threat of activation will let it connect more often than it should. It is of the few red card able to trade with midrange creatures. It is also a discard outlet.
-Mizzium Mortars, +Insult // Injury
We got a new creature-only red burn spell in Abrade. Mortars is not terrible, but also not great and quite narrow, as it is not a good fit for aggressive decks. I heard great things about Insult from other cube owners and I want to try it out. It represents a lot of damage for the mana, and is described as a red Overrun.
-Geier Reach Bandit, +Firebrand Archer
Geier was redundant with Lathnu Hellion and Brazen Scourge, but especially felt bad after Ahn-Crop Crasher. I think the extra toughness is worth the harder cost of Brazen Scourge, as otherwise Bandit trades with most one drops and all two drops. Archer adds some reach, and doesn’t require more than 2-3 triggers to be worth her mana cost. So far however, she did not test well at all.
-Goblin Dark-Dwellers, +Ramunap Ruins
Dark Dwellers are a five drop red value creature. Red is not a big midrange color, and Dwellers depend on having useful spells in your graveyard. Not that hard to do, but it makes GDD not a good ramp card. Glorybringer really puts this card to shame. The only times I remember Dark-Dwellers being great was with Time Walk, and that is no good measure of the card. Ramunap Ruins is a free include for red aggressive decks. No other deck will touch it, so it will table, they will always play it.
-Hellspark Elemental, +Earthshaker Khenra
Similar cards here. I’m not sure which of the two is actually stronger. Hellspark was not a solid performer however.
-Grenzo, Havoc Raiser, +Shrine of Burning Rage
Grenzo is a bit of a win more. Not only is the casting cost difficult, the body is wimp. His ability requires creatures, preferably multiple creatures, attacking. I also dislike the Goad having no reminder text, with it being still a rather obscure ability. I wanted to keep this spot for red-heavy support. Usually that means an RR creature, but honestly we’ve tried them all and none were impressive. The closest was Eidolon of the Great Revel. I still like that card somewhat, so he might be back someday. Anyway Shrine also fills similar roles. It gives a lot of reach to the red deck, and a sort of inevitability. It is also one of the few ways of red decks to kill a Baneslayer Angel if things go dire.
-Bosh, Iron Golem, +Combustible Gearhulk
Bosh played poorly. Paying 4 mana to sacrifice proved really expensive. It never did something the turn it was played. It provides poor defense. Even in the artifact decks he was not great. Combustible reads poorly, but fills a similar slot – a heavy red artifact for Goblin Welder and Daretti decks. So far it was better than anticipated. In the types of decks where you play him, the average converted mana cost is high, especially if you hit another reanimation target. Sending cards to your graveyard is also a benefit in those decks. A 6/6 first striker will be better on the defense than a 6/7, and it is much cheaper. Still far from a stable include though.
-Stoke the Flames, +Territorial Hellkite
Hellkite seems very powerful, I am excited for that card. The cut should be a red four drop creature, likely one of Hero of Oxid Ridge and Hazoret the Fervent. As Hazoret had little time under the sun, I am going to delay that decision for now and currently play both. Stoke was unimpressive. Many burn spells deal 4 damage, and most cost less and are more splashable. Convoking creatures to pay for Stoke was rare, as it was far too much tempo to lose to be worth it.
Green
-Grapple with the Past, +Ramunap Excavator
No one was interested in Grapple. It is a fine card selection card but low impact and always feels excessive. I want my mana ramp and creature threats more. Not being able to get back spells is a big downside compared to Regrowth. Excavator will be cool for a while with Strip Mine. Unless it proves itself as a fine value creature without the combo, it will also get cut.
-Nissa, Vital Force, +Champion of Rhonas
Nissa is a very fine card, but there are too many Nissas. One of the drafts a player had 5 Nissas in his deck! One had to go, and Vital Force is the least powerful card in the most contested part of the curve. Champion is another test – I can see him being great in the great cheat decks with all the eldrazi.
