The upside to the WR guildmage is incredibly high, but halberdiers has a nice, functional ACS. Consider which one you want more when you're swinging with 3+ guys. It's comparable but I wanted to support tokens as much as possible thanks to my recent cutting of intangible virtue and a custom token support card.
As long as we are on the subject, I'd like to say that the evolve 0/1 has also done very well but is a tad spotty. It's been a 3/4 as much as a 0/1, but it reaches 2/3 consistently. Not bad at all for a 1 drop. It's been nice at letting my ninja of the deep hours get in on turn two as well.
All of Majikan's "Very goods" have been very good here as well.
Post GTC recap
Now that some dust has cleared, I have to say that my biggest surprises from GTC are: the cheap black extort guys hellraiser goblin (MY GOD), firefist striker (such a good one-two punch with the goblin) Nimbus swimmer (sorry I doubted the ability to be a 6/6 flier or whatever else you can pay for)
-----
Cloudfin raptor just started being tested and it shows promise in spurts. Jury's out here since it is inconsistent so far.
I have yet to try agorophobia, Boros elite, shambleshark, simic signet (hasn't come up yet), or gift of orzhova (also waiting to be drafted). Extort has played so well I am considering tryng Kingpin's pet again as well as the two remaining white options. For the sake of completeness, I can't disregard the potential for Shadow ally denizen, but It isn't exactly on my to-do list.
I don't consider dimir charm, aetherize, hands of binding, bane ally broker, elusive krasis, any of the bloodrush guys that aren't 4/4 tramplers for 4, or orzhov charm to be good and I haven't considered testing them.
I don't really know about Wight of precinct six but it doesn't excite me or mesh with my black section.
Skarrg guildmage surprised me at the draft but likely won't break into gruul.
Anyone tested Basilica Guards or Knight of Obligation? Extort seems to play better than most people expected, but is that enough to make either of these worth tossing in?
I don't consider ... Elusive Krasis ... to be good and I haven't considered testing them.
Just from my own playing with it, he's been fantastic in my cube so far. He's got lots of toughness, so he's not too worried about early damage removal from red.
Similarly to Experiment One, he consistently evolves twice, making him a 2/6 unblockable. I have enjoyed him alot.
While carving out my dedicated hybrid section, I was thinking of adding Arrows of Justice. It's not flashy, but I like the idea of having a workhorse removal spell with a flexible casting cost.
Let's lay out two facts: 1.) you're right that it's not the greatest removal for red, but 2.) it's way better for red than Pit Fight.
I agree that aggro decks may not care for Arrows since it's more efficient when killing incoming attackers than blockers, but it seems fine if you're control or tempo. Plus anything that hits the magic number of 4 damage has extra value for red. I'm okay with some hybrids not giving exactly 50/50 split in terms of value to its colors. Arrows might be closer to 25/75, which is still pretty flexible.
Worst case scenario, the experiment is a bust and I pull it back out. You have nothing to lose since it's not going in your cube.
While carving out my dedicated hybrid section, I was thinking of adding Arrows of Justice. It's not flashy, but I like the idea of having a workhorse removal spell with a flexible casting cost.
These are the options. Spitemare is head and shoulders above the competition, so if you don't have this, use it. If you use this and need another R/W card for color balance, Arrows of Justice is probably the pick, but I wouldn't be happy to run it.
Specialities about the cube: U tempo, B aggro, R slow-ish are supported. G aggro is not.
Currently trying to support tokens in all colors but blue, in different ways: W pumps them, B sacrifices them, R suicides them, G has decent-sized ones.
cube list outdated
*literal C/U definition according to gatherer
**some cards are banned. Library of Alexandria, Land Tax, Sol Ring.
I'm already running Spitemare because it's awesome. I'm judging Arrows of Justice on its own merits, and I think it's at least strong enough to test.
I don't care about perfectly balancing out my hybrids by having to make pairs for each guild. I'm just totaling up the color values of them all (i.e. Spitemare counts as 1/2 white, 1/2 red), then cutting down my monocolor sections appropriately based on those totals. At worst, a few colors may end up with +/- half a card this way, but I'm fine with that.
I can see how Boros Charm would play worse in peasant. I don't have one yet since I haven't gotten one in a pack and figured I can wait and pick one up down the road for less money. After GTC, Boros is pretty stacked as a guild, so there are a lot of ways it can be built and played, depending on your playgroup and preferences.
I will say that even if the Charm isn't super powerful that I like having modal spells around when possible since they tend to spice up gameplay (assuming that at least two of the modes are playable).
I'm already running Spitemare because it's awesome. I'm judging Arrows of Justice on its own merits, and I think it's at least strong enough to test.