-Creeperhulk, +Carnage Tyrant
Super upgrade. Tyrant makes Sagu Mauler look bad. It is what green lacked – a beatstick costing six mana. It fills a vital role in the weak matchup of green ramp decks against blue control decks.
Multicolored
-Tezzeret the Schemer, +The Scarab God
This tezzeret is not amazing It does see play in the specific Dimir artifact deck, but that deck has two more tezzerets, that do the same sort of stuff but better. The Scarab god fills a weak spot in the curve of both blue and black and is rather high powered. It is slow, it is expensive, but it also grants inevitability, with the scry, life drain and ever increasing army.
-Spell Queller, +Fractured Identity
Queller is a good card, is fun, but a victim of space. Geist of Saint Traft and Reflector Mage cost exactly the same, and are best in the same places, in this small guild. White and blue are not lacking in three drops. Identity is a busted card, and could be the most powerful in its guild.
Colorless
-Filigree Familiar, +Crystalline Crawler
Familiar is weak against decks that are not aggressive. If your opponent’s deck does not have to attack with small dudes, this card is thoroughly unimpressive. Also, as stated above red decks do not need the hate currently. Crawler has a high potential. It on average will be a 4/4 for 4 the turn you play him, reasonable defense. Next turn it can ramp you by four mana, of any color. That is a lot of burst. It is dirty with Upheaval. It means you can play and always have counter backup. You can play it turn four and immediately cast a Tinker. Worst case, it will be a decently size beater.
-Blightsteel Colossus, +Cursed Scroll
I’ve changed my mind on Blightsteel. I do think it will make Tinker decks too powerful and in general is not an interesting card to add to the environment. It did not even see play, it is that narrow. Perhaps Sundering Titan will make a comeback soon. Scroll was there to fill a curve gap of artifacts at 1 CMC. Daretti decks want cheap artifacts. It is also a recurring source of removal for control decks, and nowadays pinging planeswalkers is good.
-Westvale Abbey, +Sorcerous Spyglass
I did not see abbey flip even once. Her ability was seldom used. In general the value of the colorless lands dropped significantly and I’ll cut Gargoyle Castle soon as well. There are several reasons for that. First, there are less cards with colorless costs now in the cube. Second, we have got more mana sinks in later sets. The full manland cycle, clues, and now all the cycling cards from Amonkhet. There are more useful ways to use excess mana late game.
Spyglass is better than Pithing Needle in this format. I card I am more likely to maindeck and is less likely to entirely miss.
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I must admit, I'm very confused.
Also listed, despite being mentioned as removed: Nether Void
Also listed twice: Uktabi Orangutan
About the Nissa change - keep in mind that the rule change will permit running as many nissas as you please in your deck, so long as they don't have the same name. That probably makes PWs even more powerful, and maybe even justifies the change, but still should be looked at.
I thought Captain Lannery Storm was an interesting 3 drop, though the only 3 drop I'd consider removing for him would be Manic Vandal (even then I assume there would be better options).
Damn, do I miss the cube, though...
EDIT: Speaking of PW rules change, Thalia's Lancers has become much more precious than it previously was. It's probably too slow for the cube, but definitely considerable in my opinion.
EDIT 2: Looking forward to more inclusions from Ixalan, like Wanted Scoundrels
Hey, thanks for the corrections! Unlike cubetutor, managing cards in text accumulates errors with time. If you see any more, please report so I can fix them.
The new Nissa might return with the new rules change, that change was done before the rules change was announced. Thalia's Lancers are likely good enough now to be in the cube, the number of targets for them has doubled. I think every deck will now have at least two targets. Fetching big Elspeth is great, as an on-curve example. Lancers are also great defense for that future planeswalker. They will replace Angel of Sanctions.
Another card that got a little better is Karakas - now it can bounce Gideons and Sarkhan when they become creatures.
Lannery Storm is a fine card, but I think Ferocidon is better. It is still probably just on the edge of making it, it can replace Brazen Scourge.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
List in the front page was updated
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
Why not?
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
https://mtgcubecrafting.wordpress.com/2018/04/27/dom-update/
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022