I don't care about perfectly balancing out my hybrids by having to make pairs for each guild. I'm just totaling up the color values of them all (i.e. Spitemare counts as 1/2 white, 1/2 red), then cutting down my monocolor sections appropriately based on those totals. At worst, a few colors may end up with +/- half a card this way, but I'm fine with that.
Overall, this is fine. The colors with more hybrids get a small leg up, but it's the tradeoff of color poaching that provides a counterbalance.
I've thought about this possibility too...unfortunately I haven't had any time to test either lately
As long as we are on the subject, I'd like to say that the evolve 0/1 has also done very well but is a tad spotty. It's been a 3/4 as much as a 0/1, but it reaches 2/3 consistently. Not bad at all for a 1 drop. It's been nice at letting my ninja of the deep hours get in on turn two as well.
All of Majikan's "Very goods" have been very good here as well.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Blade of the sixth pride (Could come back one day)
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Now that some dust has cleared, I have to say that my biggest surprises from GTC are:
the cheap black extort guys
hellraiser goblin (MY GOD),
firefist striker (such a good one-two punch with the goblin)
Nimbus swimmer (sorry I doubted the ability to be a 6/6 flier or whatever else you can pay for)
-----
Cloudfin raptor just started being tested and it shows promise in spurts. Jury's out here since it is inconsistent so far.
Syndic of tithes is pretty sweet.
Court street denizen is regressing towards average (still good enough for now)
Crocanura is way bigger than it should be for 2G. Man this card is good on turn 3.
Madcap skills was very swingy, but too often not worth it. Picture it's dominance in GTC draft but less often. Feel bad card.
Dinrova horror is solidly doing its job.
Daring skyjek is obviously good.
Shadow slice is like a worse madcap skills. High reward, risk too much. No fun to play.
Truefire paladin is obviously godlike.
Urban evolution flopped as I expected.
Ivy lane denizen also flopped miserably.
Keymaster rogue got dropped quickly, but that was before I retooled my blue.
Boros charm is perhaps overhyped, but I don't mean that so badly. The card is near staple if not so.
Sunhome guildmage and wojek halberdiers both make good candidates for boros' last card.
Ghor clan rampager and experiment one are obviously good
Goldnight redeemer has been gaining between 4 (eh) and 10 (YEAH) life a game so Urbris protector lost its job.
I have yet to try agorophobia, Boros elite, shambleshark, simic signet (hasn't come up yet), or gift of orzhova (also waiting to be drafted). Extort has played so well I am considering tryng Kingpin's pet again as well as the two remaining white options. For the sake of completeness, I can't disregard the potential for Shadow ally denizen, but It isn't exactly on my to-do list.
I don't consider dimir charm, aetherize, hands of binding, bane ally broker, elusive krasis, any of the bloodrush guys that aren't 4/4 tramplers for 4, or orzhov charm to be good and I haven't considered testing them.
I don't really know about Wight of precinct six but it doesn't excite me or mesh with my black section.
Skarrg guildmage surprised me at the draft but likely won't break into gruul.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Just from my own playing with it, he's been fantastic in my cube so far. He's got lots of toughness, so he's not too worried about early damage removal from red.
Similarly to Experiment One, he consistently evolves twice, making him a 2/6 unblockable. I have enjoyed him alot.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
I agree that aggro decks may not care for Arrows since it's more efficient when killing incoming attackers than blockers, but it seems fine if you're control or tempo. Plus anything that hits the magic number of 4 damage has extra value for red. I'm okay with some hybrids not giving exactly 50/50 split in terms of value to its colors. Arrows might be closer to 25/75, which is still pretty flexible.
Worst case scenario, the experiment is a bust and I pull it back out. You have nothing to lose since it's not going in your cube.
These are the options. Spitemare is head and shoulders above the competition, so if you don't have this, use it. If you use this and need another R/W card for color balance, Arrows of Justice is probably the pick, but I wouldn't be happy to run it.
450, Peasant*, unpowered**
Specialities about the cube:
U tempo, B aggro, R slow-ish are supported. G aggro is not.
Currently trying to support tokens in all colors but blue, in different ways: W pumps them, B sacrifices them, R suicides them, G has decent-sized ones.
cube list outdated
*literal C/U definition according to gatherer
**some cards are banned. Library of Alexandria, Land Tax, Sol Ring.
I don't care about perfectly balancing out my hybrids by having to make pairs for each guild. I'm just totaling up the color values of them all (i.e. Spitemare counts as 1/2 white, 1/2 red), then cutting down my monocolor sections appropriately based on those totals. At worst, a few colors may end up with +/- half a card this way, but I'm fine with that.
I will say that even if the Charm isn't super powerful that I like having modal spells around when possible since they tend to spice up gameplay (assuming that at least two of the modes are playable).
Overall, this is fine. The colors with more hybrids get a small leg up, but it's the tradeoff of color poaching that provides a counterbalance.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article